XCOM: Chimera Squad Reviews
Chimera Squad's action remains incredibly rich, but the slightly repetitive combat mars the overall thrill
While not all of the wild departures fire on all cylinders, XCOM: Chimera Squad's open-ended difficulty settings allow everyone to bend the strong combat groundwork to their will. Chimera Squad embraces the strange, and is predominately better for it.
Firaxis lets its hair down for a fun, ragtag twist on XCOM's proven recipe of tactics and tension.
There are parts of XCOM: Chimera Squad that will definitely disappoint long-time fans of the franchise. As a spin-off that departs in some significant ways from the true, mainline experience, XCOM: Chimera Squad is an excellent entry-level strategy game that’ll still provide a decent challenge to those looking to dip their toes in.
Chimera Squad experiments with smaller encounters, more unique characters, and a change in the combat order with remarkable success. Although still weighed down by the traditional issues of the series, Chimera Squad excels in what it set out to achieve and is an incredibly satisfying tactical game.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is perhaps the best value proposition I’ve seen in video games for a long time.
Overall, Chimera Squad is solid.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is a well made spin-off, with some innovation and a new setting.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A fine superhero SWAT team tactics game smothered by a little too much admin.
Some of these surprises come in the form of setting, narrative tone, and a more simplified pre-battle management system.
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.
Overall, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a solid attempt at a stand-alone, quick-play XCOM 2 campaign. The trimmed-down mechanics make it a lot easier to go through the campaign relatively quickly instead of having to dedicate yourself to it.
Chimera Squad gives XCOM something it needed a lot more of: direction. The stakes are lower, but the execution is smoother.
By maintaining most of previous XCOMs' roots, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a mostly successful entry that emphasizes brisk encounters and a guided narrative through tense battles of strategy.