UbiSoft has been a long-standing game developer with blockbuster hits like The Division series, Assassin’s Creed series, Far Cry series, and licensed games like South Park, Avatar, Star Wars, and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. XDefiant was originally designed as a innovative first person shooter, Ubisoft describes XDefiant as the following: “a free-to-play, fast-paced arena shooter that combines intense gunplay with personalised loadouts and specialised factions, as teams of gunfighters – called Defiants – battle for domination.” UbiSoft revealed XDefiant in a interesting way. Normally, game reveals are done in a press conference at a major event like E3, Gamescom, EVO, etc. Or, they just drop a special presentation on a livestreaming service or video service like YouTube, but instead, UbiSoft handed-off the reveal of XDefiant to a YouTube creator named Drift0r.

UbiSoft has been holding closed “tests” since August 5, 2021, and has been progressively moving the game from alpha, to beta. The most recent “test” was a beta, since it was released across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC on April 19, 2024 to April 21, 2024. UbiSoft called this event “Server Test Session.” This Hands On article is about that.

Gameplay

XDefiant is a First Person Shooter and has some things that separate themselves from the pack. We’ve had First Person Shooters that utilize a system of “specialists,” but here, in XDefiant, these “specialists” are specialized characters to a faction. People look to “hero shooters” and find similarities, but you’d be wrong. Because there are some modes that actually use these specialized characters and factions. In one mode, your job is to eliminate your opponents in order to move an object from “A” to “B,” and your team actually works together to win this battle of attrition. Mostly because each specialized character, known as “Defiants,” they each have their own special move, and special ability. For example, for the majority of my gameplay, I used the guy with the “Meg Barrier,” his name was Rhino – in this special ability, you throw a beacon, and it creates a shield of sorts. You can shoot through the shield, but the opponents can’t. Their bullets are repelled. During the Server Test Session, Rhino reigned supreme. The special moves take too long to activate, and use. And, when it’s activated, you don’t actually know it’s usable. It’s right in the middle of the screen, but you can’t tell if it’s ready or not… There’s my first complaint.

Important to note, that most of the factions and characters are derived from Ubisoft legacy titles. You will find characters from The Division, Ghost Recon, Watch Dogs, and so on. There’s a logo showing you which game the character is from. Each map is also derived from the actual games, too.

So, gameplay is different from all the games, but you will be transported to the environments that the series is derived from. Some maps are close quarters, some maps are sniper heavy, some maps are team-based. Some maps are even exclusive to team-based games. Call of Duty’s maps since 2019 behave the same way, but no, you don’t understand – the maps that are exclusive to the team-based games, they designed the maps for those modes. This way, the maps are not one-size-fits-all.

Alright, Gunplay is both tactical, and tighter than most Call of Duty games since 2019, with the exception of Black Ops Cold War. XDefiant is a arcade shooter through, and through. No, seriously. No matter how Ubisoft describes the game, it‘s an arcade shooter, which is exactly what Call of Duty fans has been asking for since 2019. That’s not to say there aren’t issues in the Server Test Session; there are some. Hit detection needs a lot of work, and fine tuning. Sometimes your gun does not register the projectile at the enemy. (I would say bullets, but we’re talking about a game that derives from many franchises, so bear with me.)

My biggest gripe with the game is close quarters combat – When you are close to an enemy, and you have your guns up, aim, and shoot at the enemy in front of you, even a few meters from you, it doesn’t register. Call of Duty is famous, well-known for this. Melee is wonky. It controls a bit odd. It’s like it’s trying to be an arcade shooter, except it’s not. If that makes sense..?

Oh, and equipment deploy a bit delayed. Especially with a grenade. In XDefiant, your equipment has a bit of a delay with regards to being activated upon deployment.

You can walk, you can run, you can crouch, but you can’t… go… prone. You can slide, you can jump. However, some players are using a technique known as “bunny hopping” …in a server test. What is this? A tournament? Sigh. Jumping around like a scared little girl? Sigh.

Controls

Controls are tight, as I said before, but it’s also a bit weird because of the delays in execution. I mentioned melee being wonky. So, when you go up to an enemy and you have him in your worldview, you use melee, but the way the melee works is a bit weird, and wonky. The character model elbows the characters in an awkward way, and so hit detection doesn’t register the right way. The controls are responsive for the most part, except in some certain circumstances. Like the grenades. You throw it, but it delays.

Graphics

Okay, it’s important to preface this with this: Originally, XDefiant was designed as a cross-gen game. It originally was supposed to go to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series consoles, and PC. Therefore, XDefiant looks good, but not entirely up to the standards of …The Division. The game is using the SnowDrop engine. It can handle the horsepower of PlayStation 5, Xbox Series consoles, and PC.

With that said, the game looks fine, just don’t expect anything of “The Division” quality. It’s amazing that a 2015 game aged very well. If UbiSoft could polish the graphics up, and bring it to the standard that we’re expecting from a SnowDrop engine.. XDefiant can be a game that compete with the likes of Call of Duty, and their own game; The Division.

I will not judge graphics at this point because this is a “Server Test Session.” And I don’t expect UbiSoft and Mark Rubin to upgrade graphics for XDefiant. The problem with UbiSoft is that they have this obsession with “bright” colors. Where are the people who developed The Division?

Music & Sounds

The music in XDefiant is upbeat, and gets you ready for the match or next match. Currently, in the Server Test Session, there is only one type of music that permeate throughout the beta. Hopefully we get some kind of variety, but for now, I can only judge this beta. Sounds are punchy, clear, and loud.

Misc Feedback

I do love the attention to detail in XDefiant. There are easter eggs in XDefiant, especially in the Training Room. The user interface is minimal, interesting, but I do agree with those that feel a bit off regarding the POV for the HUD during the gameplay. It’s a bit squished. It needs to be moved diagonal a bit further, not too far, but a bit further. Special Moves need to be highlighted a bit more. Tell us it’s ready to be used!

Replay Value

Alright, let me get this out of the way: People, especially Call of Duty fans, are looking for alternatives currently. XDefiant’s team comprises of developers from UbiSoft, and Call of Duty, believe it or not. It shows in the gameplay. The lead developer on XDefiant is Mark Rubin, he is best known for his work on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009), and Call of Duty: Ghosts.

The thing is, there isn’t many First Person Shooters on the market readily available to compete head-to-head with Call of Duty. There’s Battlefield, sure – but Battlefield has been going through it’s own downward spiral since Battlefield 1. There’s also “The Finals,” but it hasn’t been growing since the first few updates. Not enough buzz. XDefiant has the same issue, but I see enough buzz to really pull in the Call of Duty fans/casuals.

Call of Duty has consistently been selling and capturing the #1 spot every year since 2019, but the issue lies inside the game itself. Seasons are updated every 2 months, sometimes with less content, sometimes with more content. Players got angry with Activision’s decisions with Call of Duty, since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II (2022), and this will continue until Activision makes better decisions or some competitor comes in with a gauntlet to grind. Most people look at Call of Duty’s issues and go “I want something new.” XDefiant seems to have given that itch.

There is little to no “Skill Based Matchmaking” in XDefiant. SBMM (and EOMM) has left a sour taste in Call of Duty fans mouth for a while now. I’ll now refer both systems as “SBMM,” now. SBMM in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III (2023) has been getting stronger since 2019. When you sit at the lobby, you are searching for Activision’s version of SBMM, which is an A.I. running in the background. As you play the game, your SBMM A.I. is with you at all times. So, you either have the luck of the draw, or you lose.

If anything, the SBMM in XDefiant is surface-level matchmaking, there is no algorithm in the SBMM system. You are entirely left alone. Ya wanna play the game? Go. Just play the game as you normally would in a First Person Shooter. You are not against a casino. Nope.

Of course, this can change tomorrow, like it did with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III multiplayer betas. But, if UbiSoft is smart, they’d leave the game alone, and patch the game as needed. Just forget about the SBMM, and throw away the keys. Otherwise, you will get the same exact feedback Activision got.

Look for a lobby in XDefiant, wait a few minutes, and you are off to the races. I’ve made a playlist and left some footage of the matchmaking in so you can see how quick the matchmaking is. In-and-out, no searching for beyond surface stuff.. You are entirely left alone. That will increase your Replay Value.

In Conclusion

XDefiant wants you to play the game you want to. XDefiant is an arcade shooter, and is leaving you alone to do whatever you want in XDefiant. Run and gun to your heart’s content, snipe to your heart’s content. Throw Molotov Cocktails to your heart’s content. Throw a grende! Camp, jump, slide. Nothing is gonna hold you back in XDefiant.