Ubisoft's iterated on the Tom Clancy's universe numerous times, before and after the publisher acquired the rights to the franchise back in 2008. Building up a universe far beyond that of the titular author's legacy, tons of iconic gaming franchises like Splinter CellRainbow Six, and The Division were born under the Tom Clancy name. In particular, team-based shooters in different subgenres are plentiful under Ubisoft, and now the publisher is adding another free-to-play iteration to its roster of games. Entitled Tom Clancy's XDefiant, this upcoming live service multiplayer shooter is taking a very different aesthetic approach, at least to some extent.

Even putting aside any comparisons of the game's aesthetic, style, or atmosphere to similar concepts, XDefiant doesn't seem to truly emphasize its own tone in practice. Meant to be a sort-of rejection of the usual hard-boiled Tom Clancy's series like Rainbow Six or Ghost Recon, Ubisoft's free-to-play XDefiant shooter frankly doesn't appear to be anything resembling a "punk-rock moshpit." Granted, Tom Clancy's XDefiant is being designed under an adaptable live service model of which the developers are emphasizing transparency, so the game could change drastically over time. However, upon first impression, XDefiant needs to sell players on its tone first.

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Tom Clancy's XDefiant: A "Punk Rock" Tactical Remix, Kind Of

tom clancy's xdefiant factions characters

Mixing together fast-paced, Call of Duty-esque gameplay with an ability/equipment-driven meta akin to Rainbow Six SiegeXDefiant is not the usual Tom Clancy's game that most expect. Acting as a sort-of punk-tactical remixing of the Tom Clancy's universe, XDefiant is meant to be a flashy multiplayer shooter full of classes and factions, with unique aesthetics and playstyles. In concept, this is by no means an inherently bad or strange direction for a Tom Clancy's style game. If anything, it's a marriage of the uniquely strange style employed by Far Cry games, alongside the tight and satisfying gunplay found in Rainbow Six shooters. At least, that's what it would be ideally.

From what's been shown of the game thus far, XDefiant strangely doesn't capitalize all that much on the "punk" aesthetic it's seemingly going for. From an overarching standpoint, the aesthetic design and attitude that the game emphasizes isn't particularly distinctive in practice. None of the characters' designs stand out in a way that shows a unique playstyle or ability, as every character is apparently customizable utilizing a variety of options for appearance and loadout.

XDefiant has four "factions" based on the biggest Tom Clancy's franchises, but any semblance of identity is reduced to archetypes like "Tank," "Assault," "Support," and "Healer." Some of the visual designs are neat, but they're not tied to fixed personalities in the way that Rainbow Six Siege employs, or other multiplayer shooters like Apex Legends or Valorant. A high degree of character customization could ultimately compromise the game's character and/or potential in a rebellious aesthetic or style.

Familiar but Indistinct Gunplay Hurts XDefiant's First Impression

tom clancy's xdefiant firefight shield tank

Gameplay for Tom Clancy's XDefiant also suffers in a similar fashion, though not because it seems mechanically underwhelming. Rather, the gameplay seemingly lacks any distinctive characteristics that are different from other multiplayer shooter franchises. Gameplay looks an awful lot like an uninspiring mix between Call of Duty-style gameplay with vaguely Apex-like abilities dedicated to each faction. Tank has standard cover shields that they can shoot from, Support has the classic night vision/sonar googles from Splinter Cell, Healers have AoE healing circles, and so on. XDefiant being reminiscent of Call of Duty makes Ubisoft's take seem comparatively generic.

The prime example of comparison here is a game like Valorant. Riot's team shooter drew plenty of comparisons to CS:GO on launch, but Valorant distinctly differs from the Valve shooter with its unique agents and abilities. Each new agent in Valorant has brought something new to the table in a way that hasn't completely changed the gameplay dynamic, but brought the game's meta in a unique new direction. That's why, in comparison, XDefiant seems derivative at first glance. There were very few truly unique abilities or scenarios in the game's reveal that haven't been seen in another multiplayer shooter previously, which could prove problematic for XDefiant's future.

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Lack of Distinct Identity in Tom Clancy's XDefiant Reveal

tom clancy xdefiant factions

Of course, the big silver lining to XDefiant's reveal is that executive producer Mark Rubin, and creative director Jason Schroeder, both emphasized the desire for player feedback. From the get-go, it seems that XDefiant's post-launch support and development will be at least partially contingent on what fans think of it, which is an encouraging notion. Depending on how receptive fans are to the multiplayer shooter, things could improve (or drastically change) compared to XDefiant's launch. Promoting both the game's forums and Discord server on the Ubisoft website, it's clear this game is meant to be shaped by fans, and what they want from a Ubisoft multiplayer shooter.

That being said, Tom Clancy's XDefiant needs to encourage fans to join that inner circle for the game in the first place. First impressions based on the game's first trailer are tough to go by definitively, of course. However, the like-dislike ratio and YouTube comments on the trailer are still indicative of what fans' reception of the game is thus far, and they're not all positive. That level of encouraging fan participation and desire for feedback on XDefiant is admirable on the development team's part, but the adaptability of the game may actually be doing XDefiant a disservice. There's just not enough shown of the game to emphasize it's identity in an enticing fashion.

Tom Clancy's XDefiant begins its first closed beta test on August 5, 2021, on PC. The full game releases on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

MORE: XDefiant is a Different Take on the Tom Clancy's Universe