XCOM 2

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1694 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,117 out of 1694
  2. Mixed: 275 out of 1694
  3. Negative: 302 out of 1694
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  1. garhent
    Mar 7, 2016
    9
    I've got 186 hours played and beat it on ironman commander. It was difficult to pick up on the rules for kill priority in mobs to take down (hint Advent is your real enemy, then mechs then aliens) because it was counter intuitive. The game will make you think and force you to play it safe. This is the only xcom game that I've abandoned missions because it was better to lose the missionI've got 186 hours played and beat it on ironman commander. It was difficult to pick up on the rules for kill priority in mobs to take down (hint Advent is your real enemy, then mechs then aliens) because it was counter intuitive. The game will make you think and force you to play it safe. This is the only xcom game that I've abandoned missions because it was better to lose the mission than lose your squad. Its not a perfect 10 but its close. You will get your moneys worth and it will be a challenge.… Expand
  2. ave
    May 22, 2018
    9
    Among the several changes in the design, XCOM 2 introduced time constraint, and even if I initially found it punishing, it actually forced my to play "by the rules" of the game, and develop tactics to overcome this new challenge.

    IMHO, the solution (sort of) of time constraint, is to have in your team, at any time, a long range sniper and a hidden ranger to act as a spotter. After that,    Among the several changes in the design, XCOM 2 introduced time constraint, and even if I initially found it punishing, it actually forced my to play "by the rules" of the game, and develop tactics to overcome this new challenge.

    IMHO, the solution (sort of) of time constraint, is to have in your team, at any time, a long range sniper and a hidden ranger to act as a spotter. After that, any combination of soldiers you put "in between" could deal with most of the game situations.

    My first completed campaign relied on a diverse team combining the previous two plus grenadiers, medics and hackers. My second campaign was run entirely with rangers (one hidden, and up to 2 blademasters) and sharpshooters (one sniper and up to 2 gunslingers) - and it was damn fun !

    Another aspect I really like in this game is the fact that "each person count", be it a soldier, a scientist or an engineer.

    Also, the fact that the game can be modded and the community offered many tools or gameplay variants greatly expands the experience. I here may recommend mods like Gotcha ! that completely changed the dynamics of the encounters.

    So, onwards to War of the Chosen !    … Expand
  3. Thunder5555
    Feb 22, 2016
    9
    Best way I can think of is to compare this game to it's predecessor.
    Xcom 2 seems to be improvement in every area from Xcom enemy within. Timed missions (which I normally hate) are well made and after doing few, I noticed they're quite fun to do.
    At the start, the game really feels like that you're leading a desperate rebellion against the aliens, but later on the difficulty just goes    Best way I can think of is to compare this game to it's predecessor.
    Xcom 2 seems to be improvement in every area from Xcom enemy within. Timed missions (which I normally hate) are well made and after doing few, I noticed they're quite fun to do.
    At the start, the game really feels like that you're leading a desperate rebellion against the aliens, but later on the difficulty just goes down and your soldiers become godlike compared to the aliens. Some items are currently VERY overpowered (mimic beacons for example) but that may be a bug.
    Speaking of which, enemies and especially your soldiers have a weird habit shooting through walls and objects. The line of sight isn't working as it should just yet.
    But in overall, this game is the game of this year... for now :) I would recommend getting it if you have any love for turnbased combat/strategy.    … Expand
  4. LuisHQ
    Jan 26, 2019
    9
    XCOM 2 é um excelente game tático, que consegue pegar todos os elementos que funcionaram no game anterior e melhora-los, ao mesmo tempo que adiciona uma boa dose de novidade. Um game extremamente reconhecível, mas mesmo assim prazeroso de se jogar, que frustra na medida certa, ao mesmo tempo que recompensa o jogador a cada vitória. Se curtiu Enemy Unknown, sem duvida irá gostar de XCOM 2 eXCOM 2 é um excelente game tático, que consegue pegar todos os elementos que funcionaram no game anterior e melhora-los, ao mesmo tempo que adiciona uma boa dose de novidade. Um game extremamente reconhecível, mas mesmo assim prazeroso de se jogar, que frustra na medida certa, ao mesmo tempo que recompensa o jogador a cada vitória. Se curtiu Enemy Unknown, sem duvida irá gostar de XCOM 2 e que venha XCOM 3, já estamos aguardando!

    Análise completa no Blog PortoHQ.    … Expand
  5. McFinnegan
    Feb 11, 2016
    9
    A good strategy game has a wide variety of strategy, with counterplay for each strategy. Every enemy I've encountered in XCOM 2 is powerful in their own right, but has a number of ways to counter them. My combat hacker specialist has saved my other soldiers asses on more than one occasion, but her lack of a gremlin heal prevented her from saving an on-fire squadmate.

    This game evoked    A good strategy game has a wide variety of strategy, with counterplay for each strategy. Every enemy I've encountered in XCOM 2 is powerful in their own right, but has a number of ways to counter them. My combat hacker specialist has saved my other soldiers asses on more than one occasion, but her lack of a gremlin heal prevented her from saving an on-fire squadmate.

    This game evoked all I loved from the original XCOM UFO defense, such as desperate terror when facing a new alien threat you had no way to prepare for, and the scramble to deal with this new threat. It forgoes the mechanized units entirely, which were just cannon fodder and I never grew attached to them like I did the soldiers. It ignores UFO interception, which while it wasn't an enjoyable part of the old game, I'd rather have seen it expanded upon than removed, but the resistance tone matches their decision. Despite my initial reservations about moving away from time units and deeper inventory management, in practice it removes a lot of tedium, without taking away much from the tactical end. I can remember maybe one instance where my soldier picked up a stun launcher from a dead alien, then using it to incapacitate the sectoid commander of that UFO, but I almost always had my soldiers equipped for what they needed beforehand. The simplified ammo system is an improvement, although I did love the ammoless laser rifles. Using plasma or heavy plasma, you rarely to never ran out of ammo in a mission, carrying a single spare ammo pack would be all you needed. New ammo system makes your decisions when modding your weapon more important in regards to ammo and reloads.

    Time units vs. 2 actions, the time units were superior in terms of tactical options, 2 actions superior for it being quickly apparent what you can do, thus making faster decisions (you need some experience with time units to be able to utilize them fully).
    4-6 soldiers vs. 14 (10+1HWP usually) + (12 for lightning, 24 for avenger), this is where UFO defense is superior, you can lose troops, a lot of them, and still win the mission. Losing a single soldier in XCOM 2 or EU/EW is a huge detriment to your capability, as each soldier is also so much more powerful than a single soldier in UFO defense (barring the OP psionics in UFO defense. 10 soldiers with good psionics, and you can't lose). Still, in practice, I don't have a problem with this change. It works, and focuses on different elements, giving you many more ways to keep those few soldiers alive. Though I'll still go back and play UFO defense.

    Alien pods: this goes hand in hand with the above. It works with the lower troop count, but I'd prefer the old method, as it lent more to an air of mystery. The pods leave nothing to the imagination as to where the aliens could be, UFO defense, they could be hiding in that one square of the barn you don't have vision of, until they come out and shoot you.

    Still, the new game does stand on it's own feet. The character customization really helps you invest in your soldiers, which is one of the huge draws to the game for me. The astounding heroics or miserable failures of my soldiers I still remember, and the character pool is nice to not lose the time you spend customizing the characters. The improvements on the strategic layer, where you scan, gives a whole new level of tough decision making in the game. Lot of people bemoan the timers, I have yet to fail to meet a timer, I usually have a few turns to spare (Commander difficulty), and have done so safely (mostly, aside from a few risky moves necessitated by lolligagging too much).

    The technical difficulties are significant, though not game breaking for me. People having vision through walls is the worst on alien ships (an entire undamaged wall wall between me and the alien, could still exchange fire), but it is somewhat evident elsewhere. Small visual glitches exist, and some problems still exist from Firaxis's EW/EU. Aside from the shooting through walls in the alien ship, this hasn't impacted my gameplay, but it's something to be aware of. That's the primary reason I'm rating it a 9/10.

    The reason I rate it so high? Because I can talk to other people playing the game, and they have entirely different strategies and soldier builds than I do, and they achieve results with their strategies too. There's a lot of tough calls to make, and many different ways to tackle the same problem. Timers add a bit of tension to what could otherwise be a leisurely stroll through the tech tree (UFO defense and EW/EU both suffered from this, more the latter than the former). It's a solid game mechanically speaking, one that I can sink many hours into and still find enjoyment in.    … Expand
  6. op8
    Feb 7, 2016
    9
    Putting aside the complaints I've heard about performance, of which I don't have any since I turned down AA, switch off DoF, and had to turn on V Sync; the game is a masterpiece. If you loved the previous game and are not afraid of being removed from your comfort zone of how you used to play, then you will love every second of this glorious game. The saltiness over the occasional timedPutting aside the complaints I've heard about performance, of which I don't have any since I turned down AA, switch off DoF, and had to turn on V Sync; the game is a masterpiece. If you loved the previous game and are not afraid of being removed from your comfort zone of how you used to play, then you will love every second of this glorious game. The saltiness over the occasional timed missions is hilarious. Firaxis have built another challenge for us to get our heads around, accept it and stop acting like children. If you actually continue with the game and make some serious progression you would understand. The complaints of the Advent timer and demands to remove it are equally hilarious. This is a core concept of the lore for this game, get over it. Buy this game now. 8.5/10 as it is now, but with some patches to fix some hang ups and graphical glitches this will be an easy 9/10. BUY THIS GAME NOW & IGNORE THE IDIOTS!!… Expand
  7. Schuback
    Feb 26, 2016
    9
    Xcom 2 is a turn-based tactical strategy game. Xcom EU was one of the best PC games I've played. So how does Xcom 2 compare? Let me cut to the chase.

    Pros: - An overall improvement in terms of UI, gameplay, graphics. - Better squad customisation (spent hours editing their looks) - Challenging but can be ridiculously unfair at times (especially at the start with just 4 members    Xcom 2 is a turn-based tactical strategy game. Xcom EU was one of the best PC games I've played. So how does Xcom 2 compare? Let me cut to the chase.

    Pros:
    - An overall improvement in terms of UI, gameplay, graphics.
    - Better squad customisation (spent hours editing their looks)
    - Challenging but can be ridiculously unfair at times (especially at the start with just 4 members carrying poor weapons and armours)
    - Game encourages using your brains (most games don't these days)
    - More cutscenes / close up action scenes that look awesome
    - Story is better (not great but still better)
    - Good variety of enemy types
    - Chryssalid not as annoying this time
    - You get that satisfying feel when you win an unbalanced map
    - Mod support (Xcom EU mods were crap!!)

    Cons:
    -Bad performance (gtx980)
    - Very confusing at the start managing bases or keeping pace with the Alien's progress
    - Unfair battles at times (very frustrating when your squad misses even though they are standing in front of enemy with 90% hit rate. wtf)
    - You are always poor at start, then by mid till end you become to rich with nothing to invest in
    - Ugly face options (Hopefully mods will fix this soon)
    - Squad gets injured frequently and becomes unavailable for too long.
    - I use to enjoy visiting science lab in EU. Well not anymore this time.
    - Sectoids aren't cute anymore
    - Timers in lots of mission (WHY????)
    - Forced to proceed with missions and therefore speeding up gameplay time. Game is quite short and this makes it even shorter.
    - There are very few main missions. (It's mostly research this research that, then occasionally a battle in the main campaign). Why can't they make it like Civ 5 where you can play indefinitely???
    - Missions can get repetitive (VIP, bomb defusal, download data, eliminate all hostiles, destroy artifact)

    Overall, these problems are minor compared to what Xcom 2 has to offer. A very good game. And I truly enjoy playing it.    … Expand
  8. HAMS
    Feb 8, 2016
    9
    As a sequel to XCOM EU:EW just about everything has improved. The tactical layer retains its simplicity but with some added mechanics and features. The strategic layer has been deepened and feels like a real part of the game instead of an after thought or purely story component like it did in EU:EW. The classes are different from EU:EW. I wouldn't say better or worse, just differentAs a sequel to XCOM EU:EW just about everything has improved. The tactical layer retains its simplicity but with some added mechanics and features. The strategic layer has been deepened and feels like a real part of the game instead of an after thought or purely story component like it did in EU:EW. The classes are different from EU:EW. I wouldn't say better or worse, just different and there is a lot to play around with and class combos to have fun with.

    Performance wise the game does not run well for me. But seeing that my hardware is well under minimum specs I can't really complain.    … Expand
  9. greywolf00
    Mar 4, 2016
    9
    I've seen a ton of complaints regarding the timers on missions. While I agree they can be annoying, I never found them as game breaking as others have. Not to mention, on day 1, there were multiple mods released to address it. You can completely get rid of the timers, increase the number of ticks on the timer, or pick a mod where the timer doesn't start until your squad is sighted by theI've seen a ton of complaints regarding the timers on missions. While I agree they can be annoying, I never found them as game breaking as others have. Not to mention, on day 1, there were multiple mods released to address it. You can completely get rid of the timers, increase the number of ticks on the timer, or pick a mod where the timer doesn't start until your squad is sighted by the enemy. You can also get mods to adjust the speed of the avatar project progression.

    And the ease of modding this game compared to the first is night and day. Expect a thriving mod community moving forward, including new weapons, classes and aliens.

    I was fortunate enough to not run into major bugs during my play through. I only had one crash, during the loading of the final mission, but got through it fine the next attempt.

    Overall, I think XCOM 2 is better than X:EU & X;EW, even if the loss of mechanized units and gene mods are a bit disappointing. There are more alien classes, a more randomized map system and more weapons.    … Expand
  10. Stilljester
    Feb 7, 2016
    9
    This game is a must play for anyone who enjoys strategy games. The 1994 XCOM in on my top five games of all time. XCOM: Enemy Unknown took that game, chopped off the fluff, distilled it down to its basic components, and mastered them in a brilliant tactical shooter. Now XCOM 2, takes XCOM: EU's winning formula and elevates it.

    Enemy Unknown was a remake, and it felt like a remake.    This game is a must play for anyone who enjoys strategy games. The 1994 XCOM in on my top five games of all time. XCOM: Enemy Unknown took that game, chopped off the fluff, distilled it down to its basic components, and mastered them in a brilliant tactical shooter. Now XCOM 2, takes XCOM: EU's winning formula and elevates it.

    Enemy Unknown was a remake, and it felt like a remake. Hipper, slicker, more user-friendly. It channeled the base elements and focused them into a delightfully fun game. As a remake, however, it must suffer comparison to the original. In streamlining,EU lost much of the strategy layer. No more building a laser rifle factory to fund your operation. No more sending your interceptors out to scan for enemy bases.

    XCOM 2 is not a remake; it is its own entity. It kept the amazing tactical game from EU, but it built a whole new, different, and engrossing strategy layer. The resultant game is unlike XCOM 1994, and feel like it's truly "come of age." In EU, the strategy game is pretty much just waiting for the aliens to show up. In XCOM 2, you are active. You need to fly across the globe trying to marshal several different resources. Manpower is extremely limited. Every strategy decision is nail-biter, because you need EVERYTHING and don't have enough of it. What's more, the ALIENS are active. They have priorities and agendas, all of which will seriously screw you if don't counter them.

    The tactical game retains the brilliance of EU, and adds onto it. Each of the 4 base classes can follow two paths. Each feels like a class of its own. Do you want your Ranger to be sneaky and play with shotguns? Or in your face with a Katana? It feels like they took a page from "The Long War" mod for EU by making two variants of each class. The character customization is awesome, and makes the game feel incredibly immersive.

    I've heard two main complaints:

    A) it's too hard. To these people, I say: Shut up. That's why you can select your difficulty level.

    B) It's got some technical problems. This one is more true. It feels like it could use some optimization, and might have difficulty on lower-end machines, even on minimal graphics settings. This is not a game breaker. Ironically, the place that my computer has the most trouble is on the Base screen. Tactical combat is no trouble at all. Long-ish load times, as well. I, however, have not experienced any bugs or glitches.

    Get this game. You'll thank yourself!    … Expand
  11. darrenandrew16
    Feb 14, 2016
    9
    Obviously the game is not for everyone. At times, it can be almost unfairly hard. I have rage quit on multiple occasions. However, there's something that keeps me coming back. It's fun.
    If you've ever played Firaxis' other games, you'll feel right at home here.
    I'm several hours in, and I can't get enough. It's that Firaxis drug we've all come to love.
  12. dkaizer
    Mar 15, 2016
    9
    Thoroughly enjoyed this second release in the franchise as it ironed out a lot of the issues in the first game and improved on many other gameplay aspects. Frame rates dipped now and then but it did not draw my attention away from the fantastic gameplay and customization offered to your soldiers.

    Liked the first game in 1994. Enjoyed the reboot in 2012. Loved the sequel in 2016.
  13. pablobosa
    Feb 20, 2016
    9
    Leaving the bugs beside (which are being fixed right away) this game is keeping me on my toes. Playing in hard mode and no ironman mode for the first time and having a blast! Even when ive played enemy unknown iam still getting surprised with the twists and turns of the game. Storywise i dont care the gameplay is solid as my d*ck, which in turn is like this because the game is that good.
  14. DexEngineer
    Aug 14, 2020
    9
    Love playing this game. One of my favorite games. Great graphics. Intriguing story. Very good continuation of Enemy Unknown.
  15. KingMob4313
    Mar 2, 2017
    9
    A rare sequel to a near stellar game.

    This time, the script is flipped: you are the ones ambushing the now-native forces, covering off some of the absurdity of fighting an global alien invasion with a squad level team. Now you are a mobile resistance force, fighting on the run, trying to strike a devastating blow and evict the occupying force before their secret project ~redacted~.    A rare sequel to a near stellar game.

    This time, the script is flipped: you are the ones ambushing the now-native forces, covering off some of the absurdity of fighting an global alien invasion with a squad level team. Now you are a mobile resistance force, fighting on the run, trying to strike a devastating blow and evict the occupying force before their secret project ~redacted~.

    The gameplay much improved over the original. The stealth and ambush mechanics heighten the tension in an already high stakes game and story is so much tighter than the rather generic invasion story in the first game. There are constant nice touches, from between the returning 'Central' to the new head scientist and engineer. There are even a few touches in the story as shoutouts to the fandom.

    The graphics and sound are greatly improved and run well on the PC. I have an okay system (GTX 970, I5) and it runs on full detail with no framerate drops. The difficulty is also steep, but fair. You might read many complaints on here of the mission and 'doom' timer, but the answer to that is 'GET GUD'.

    The customization of the game is deep and with added mod support, the game is one that can be played for years. Even better, the FIRAXIS team partnered with the god-like mod-team behind 'The Long War' to produce mods for the game and the disgustingly rich The Long War 2.

    Highest possible recommendation.    … Expand
  16. ehmkec
    Feb 13, 2016
    9
    I love the Xcom games. I like that I can play at my own pace and that's good considering the great fast action game out there. There needs to be 2 rating categories for all games though - Game and Technical. Too many great games get poor technical reviews and some people will never know the game is great.
  17. TheEarthDragon
    Feb 13, 2016
    9
    The early knee jerk from the user reviewers was wrong as usual. While the late "professional" entries adjust their scores down to reflect what the community claim in order to appeal to the masses.

    Every couple years we get a game that requires a "juice" from your machine to run properly and this is one of them. If you have a machine that is a little aged, then waiting a month or so    The early knee jerk from the user reviewers was wrong as usual. While the late "professional" entries adjust their scores down to reflect what the community claim in order to appeal to the masses.

    Every couple years we get a game that requires a "juice" from your machine to run properly and this is one of them. If you have a machine that is a little aged, then waiting a month or so after release is in order (which is nothing new). I'm playing the game a week after release and it has minimal problems with the only real issue being it takes 10-15 seconds for me to be able to start my turn after the aliens go.

    This really is one of the best strategy games of the modern age of gaming. Complaints like "why am I on a turn limit" are completely explained by the fact that you are a rebel force with a limited amount of time until the skies are overrun by Advent forces and NOBODY can get out of there. You are the invaders this time. Most of the planet wants you dead. Why is it you are swallowing that the avenger can move from Alaska to Indonesia in a couple hours but you don't think Advent response times should be fast at all? It's a petty argument for folks who want everything, including completing missions in a game, easy as pie for them.

    The early "professional" reviews had it right. This game is a rare A quality game in a time where most games are uninspiring and give everything to you on a silver platter. I'm glad to see the community getting more and more sensible and this game is slowly but surely seeing it's score rise.    … Expand
  18. Tryium
    Feb 7, 2016
    9
    /! People need to stop whining about new features such as the "timer" to finish missions. AND PUT A F*CK*NG 0 BECAUSE OF IT /!

    WHY ? Because it's simply a huge improvement on tactical options. Even though you can't finish a mission with only 4 or 5 turns left ahead, it made EVERY decisions you made more important as ever. Each turn as to be think, like a CHESS GAME. Yes, like a    /! People need to stop whining about new features such as the "timer" to finish missions. AND PUT A F*CK*NG 0 BECAUSE OF IT /!

    WHY ?

    Because it's simply a huge improvement on tactical options. Even though you can't finish a mission with only 4 or 5 turns left ahead, it made EVERY decisions you made more important as ever. Each turn as to be think, like a CHESS GAME.

    Yes, like a chess game, because it's basically what XCOM2 is about : Measuring each turn, anticipating each situation. This is what i love in XCOM2, even though i'm more like a **** casual player who like perfection (definitly not here for the Iron Man Mode or whatever) and i'll reaload each turn where i've made a huge mistakes to understand what went wrong.

    BUT NOT EVERY MISSIONS ARE TIMED.

    Only most of the side missions, you have plenty of time to do your **** in most of campaign missions, and that's still pleasant.

    [END OF TIMED TURN MISSIONS REVIEW]

    For the whole game, well, it feels great to be back in the XCOM saga. The scenario is wayyyy better than the first one (which was more like a succession of non related missions). The new HQ system is just great and feel more realistic. The graphics are pretty good BUT it's not optimized yet, AT ALL. So handle to your patience. Even though it should have been done since the begining. It's still very pleasant to play, the game mechanics feels the same, with more props destructions. The new skill tree is just well balanced and so did the new customization system (even though it could have been great to have more masculin faces).
    The map management is more accessible and there's no more panic system (due to scenario reasons) which is a RELIEF (and i aint seen people talking about that). And you have now good reasons to let's the days flow.

    So far i've played 10H, and would played it for days...

    I'll give a 9 to re up the score a bit, but so far it would be a 7.5/10 because of the bad optimization.    … Expand
  19. riley794
    Mar 5, 2016
    9
    Played it on release and totally love it. There are a few minor bugs that keep it from being a 10 but the game never crashed or did anything that ruined the experience.
  20. Weedus
    Mar 12, 2016
    9
    I dont realy liked X-Com 1,the Battle was too boring.But now in Part 2 the Battle is much more intresting.
    The Maps itself are made realy well and leave a lot of tactical Options,the new Soldier Skills works much betterr and overall,it feels as good as the original X-Com Enemy Unknown 2 Decades ago.
    And to the Guys who compare about the Turn Limit on some Missions...the Turns are always    I dont realy liked X-Com 1,the Battle was too boring.But now in Part 2 the Battle is much more intresting.
    The Maps itself are made realy well and leave a lot of tactical Options,the new Soldier Skills works much betterr and overall,it feels as good as the original X-Com Enemy Unknown 2 Decades ago.
    And to the Guys who compare about the Turn Limit on some Missions...the Turns are always fair..you just dont have to walk half steps and go to firecover even there isnt a single Enemy on Map,then you can make it with 2-3 Turns Left without a Problem.Only over-hesitating over-carefully Players will get a Problem with the Time Limit.    … Expand
  21. Gareque
    Feb 5, 2016
    9
    Of the negative reviews I read, they seemed to be primarily "The game is too hard..." or "It runs like crap..."

    I am not saying the game runs without a hitch (hence the 9, rather than 10) but I get a strong feeling that the people saying this is making the game unplayable are playing it on **** rigs... I turned it down to high because I got a few drops in FPS when new enemies spawned    Of the negative reviews I read, they seemed to be primarily "The game is too hard..." or "It runs like crap..."

    I am not saying the game runs without a hitch (hence the 9, rather than 10) but I get a strong feeling that the people saying this is making the game unplayable are playing it on **** rigs... I turned it down to high because I got a few drops in FPS when new enemies spawned and some in the loading screens. Being turn based, NONE of this makes it unplayable... The game runs absolutely fine for me now, only very minor drops.

    As for difficulty... It's XCOM ffs. Don't jump in to a game that's designed to be difficult and then complain it's too hard and thus mark it down... A 1-3 is for genuinely 'bad' games, not because the reviewer sucks at it...

    I've been playing for 4 hours and have not yet lost a soldier (granted I currently sit with 4-5 out for the next 2 weeks, but that's expected) so no, the sectoids are NOT that hard to beat, even with the backup...

    Anyways, rant over stupid reviews over...

    Graphics - Not great, but they don't need to be. The art style is nice and fitting with the previous game, so in short it isn't ground breaking, but looks nice.

    Gameplay - Same as XCOM, little more difficult but not much so far. (Not X-Com - By that, I mean it doesn't have the "OMG I am going to smash my PC" of the originals, when a sectoid blows your entire team up as soon as you step off the lander).

    Story - Couldn't say yet, not far enough in but I'm enjoying it so far.

    Launch - Shaky, but not game breaking.

    As a staunch fan of XCOM and its predecessors, I can not recommend this enough IF you like the style of games.    … Expand
  22. crowbarPhysicis
    Feb 9, 2016
    9
    X-COM 2 takes a fresh approach to the formula used in X-COMs Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within. It changes enough of the features in the game to make it something new, but not enough to be completely foreign. The gameplay is well designed, the turn timers are well tuned and forces you to play a faster-paced game, and the lose condition of the game is just enough to keep players scrambling toX-COM 2 takes a fresh approach to the formula used in X-COMs Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within. It changes enough of the features in the game to make it something new, but not enough to be completely foreign. The gameplay is well designed, the turn timers are well tuned and forces you to play a faster-paced game, and the lose condition of the game is just enough to keep players scrambling to hinder it. The game suffers from glitches and the occasional crash (in my 35 hour campaign, the game crashed twice and there was a single game-breaking glitch, which forced me to reload a previous save several missions back). While some of the glitches can be annoying, some of them are downright hilarious. Sure, it ruins the immersion, but this is X-COM, its story isn't really something to be immersed with; it never presented itself as such.… Expand
  23. heizendrat
    Feb 19, 2016
    9
    X - com erased all the flaws of the first episode and made ​​the experience even better , fabulous graphics, no concessions were made ​​to make the experience even more intense.

    This is in my opinion the best game of the year, Pro -S on GDC are in PLS especially Nightkin and its glorious Mongolian friends.
  24. axxiusdecius
    Feb 8, 2016
    9
    finally a game not just as good as the first, but better, because it is much more complex, with many new layers added. What I mean: now there is a good dose of stealth, but not so much as to get annoyng; there is looting and plenty of different gun upgrades; the environment is destructible (need a door? make yourself a hole in the wall!); movement on the strategic map, Risk style; eventsfinally a game not just as good as the first, but better, because it is much more complex, with many new layers added. What I mean: now there is a good dose of stealth, but not so much as to get annoyng; there is looting and plenty of different gun upgrades; the environment is destructible (need a door? make yourself a hole in the wall!); movement on the strategic map, Risk style; events that influence the game for a while;
    Also, great graphics, new soldier classes, a better/darker atmosphere, more cyberpunk, the new feeling of fighting not a war, but a resistance guerilla against a pseudo-Communist dictatorship. And no more annoying dr. Vahlen voice (damn, I hated her!!!)
    On the minus side, a little less enemy variety (but some of them more remarkable); smaller battle maps; the scientist/engineers are now recruited through a quite unclear process. And what I really dislike, you are rushed in many battles by a turn countdown which takes away some of the planning.
    Overall, a 9,5 of 10 for me!
    And thank the Firaxis people for doing a good job this time, unlike the lame Beyond Earth and the dumbed-down Civ 5.....    … Expand
  25. vunacar
    Feb 6, 2016
    9
    People scoring this 0 need a reality check. XCOM 2 is an amazing game and upgrades the gameplay in almost every regard compared to the previous installments. New enemies are great, the graphics have improved, and almost every criticized area of XCOM 1 has been either removed or reworked.

    Some performance issues are there with AA enabled and some advanced options, but these can be turned    People scoring this 0 need a reality check. XCOM 2 is an amazing game and upgrades the gameplay in almost every regard compared to the previous installments. New enemies are great, the graphics have improved, and almost every criticized area of XCOM 1 has been either removed or reworked.

    Some performance issues are there with AA enabled and some advanced options, but these can be turned off, and the game has visual glitches from time to time, which can also be bypassed by not using the action camera, which can be turned off in the gameplay settings.

    From the gameplay perspective, the game could really have used less timed missions, which often isn't even that big of a deal, but due to the nature of randomly generated levels, the game can make the time limit strangely low for the task at hand, resulting in a frustrating mission. This is the only reason for me giving the game a 9, and I am pretty confident this will be either tweaked in patches, or a mod will come out to fix it.

    Overall, a great game, and a worthy sequel, and an early candidate for the game of the year.    … Expand
  26. dunnyone
    Feb 11, 2016
    9
    Unbelievable game. Not since Dark Souls have I been so captivated by a game world. The animations, audio, graphics and game play are spot-on as everything works in beautiful cohesion. It's a rock-hard game but once you're used to it, it flows like warm butter on steak. Your team of alien hunters becomes unstoppable but after every second mission or so, a new even deadlier alien isUnbelievable game. Not since Dark Souls have I been so captivated by a game world. The animations, audio, graphics and game play are spot-on as everything works in beautiful cohesion. It's a rock-hard game but once you're used to it, it flows like warm butter on steak. Your team of alien hunters becomes unstoppable but after every second mission or so, a new even deadlier alien is introduced.

    This is utter quality but you will need a serious rig to run it. Ignore the haters, they're most likely trying to run this on a Commodore 64, or they have failed a few missions and can't cope with the extreme difficulty. It's worth every cent!    … Expand
  27. masterhoodwinke
    Feb 8, 2016
    9
    Incredible game, if you enjoyed the previous Xcom you will love this one. There are a few minor bugs, they will be resolved soon. I will be playing and enjoying this game for years. Graphics are fantastic, attention to detail is exceptional. Read the PC Gamer review.

    It saddens me to see so much negative hate for a beautiful and clearly heartfelt development effort by 2k. Its not    Incredible game, if you enjoyed the previous Xcom you will love this one. There are a few minor bugs, they will be resolved soon. I will be playing and enjoying this game for years. Graphics are fantastic, attention to detail is exceptional. Read the PC Gamer review.

    It saddens me to see so much negative hate for a beautiful and clearly heartfelt development effort by 2k. Its not perfect, but what have you done that was?

    For those reviewers giving 5 or less... a few things I'm noticing. Either you don't know how to play this game effectively, or your PC hardware isn't strong enough to handle it. Experiencing very low frame rates? Your graphics card is most likely out of date. Experiencing tough AI? Go back to the drawing board and revise your strategy bro! But please, do not throw this game under the bus. It deserves better.    … Expand
  28. Perxoda
    Feb 6, 2016
    9
    A solid third person strategy game. Gameplay wise a much more polished version of Xcom Enemy Unknown & Enemy Within. It forces me to think about every action and decision I make on every layer. it gives me the run for my money I expect from every game. The challenge is high and sometimes gameplay is punishing, but it's clear that you are expected to overcome these throwbacks and growA solid third person strategy game. Gameplay wise a much more polished version of Xcom Enemy Unknown & Enemy Within. It forces me to think about every action and decision I make on every layer. it gives me the run for my money I expect from every game. The challenge is high and sometimes gameplay is punishing, but it's clear that you are expected to overcome these throwbacks and grow because of them.
    The new changes give a new feeling of fairness in the difficulty. Graphics wise it runs smoothly, at least on my pc. Every now and then I have to wait 30 seconds on a loading screen or the camera doesn't properly focus during an action "cut scene" But that's far from game breaking.. Be warned though: This game is for people who enjoy a tactical and strategical challenge. The difficulty curb scales fairly hard and you have to be on the top of your game on every layer in this game to keep your forces on-par with the aliens. If you want a nice game to come home to and just play without thinking, I'd recommend you move along.    … Expand
  29. joecool99
    Feb 9, 2016
    9
    Surprised at the negative user reviews. XCOM 2 has performance bugs indeed, but for the gameplay alone it's AWSOME! Much better then XCOM. Research and stuff you recover from the field is useful and makes a big difference. The timed mission counter does not bother be - at least so far.
    I play on normal difficulty and so far did not loose single soldier (expect the forced intro - everyone    Surprised at the negative user reviews. XCOM 2 has performance bugs indeed, but for the gameplay alone it's AWSOME! Much better then XCOM. Research and stuff you recover from the field is useful and makes a big difference. The timed mission counter does not bother be - at least so far.
    I play on normal difficulty and so far did not loose single soldier (expect the forced intro - everyone does). It makes it OK to loose occasional soldier, compared to XCOM where i was reloading constantly if someone died.
    Apart from graphic glitches, its a MUST have.    … Expand
  30. Sanastusa
    Feb 11, 2016
    9
    "Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!!!"
    Words to live by while playing this masterpiece. Xcom 2 by far lives up    "Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!!!"
    Words to live by while playing this masterpiece. Xcom 2 by far lives up to the expectations and hype built up to its release. Challenging, punishing yet still remaining fun during every playthrough.
    The only thing stopping this from getting a perfect score is the handful of bugs/glitches I ran into while fighting to take back Earth. Non of them game breaking, just annoying.
    Story is great. Gameplay is amazing. The sounds of aliens dying never gets old and the controls are simple.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best PC Game of 2016
6
#6 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
19
#19 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 104 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 104
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 104
  3. Negative: 1 out of 104
  1. Wccftech
    Apr 22, 2016
    80
    Firaxis managed to improve upon the already great Enemy Unknown in almost every way, with the exception of multiplayer. Unfortunately, the shockingly bad performance prevents XCOM 2 from reaching the status of a true masterpiece.
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  2. High-Def Digest
    Apr 10, 2016
    90
    It is a tactical experience without peer, better even than its predecessors. It is draining and agonizing, but in a good way. The high difficulty may turn off some gamers, but it’s worth every second.
    Read full review
  3. IGN Denmark
    Apr 6, 2016
    90
    XCOM 2 is a gem. There is more story in the game, and the ending does not feel as abrupt as it did in the first game.
    Read full review
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