XCOM: Chimera Squad Reviews
If this is what the team at Firaxis can do with a quick spinoff title, I can’t wait to get my hands on the inevitable Xcom 3.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a strange, stripped back version of XCOM that does away with the suspenseful and thrilling moments of missions to focus on action, for better or worse.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a polarizing spin on a familiar formula. Some fans will be delighted with the fresh ideas and quippy characters, while others will rue the lack of greater tactical depth and gravitas.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is an interesting spin-off, but it suffers from plenty of technical issues and excessive gameplay simplification.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
I recommend this game to anyone’s ever played an XCOM-like game. Veterans and newbies alike will find something they might like, despite the game needing more polish. Just watch that Anarchy meter. The late-game pressure sneaks on you rather quickly.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is an example of a spin-off done right. While it has its fair share of clunk, and shelves key aspects of the franchise, it succeeds in replacing them with interesting new tricks that one could see fitting into future installments well. There’s a lot of innovation here for the budget price, making it a refreshing jaunt for fans awaiting XCOM 3.
For such a meagre price XCOM: Chimera Squad packs somewhere in the realm of 20-hours of content into its slim frame. It almost feels unfair to compare it so frequently to XCOM 2 since it’s a small-scale spin-off. But Chimera Squad manages to find its own identity while still retaining the general feel of XCOM, even if the pre-defined characters and lack of perma-death might put veterans of the franchise off entirely. And that’s fair because making up your own squad and forming tales of their heroics and their demises has been core to XCOM since it returned from the dead in 2013. But if you can look past that there’s a lot to like in XCOM: Chimera Squad, and if you’re a lover of turn-based tactics games then this is well worth playing, though it has some incredibly tough competition in Gears Tactics at the moment.
You’ll probably extract some enjoyment out of Chimera Squad, although you’re likely to find just as many problems to complain about along the way as I have.
It’s XCOM but less intimidating and overwhelming.
Unfortunately, the experience is severely hampered by constant technical issues that leave me with the belief that it was rushed out to release
Chimera Squad feels like an experimental game in the XCOM franchise, and that is very welcome. Although not every change and addition worked in here, I still appreciate how bold they have been with this particular smaller title.
If you are a fan of the XCOM series, you will not go wrong here.
There’s a lot of content to unpack here, with a good 20-30 hours worth of missions to work your way through. And at a bargain price, it can also work as a great entry point for the franchise if you’ve always been curious. The smaller mission structure suits drop in and drop out play, it remains tactical but approachable, and best of all it still captures the best of XCOM while providing something fresh and different. XCOM Chimera Squad is the best surprise of 2020 in more ways than one.
Is XCOM: Chimera Squad as good or as deep as XCOM 2? Not by a long shot. But I do appreciate Firaxis willing to try new things in the lead up to whatever comes next.
The gameplay could have been better and the writing of the characters less simplistic, but at its core, XCOM: Chimera Squad achieves what its goal and offers a more satisfying experience to those who are intimidated by the scale and difficulty of a "normal" XCOM.
Review in Greek | Read full review
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a satisfying blend of turn-based tactics and RPG-ish characters, and the game offers a good number of hours for a spin-off too.
New ideas and changes mark XCOM: Chimera Squad as a departure from the main XCOM series, for good and for worse.
While the game may be buggy, it’s still a fantastic new take on the long running franchise for veterans and new players alike.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is by no means perfect, but a lot of what made my experience with it frustrating are the sort of things that are likely to get patched at some point in the future. Still, the vibrant worldbuilding and refreshed combat and strategy layer make for an exceedingly delightful time, and it's hard not to recommend folks at least give it a shot if they've ever been interested in strategy games.