New XCOM game a sci-fi blast

XCOM: Chimera Squad has come out at just the right time, and at the right price.

A screenshot from XCOM: Chimera Squad. Source: Supplied.

The XCOM games are classics of turn-based tactical combat genre, and have only gotten better since the game first appeared 25 years ago.

That trend continues superbly with XCOM: Chimera Squad, developed by Firaxis and published by 2K for PC with an RRP of $29.95.

The previous XCOM games (including the 2012 reboot XCOM: Enemy Unknown and 2016’s XCOM 2) put players in charge of an agency fighting an alien invasion of Earth and featured turn-based combat, resource management, and operational level challenges as well (working out where to respond and balancing risk vs reward).

One of the challenges the previous games had was that you would invariably end up with a highly skilled and equipped “A-team”, and most of the rest of your agents were, well, basically like the red-shirted crew from old Star Trek episodes. If any of your skilled operatives were died or incapacitated, it was basically game over due to the difficulty curve, as the redshirts simply weren’t up to the task of effectively filling the gap.

This time around, rather than have an A-team and redshirts, the whole point of Chimera Squad is to focus on that team you always used anyway, and it works very well.

A screenshot from XCOM: Chimera Squad. Source: Supplied.

The game is set after the war against the aliens has been fought and won, and now everyone is living in harmony together – at least according to the PR. The reality is different.

You are in charge of essentially a Special Emergency Response Team made up of humans, aliens and hybrids, all working in City 31 to deal with terrorist groups working to undo the work in making the city a multiracial success story.

Your squad is made up of eight individual members, each with different skills and abilities – one has psionic powers, another operates drones which can heal team members, another can absorb a lot of damage and unleash devastating close-quarter attacks, and so on.

While the game is more focused and streamlined than earlier iterations, the controls and mechanics remain the same – which is just as well, especially since it’s such a successful and effective formula.

Being turn based, the different characters undertake their actions in a particular order, with typically two (sometimes three) actions per turn, such as running, reloading, or firing a gun. Firing a gun ends your turn, and if not planned properly, could leave your agent exposed and vulnerable.

One of innovative additions to the game is the breach element at the start of each encounter – your operatives take up positions by entranceways then effect a dynamic entrance, booting the door in, rappelling through windows or dropping through skylights.

This gives your team the chance to open the round by inflicting damage on surprised enemies and can have important tactical ramifications, as well as determining your starting positions on the map.

While not quite as expansive and involved as its predecessors, Chimera Squad has enough of the resource management and operational planning aspects to keep the feel of the XCOM experience while really focusing on the main course of the games, which is the tactical combat.

As a fan of the XCOM series, I really enjoyed Chimera Squad – particularly the inclusion of alien squad members and the chance to use some of the special abilities I’d been on the receiving end of in the previous two games.

A screenshot from XCOM: Chimera Squad. Source: Supplied.

The developers have also tweaked some of the behind the scenes stuff too, so there are far fewer instances of your agents missing point blank shots, or being taken out in one hit from an enemy on the far side of the map, which increases the enjoyment factor further.

There are some nice touches of humour in the game too, particularly in the friendly banter between your agents, and overall it was a fun and accessible experience which struck the perfect balance between time investment and enjoyability for me.

The only issues I had with the game are that there’s no way that I could see to dismiss squad members who simply weren’t fitting my play style anymore (you can only have eight squad members as a maximum) and some of the missions got a bit repetitive at times too.

Overall though, I really enjoyed XCOM: Chimera Squad – it’s come out at just the right time and offered a well paced sci-fi experience too.

Whether you’re a returning XCOM veteran or just looking for a playable and rewarding tactical turn-based game, XCOM: Chimera Squad comes highly recommended and is well worth its asking price.