XCOM: Chimera Squad Reviews
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
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.
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.
If you are a fan of the XCOM series, you will not go wrong here.
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.
Unfortunately, the experience is severely hampered by constant technical issues that leave me with the belief that it was rushed out to release
It’s XCOM but less intimidating and overwhelming.
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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 retains much of what makes XCOM such a special tactics series, in the process adding in some genuine improvements to its already excellent formula. But these improvements are undermined by some strange art choices, as well as a general reluctance to maximize some of its bolder changes. All in all, an interesting experiment, but one that still has a ways to go before reaching its full potential.