Much like with Xenoblade 2's Torna expansion, Future Redeemed acts as a smaller, more condensed slice of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 that revisits and remixes the ingredients of the main game. Xenoblade 3 was one of my favorite titles of 2022, but due to the unfortunate release timing of this DLC just days from Tears of the Kingdom, it took me a long time to get around to playing it. Thankfully, Christmas vacation gave me ample time to sink my teeth into it.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 featured small easter eggs teasing its connection to the previous games in the series, but Future Redeemed goes all out to satisfy any fans that may have felt the main game to be lacking in this area. So much so that, unlike Torna, I don't think Future Redeemed works quite as well as a stand-alone narrative. That's not to say I didn't enjoy what Future Redeemed does with its story--much the opposite, actually. As a long time fan of the series who holds the first Xenoblade as one of their all-time favorite games, I found this to be a very rewarding experience that brings a satisfying conclusion to the entire Xenoblade trilogy. As usual, the experience is aided by some spectacular music and cutscenes.

Set before the main game, Future Redeemed tells the tale of the founders of the City, one of the main factions in the world of Aionios. The story has some epic moments that are on par with any of the big moments in the main games, and the pace of it feels quite brisk. It took a bit to grow on me, but I ended up liking the fiery new protagonist Matthew and the group of heroes that forms around him. With its shorter 20-hour duration, Future Redeemed doesn't have the time to offer the lengthy and detailed character arcs of the main game. It instead opts to use a great shortcut: use familiar characters that we already know and love!

This DLC features the return of Shulk and Rex, the protagonists of the first two games, and they have a massive presence in the game. I really enjoyed getting to spend more time with these characters, and I found Future Redeemed to be worth it for that alone. I also really enjoyed the presence of newcomer A and her relationship with Matthew, though I am more lukewarm on Nikol and Glimmer, the latter of which has some subpar voicework that doesn't help.

In terms of gameplay, it unsurprisingly plays a lot like Xenoblade Chronicles 3, though simplified--to its detriment. The class system and Ouroboros mechanics of the main game are gone, and not really replaced with anything. The only interesting bit of character growth you experience is tied to the Affinity Growth trees for each character, which you level into using points that are gained from exploration. This includes discovering landmarks, beating unique monsters, completing quests and cataloging collectibles and enemies. The only thing outside of this is the ability to equip gems and accessories, which was also in the base game. While perfectly functional, it really left me wanting for some of the depth that's in the main game.

At the same time, this streamlining does not address any of the flaws that were present in the original's combat system. You still have six characters fighting at once, which can turn into an indecipherable mess if you're fighting a large group of enemies. Your party's AI also still feels a bit incompetent. Chain Attacks are still a horrible pace-killer that brings the action to a screeching halt for way too long. It all becomes more engaging once you get the ability to chain arts into each other, but it feels like there was a significant missed opportunity to improve on combat.

Torna also simplified a lot of the mechanics of its respective game, but in its case it worked much better. Its battle system cut things such as core crystals and blade-collecting, but it replaced them with the concept of being able to swap between your driver and blade characters. It felt unique enough from the base game that I could not pin it as a downgrade. The same cannot be said of Future Redeemed, unfortunately.

Ultimately, despite loving the fanservice and story that Future Redeemed offers, these issues left me feeling a little dissatisfied by the gameplay side of the house. I will say that this DLC will ultimately be enjoyable to anyone who enjoyed the base game, especially if you're invested in the story and lore of the series. But looking at it as a holistic game, I don't think this is quite as essential as Torna was, and after playing it I can definitely understand why they didn't give this the same standalone treatment that DLC got.

Future Redeemed is a prelude to Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and comes included with the DLC Expansion pass. Future Redeemed alone is worth the price of admission, but for completionist’s sake I’ll be reviewing the whole package.

DLC Wave 1 is a low effort offering by Monoliftsoft. The wave includes pallet swaps of existing outfits and bonus items that can be obtained throughout the game. The bonus items are not game changing, but do make the first few hours easier to progress.

DLC Wave 2 includes swimsuit outfits, a Time Attack Challenge mode and the bonus Hero, Ino. Normally I am not crazy over cosmetic outfits, but I found the swimsuits tastefully designed. They integrate Kevesi and Agnian details rather than being generic titillating outfits common in other JRPGs. These outfits can be unlocked by playing any difficulty in the Time Attack Challenge mode.

The base game has a lack of good defenders and the bonus Hero Ino makes up for it. In fact, Ino is the best evasion tank in the game. Ino’s abilities can be upgraded by collecting special HD ether which is different from the green ether collectibles. Unfortunately her story is lazily tacked on and forgettable.

DLC Wave 3 features nostalgic outfits, the Archsage’s Gauntlet and the bonus Hero, Masha. The nostalgic outfits are outfits from characters in the past games. Similar to the swimsuit outfits, they can be unlocked by playing the Time Attack Challenge Mode or Archsage’s Gauntlet. The Archsage’s Gauntlet takes place in the same room as the Time Attack Challenge mode and is a rogue-like mode where players gradually build their roster and gain modifiers. I didn’t find it that fun and it loses its charm after completing a run which can last over an hour.

The new hero Masha is a good healer, but the base game already includes plenty of other great healers such as Valdi and Fiona. Her Talent Art is extremely strong though, and is a strictly better version of Eunie’s Talent Art. Unlike Ino, Masha adds a bit of lore concerning the City and its’ residents. She also has an ability to craft custom accessories, but it is hit or miss. The raw materials used to craft the accessories can only be obtained from the DLC Battle arenas and they have randomly generated properties. If you have no interest in grinding the battle arenas, Masha’s crafting ability is useless.

DLC Wave 4 is the Future Redeemed expansion and is the reason why most players are interested in the Expansion pass DLC in the first place. Future Redeemed has a similar format to XC1’s Future Connected and XC2’s Torna - The Golden Country in that they are accessible via a separate menu and can be played immediately even if the base game was not completed.

Future Redeemed helps bring closure to the Xenoblade Chronicles Trilogy and is a must play for any Xenoblade fan. On the flip side, Future Redeemed is also completely inaccessible for newer players who have not completed the past two entries. If you are nodding your head in agreement when you read the words: “Alvis”, “Trinity Processor” and “Elysium” then you are in good company, otherwise the story of Future Redeemed will be incomprehensible.

Future Redeemed takes place in Aionios about a thousand years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 3. Shulk and Rex, the main protagonists from the past two games, are fighting together with Z (yes, that Z, the leader of Moebius) against a godly entity that looks like Alvis, but calls itself Alpha. They lose to Alpha, so Shulk, Rex and Z form a truce so they can focus their energies in defeating Alpha. Shulk and Rex are the leaders of the Liberators, a precursor to the Lost Ones from the base game and an enemy of Moebius. Despite that fact, Alpha’s presence is so significant that it warranted the truce among the opposing factions. The peace between the Liberators and Moebius would be short lived however…

Matthew is the main protagonist in Future Redeemed. He is a descendant from the original Noah and Mio that gave birth to a population freed from their 10 year cycle. He witnesses an attack on the City and rushes in to see N stabbing his grandfather and mentor figure Ghondor. Ghondor in his last moments, uses his Ouroboros power to repel N and save Matthew. Matthew wakes up under the care of a mysterious woman named A. The pair decide to look for any survivors in the City as well as get revenge on Moebius for destroying the City.

Future Redeemed plays very similarly to the base game, unlike the drastic gameplay differences in the expansions for the previous two games. There are two gameplay differences to highlight:

• Fusion Arts get a boost in power depending on the combination of arts. For example, if Matthew pairs Detonating Hit with Backspin Punch, he gains bonus damage on Terrestrial foes, but if he pairs Detonating Hit with Mighty Strike, he gains bonus damage on Mechanical foes. This adds a bit more strategy and variety especially since there is no class changing in Future Redeemed.
• There are also no Ouroboros forms, so instead Matthew can pair with another teammate to execute a Unity Combo. Unlike in the base game, Unity Combos are used to finish Break -> Topple -> Launch combos with a Smash, Burst or Blowdown finale. There is no Daze status effect in Future Redeemed. Similar to the Fusion Arts, depending on who Matthew pairs with, there are permutations of Unity Combos.

Progression in Future Redeemed has been reworked to focus on collectibles and exploration. The only way Matthew and friends can get significantly stronger is by discovering Affinity Growth Kits, Accessory Unlock Kits and Gem Unlock Kits hidden throughout Aionios. Affinity Growth is how the team can grow their skills and are purchased using Affinity Points. These points can only be earned by completing quests and doing numerous checklists. Future Redeemed can feel like an enormous checklist of monsters to defeat, items to collect and scenes to watch. Fortunately the requirements are fairly simple and in my 20 hour playthrough I was able to complete most of the objectives. I enjoyed this way of progression compared to the base game because it encouraged me to hunt monsters several levels under me and explore the world. In the base game, it was too easy to outlevel every enemy which made ability and class unlocks exponentially difficult.

The only major downside in Future Redeemed is the interface. Handling the collectibles is archaic. Rather than giving the option to submit all the collectible entries at once, players have to hold the A button to fill out one entry at a time. Inventory management is still a mess and it becomes a hassle trying to find a specific accessory once the inventory balloons to the hundreds. Around the halfway point, Matthew can collect an item that can reset the Affinity Growth skills for a specific character. However doing this is a massive time sink as re-unlocking a character’s skill is an annoying process of holding the A button for every single skill.

There isn’t much else I can write outside of spoiling Future Redeemed, but the bottom line is, if you have played the previous two entries, Future Redeemed is a no brainer. It is a fantastic expansion that helps fill in the numerous lore gaps in the base game and the series as a whole. The expansion does feel like a giant checklist though, which may repel those who are simply interested in the story. If you have only played Xenoblade Chronicles 3, then read/watch a summary of the prior games before jumping into Future Redeemed (or play if you have the hours to spare). And if you are like me who finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3 without the DLC, I recommend only playing Future Redeemed instead of doing a New Game or New Game + run. The DLC outside of Future Redeemed is simply not worth the time and effort for returning players.