As with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has released an Expansion Pass to accompany the game. There have been four waves of content, which introduced a challenge mode and new team members. And like Xenoblade Chronicles 2, the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 fourth and final wave contains a new story to round out the game. This review's main focus will be on the new story, Future Redeemed. While it’s cool to have the other additions to the game, this story is the real reason to get this Pass.

Future Redeemed

In the tradition of Torna and Future Connected, Xenoblade Chronicles 3’s story content has Future Redeemed. 

This expansion is the culmination of the series, bringing back some familiar faces in an older Shulk and Rex. This story is set before the events of the main story, although you shouldn’t start this until you’ve completed the story.

The main character of the expansion is Matthew, a city dweller free of the Moebius flame clocks. He is seeking someone with the help of A, a mysterious blade wielder. It’s not long before the story really gets moving, as with Future Connected (the XBC Definite added Epilogue) the open world is still kept nice and lean. With the added bonus of being set in an area not present in the main game.

I would love to go over the story and geek out over all of the ways this expansion intertwines with the entire series. At the very least you should play through the entirety of XBC3’s story, but to get the most out of it you’ll want to play the other two games (and their DLC too). For long-time fans of the series there is a lot here to take in, even just the inclusion of Shulk and Rex will have you paying close attention to what tidbits from their own stories you might learn. It’s also cathartic to get to see out the end of a trilogy with these characters, and in a way that enhances the main story too.

While the expansion does mostly play like the main game, there are a few changes to the combat mechanics. It doesn’t seek to change too much, and I’ll go over some of those changes. Overall the way the expansion plays doesn’t stray from what you’ve spent so much time with the main game.

A way of upgrading your stats and earning new attacks is through Affinity. You gain Affinity Points by battling enough of each enemy type, by visiting new areas or building affinity with other citizens. Each character has their own affinity boards to upgrade, with 2 further sections to unlock with an item. It works well enough and it’s easy to keep a regular stream of AP to spend. I’m still not sure why they couldn’t use what they already had for the main game, but the Affinity system does encourage you to chase battles and interact with everyone. 

While the main story has the characters unlocking the powers of Ouroboros by summoning mech forms, this isn’t a power for the expansion. Unity replaces Ouroboros powers, while managing to give you additional moves to deal out extra damage with two characters. You can assign Unity pairings for joint attacks, with each combination having different results. It also impacts your chain attacks As well. It makes sense within the story why it needed to change, but it doesn’t impact negatively on how the combat works. 

The addition and return of the Challenge Mode will really depend on how much you enjoy the combat, or how much you want the rewards which include bonus outfits for the team. There is also a gauntlet mode - Archsage’s Gauntlet, which also provides more outfits and a change to the usual challenge mode structure. You start with one character and have to build up your stats the longer you survive. It’s a neat addition on top of the challenge mode already present. The new Hero characters Ino and Masha both bring new classes, and Masha can also craft new high-end accessories. They come with their own hero quests and fit in well amongst the already extensive group of heroes selectable.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed is a delightful encore performance to close out the series as we know it. The expansion manages to tie everything together, in a celebration of the past interwoven with a story and characters that push forward. Future Redeemed is worth the price of entry alone for XBC fans, but the included challenge mode and extra characters with quests will bring you back to the main game for at least a few hours more. For Xenoblade Chronicles fans there’s no question that it’s worth picking up this expansion pass to see out this grand adventure.