Should You Beat Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Before Future Redeemed?

The Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed expansion is here, and someone might wonder if they should or need to beat the main campaign before playing the DLC. It’s a good question! Especially since characters from past Xenoblade Chronicles games, like Shulk and Rex, both appear. Not to mention it references a lot of things people don’t see in the third entry until they’re well into its story or perhaps even beat it. Nintendo doesn’t bar you from starting it if you haven’t completed the main Xenoblade Chronicles 3 campaign, so you can select that story right away.

So should you beat Xenoblade Chronicles 3 before starting Future Redeemed?

If you want to, you can. It isn’t necessary. However, due to the appearances of certain characters and storyline elements, I’d say at least getting to chapter six in the main campaign first. There are a lot of details about the City and the world’s past that are touched on here. That extra context could hel you out a lot.

Screenshot via Siliconera

Do I need to beat Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2 before Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed?

The additional context helps a lot. All three games are connected, and knowing who Shulk and Rex are and why they matter is a big deal. Especially since both characters play parts in this new storyline. Those are both massive games, however. If you beat them a while back or played some of them, it will help a lot to offer context. But if you really care more about Xenoblade Chronicles 3, want to just jump into it, and are okay with spoilers, it might be wise to read up on what happened in both games first.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the Future Redeemed DLC, and patch 2.0.0 are available for the Nintendo Switch.