In a first for the franchise, Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna The Golden Country was released in 2018 as paid DLC for Xenoblade Chronicles 2. Expansions and DLCs have become commonplace in the series, but Torna was the one that started it all. With that said, Torna has become quite the divisive game in the series, with many fans touting its improved gameplay and characters, while others criticize some of its more lacking gameplay mechanics. So, is Torna any good? That is the answer we seek to provide in this article.
As a side note, this review will contain spoilers for the late game of Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna The Golden Country, so proceed with caution.
Story:
Jeremy:
Torna’s story is fine, but nothing special. It does give us a very interesting look into the Aegis War and gives an extended context on many of the flashbacks we see in Xenoblade Chronicles 2, which is cool. Unfortunately, Torna falls into the trap that most prequels do: you already know what’s going to happen at the end. We know from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 that Torna falls, Mythra transforms into Pyra, and that Addam seals Pyra away. When you already know how something is going to end, it makes it difficult to actually see that story through to completion, at least for me anyway.
My big gripe with the plot, however, is the way it’s broken up by the Community Level. I’ll be discussing Community Levels later on, but one of the major problems it presents is arbitrarily stopping the plot and breaking the flow of the story for the player. This is what made me initially quit playing Torna all the way back in 2018. I would be getting invested in the plot, then suddenly I would be forced to complete a bunch of unrelated side quests. I managed to power through and beat the game later on, but the plot getting interrupted like this really killed my interest in Torna’s story.
Antonio:
Going into Torna – The Golden Country, I knew it was a prequel to Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but I wasn’t sure how invested I’d be in a story where I already knew the ending. You play as Lora, traveling with Jin and Haze to stop Malos from wreaking havoc across Alrest. What surprised me was how much this shorter experience made me care, even knowing exactly where these characters would end up.
The pacing is way tighter than the base game, which I really appreciated. There’s less padding and more focus on what matters. Watching Jin as this noble, caring Blade instead of the broken villain we know he becomes hit harder than I expected. The bond between him and Lora feels genuine and earned in a way that some relationships in the main game didn’t quite achieve. That said, knowing the destination ahead of time does take some wind out of the sails. It’s well-told, but it relies heavily on you having played XC2 first to really land those emotional beats.
Characters:
Jeremy:
The characters in Torna are hit and miss. The main playable characters in Torna are divided into three teams: Team Lora, Team Addam, and Team Hugo, and only about a third of them are actually good, with most of them coming from Team Lora. All the members of Team Lora, that being Lora, Jin, and Haze, are all extremely well-written characters. While I prefer Jin in the base game, Torna really helps to complete his character and gives us a glimpse of what Jin was like. Haze is just an all-around wholesome character, which makes seeing her transition into Fan la Norne all the more heartbreaking. Then there’s Lora, the main protagonist (alongside Jin). It’s cool to see Lora in action after learning about her and Jin’s past in the main game. She’s also much more bearable than Rex, which makes it easier to sympathize with her and her cause. Beyond Team Lora, the only other character in the party that I enjoyed was Mythra. While she can be annoying at times, seeing her relationship with Addam and seeing how she grew and changed over the course of the story was nice. The scene where she changed into Pyra was especially heartbreaking and really ties her whole story together.
The rest of the party isn’t that great. Aegaeon is as boring as he was in the base game. Minoth was surprisingly pretty bland, which is a big disservice to Cole’s character. It feels like he’s just here out of necessity more than anything else. Brigid feels much the same; she really doesn’t do much throughout the story, and overall, it feels like she was an afterthought. Then there are the two biggest offenders: Addam and Hugo. Addam was done so dirty. In Xenoblade 2, he’s this mysterious figure whom we learn bits and pieces about before he ultimately helps Rex obtain Pneuma and her sword. From the moment we meet Addam and Mythra in Torna, however, that cool and mysterious legend is destroyed. Addam’s introduction scene is so awkward and cringy, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to watch it a second time. I get that the whole point is that legends are never the way we make them out to be, but his introduction still irks me. Now, Addam does have moments where he shines, so he’s not a completely awful character. Hugo, on the other hand, is. Hugo might be one of the most useless characters in any story I’ve ever seen. He barely does anything in the plot and is pretty much just there to fill out the third driver slot and to die at the end for an emotional impact. That’s it. Maybe if Hugo had more development, his death would’ve meant something to me. As it stands, however, it just made me feel nothing.
Besides the main cast, some of the side characters are also great. Both Mikhail and Milton are great additions to the group. Milton’s death really hit me hard and, for the first time, made me really empathize with Mythra. Beyond side characters, the villain, who, of course, is Malos, was, as always, phenomenal. It’s funny to see him be so cocky and full of himself. While he was like that to a degree in Xenoblade 2, you could see that he was willing to rely on others more than in Torna, so it’s neat to see how Malos evolved from Torna to the main game.
Antonio:
The smaller cast works in Torna’s favor. Lora is more grounded than Rex. She’s mature, practical, and while she doesn’t have his infectious optimism, she feels more like a real person dealing with impossible circumstances. Jin and Haze are fantastic here, and seeing who they were before tragedy struck adds so much weight to the main game’s story in hindsight.
Meeting Addam after hearing so much about him was interesting, though honestly, he didn’t quite live up to the legendary status everyone built him up to have. Mythra’s here too, as temperamental as ever, but her arc feels rushed compared to the slow burn we got in the base game. Hugo and Brighid are solid additions, and Minoth brings some welcome humor without going overboard. The tighter cast means everyone gets their moment, but I did miss some of the wild personality dynamics from XC2’s larger roster.
Related: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Review | A Tantalizing Sequel
Gameplay:
Jeremy:
Torna’s combat is a major step up from Xenoblade 2’s. 2’s combat wasn’t the best for multiple reasons, but one of the big ones was its lack of depth. While Torna doesn’t completely fix this issue, it does improve on it. It does this by adding a brand new combat mechanic: the ability to switch between drivers and blades. Each driver and blade has different skills for when the player is controlling them and when they’re in the back. This adds a degree of planning and strategy while in combat about who should be in control and who should be assisting from behind. This was a great change in the combat, and I’m really glad that Monolith Soft decided to mix up the gameplay. The final boss was also given a unique gameplay mechanic. Instead of having a chain attack, filling up the party gauge allows Mytra to attack Malos’ artifice with Siren. At the same time, Malos can build up his own gauge to attack Siren with his artifice. This adds an extra level of challenge to the fight and makes it a much more interesting battle than Artifice Aion ever was.
Besides the combat, there were some quality of life improvements in Torna as well. For the most part, gameplay mechanics, equipment, etc, were kept the same. One big improvement that Torna introduced, however, has to do with the map. Named tombstones now appear on the map, showing the player exactly where they can find them. This was a great addition and makes finding the location of named tombstones a breeze. It’s a feature that I really wish they had added to the main game; it would’ve made finding the countless tombstones so much easier.
Unfortunately, there’s one new gameplay feature that completely ruins Torna the Golden Country: the Community Level. This might be one of the worst gameplay systems I’ve ever seen. At certain points in Torna’s story, the game will stop the player from progressing until they reach a certain Community Level. The Community Level can only be increased by completing side quests, which aren’t that great to begin with. Not only does this break the flow of the story, but it also makes the game drag on. And on. And on. Having to complete side quests as a mandatory part of the game is a grueling task, and it honestly makes it hard to call them side quests at all. If we only had to get one community level throughout the game, then it wouldn’t be so bad. By the end of the game, though, you have to reach Community Level 4, which makes it really tedious to actually get through the game. Adding the Community level is genuinely one of the worst mistakes Monolith Soft has ever made. I really hope that we never have to see it in a mandatory form ever again.
Antonio:
This is where Torna really shines. The combat system takes everything from the base game and streamlines it perfectly. Being able to switch between Drivers and Blades mid-combat is a game-changer. Fights feel so much more dynamic and engaging. And thank goodness, the tutorials actually explain things properly this time. I wasn’t stumbling around confused for hours like I was with XC2. The Vanguard/Rear Guard system adds strategy without overcomplicating things. Managing aggro and setting up combos by switching characters feels smooth and intuitive. My only complaint is that there are way fewer Blades to collect and customize, which takes away some of that addictive variety I loved in the main game.
But then there’s the Community system. Look, I get that they wanted to make side quests feel important, but forcing me to complete them to progress the main story killed the pacing for me. Some of these quests are fine, but when I’m invested in the story and suddenly have to go collect mushrooms or whatever to bump up my Community level, it’s frustrating. It felt like artificial padding in what’s supposed to be a more focused experience.
Setting:
Jeremy:
Torna’s setting underwhelms me. Most of the locations aren’t that memorable, besides Auresco. It was very fascinating to see the heart of the Kingdom of Torna, with Auresco giving us a great glimpse into the lives and culture of Torna’s people. Besides Auresco, however, no other locations in the game really stand out. This might be due in part to the fact that you only get to explore two titans, Gormott and Torna.
That’s it.
The game really doesn’t give you a great feel of exploration, which especially sucks because it means we don’t get to see much of Alrest in the past. It’s nice to see Torigoth (even if it’s destroyed), but we don’t get to see what the world was like back in Torna’s day. They could’ve at least let us explore Mor Ardain to tie in with Hugo’s story, but we don’t even get to do that. I just wish we could’ve seen more of Alrest during the war.
Antonio:
Torna takes place entirely on one Titan, which is both a blessing and a curse. The kingdom of Torna itself is gorgeous and feels more cohesive than jumping between Titans. Each area has its own personality, and the camping system where your party sits around chatting added a nice intimate touch that made the journey feel more personal.
But after the variety of XC2, going from Gormott’s lush forests to Mor Ardain’s industrial wastelands, staying on one Titan felt limiting. I missed that sense of discovery and wonder that came from arriving at a completely new world. The map is definitely better designed, though. I actually knew where I was going most of the time! But there’s just less of it to explore. For a 20-30 hour expansion, it works, but I found myself wanting more environmental variety.
Soundtrack:
Jeremy:
Overall, Torna’s soundtrack is fine. It’s nothing special and definitely the weakest in the series, but it’s not terrible. Torna has several great themes, including its main battle theme, Auresco’s theme, Over Dispair and Animus, and Moment of Eternity. Torna’s rendition of Power of Jin, Our Paths May Never Cross, is also great, though I think I still prefer the Power of Jin myself. While these tracks are good, the rest of the soundtrack really isn’t all that memorable. On top of that, there are a few decisions when it comes to the soundtrack that baffle me, namely with the final boss theme. While I like the final boss overall, my one big complaint with it is the music. Instead of giving us a new rendition of After Despair and Hope, like what the Power of Jin got, the final boss theme is just After Despair and Hope again. This, to me, comes across as lazy. It would’ve made more sense to create a new version of the track to fit in with the rest of Torna’s aesthetic, like they did with the Power of Jin, instead of giving us a song that really doesn’t fit in with the fight.
Antonio:
The soundtrack is solid, though not quite as memorable as the main game’s. While it reuses some tracks from XC2, the new compositions are good. “Battle!!” has nice energy that fits the urgent tone of the story, and “Kingdom of Torna” works well as an exploration theme, capturing both the beauty and the sadness of what’s to come. The final boss theme is probably the standout track. It’s effective, especially knowing what happens next. The soundtrack does its job, but it doesn’t have quite the same impact as XC2’s music did for me.
Conclusion:
Jeremy:
Overall, I really don’t like Torna the Golden Country. While it’s got some good characters, improved combat, and a decent soundtrack, none of that can really save it from its cons. Half of the cast is mediocre at best, none of the locations, save for Auresco, are that memorable, and the Community Level might be one of the worst gameplay features ever seen in a video game. For some, these issues may not be issues at all, and in that case, Torna might just be the game for you. For me and many others, however, this game is simply not worth the time. While I am a big fan of Xenoblade 2’s DLC overall, I think this part of the DLC is one you can easily skip.
Antonio:
Torna – The Golden Country fixes a lot of XC2’s rough edges while introducing a few of its own. The streamlined combat and better tutorials make it way more approachable, and if you’re already invested in these characters, the story hits hard. But those forced Community requirements and the limited scope hold it back from greatness.
It’s weird. Mechanically, this might be the better game, but it doesn’t quite capture that same sense of grand adventure that made XC2 special despite all its flaws. If you loved the main game, Torna is absolutely worth playing for the backstory and refined gameplay. Just be ready for some padding and a more contained experience. And definitely play XC2 first. Without that context, most of the emotional impact will be lost on you.
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