XDefiant

Ubisoft’s XDefiant is a compelling live-service offering that is remarkably substantive in its free-to-play offering. As a competitive shooter, its blend of satisfyingly agile movement and liberal lifting of modes and map philosophies from every other shooter makes a strange first impression. There is nothing new or surprising about what XDefiant offers. But those curious few eager to go through the initiation hellscape of purely random-skill matchmaking will find a clean and well-structured shooter that should broadly impress anyone who doesn’t mind their competent online shooter to be a personality-lacking, serials-filed amalgam of all its best competitors. Flaws and all, I was continually drawn back in the hopeful search for any active, local lobby.