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. Pipemastersven
    Feb 24, 2016
    10
    This is the sort of game that the PC community should support -- PC exclusive, workshop from day 1 and is not an Early AAAccess title like so many AAA titles being released.
    The game itself is exactly what you want from a sequel - it builds on the original from everything from visuals, customisation, features and story elements. If people didn't like the first, they probably won't enjoy    This is the sort of game that the PC community should support -- PC exclusive, workshop from day 1 and is not an Early AAAccess title like so many AAA titles being released.
    The game itself is exactly what you want from a sequel - it builds on the original from everything from visuals, customisation, features and story elements. If people didn't like the first, they probably won't enjoy this. I understand the optimisation issues people with lesser systems have had - this should be addressed, but wasn't an issue for me - so it gets a 10    … Expand
  2. ArnostMatejka
    Feb 24, 2016
    6
    XCOM 2 - DONE
    Decided to postpone a feedback by two days as when I was ending it, even playing I was full of anger and depression how the supposedly AAA title can be ruined and so dumb and how Quality assurance and Designers work is currently most probably the easiest work as no one actually is doing it...
    PROs: Graphically really nice, animations superior, story nicely planted and by    XCOM 2 - DONE
    Decided to postpone a feedback by two days as when I was ending it, even playing I was full of anger and depression how the supposedly AAA title can be ruined and so dumb and how Quality assurance and Designers work is currently most probably the easiest work as no one actually is doing it...
    PROs:
    Graphically really nice, animations superior, story nicely planted and by in game and pre-rendered scenes greatly extending the feel being IN the game - especially as they are mostly done with the same style, in same engine just in higher settings than the maximum preset I played the game in.
    CONS - a lot of them
    You ending screaming in frustration and really hate the game in many moments so will write down only biggest crap and things AAA game should not have at all.
    HIT engine - having in mind it is done in full 3D unreal great engine I have to ask why the game designers and programmers in general were doing so crappy and lazy work to program the balistic probability on base of SQUARE grid increased stupidity by unknown **** rules. EXAMPLE - and YES if your opponent staying by the tree and the tree is cover him fully from WEST and you shooting to him from EAST fully uncovered side you have a penalty of 50% as he has a high cover.
    Probability in general
    If you shoot on stationary turret and you are literally 2m next to it with 95% shoot probability you can and will miss 10 times from 10. There is no discussion you are in stop motion, that turret can be in jump somewhere or your soldier is in motion etc. as they look at each other for last 3 turns and did not move at all!!!
    The worst is with enemies in general and hacking probability is even more ridiculous than this or decisions of your squad in overwatch to shoot the most further enemy which is moving when the one next to you is going to shoot you to your head (and sometimes miss as the probability...)...
    BUGS everywhere
    Will omit the bug which is I hope solved by last update when your saves were not working as if some particular enemy was in the map the saves crash all the time - that's astonishing example how sloppy QA at 2K and Firaxis games is but
    Enemies see through solid walls and acting on it
    Enemies and you in some cases can shoot through walls
    You can on the same basis with sword decapitate enemy which is next room as solid wall doesn't matter when you swing the sword...
    Enemies subsequently you if you control them can grab you from distance and bring you to them through as for all these bugs several walls
    Enemies as on one of the pictures can use places which doesn't exist like platforms in air
    Scripts in general have so many bugs or events when they are triggered and you did not do anything logical to get them triggered. Example is AI which acts more like bunch of very poorly done scripts - like you cannot be seen by any means possible but distance on some enemy automatically trigger action and battle mode.
    And many many others ended in 5 hours horrible fight at the end when I could not use load as it crashed whole game..
    VERDICT
    Good game BUT
    Lazy copy&paste of the old Enemy Unknown just with small improvements and huge diminished of correctly set strategy rules and it's inner complexity.
    Did finish it and was looking for it so long, now... never ever will play again. I would from bottom of my heart say that it would be great amazing game, just little bit more like 3 months tops to polish it (test and finalize) and implement better of the old principles or even use the ability of engine make it better.
    I would say it is a HUGE miss opportunity as I would expect to have stealth missions implemented which could be so good fun.
    Missions for sharpshooters.
    Missions for hackers - even though one mission I done on flawless with hacker and ranger only in 3 turns none was killed.
    Missions for rangers only as they can be a real killing machines.
    Usage of later guns and equipment is in general none as the engine doesn't construct missions to use it somewhere.    … Expand
  3. Batushai
    Feb 24, 2016
    10
    I love X-Com and i'm happy to say X-Com 2 is amazing. It's not a dramatic difference, but it's still surprisingly useful things there. Timer make the game more challenging. Enemies are very deadly as always, let's just say a bit more refined this time. I love surprises like the Shapeshifters, or the new Sectopod, these things are huge! Be careful, this game can be very addictive! :)
  4. antonix
    Feb 24, 2016
    2
    As true fan of XCOM franchise I was waiting for this game to provide me with hours of fun and entertainment. Unfortunately this is not the case with the latest installment. The big disappointment begins right from the start of the game.

    Game mechanics: Enemy units can shoot through the floors, ceilings and other objects that normally would not allow for that. This makes the whole    As true fan of XCOM franchise I was waiting for this game to provide me with hours of fun and entertainment. Unfortunately this is not the case with the latest installment. The big disappointment begins right from the start of the game.

    Game mechanics:
    Enemy units can shoot through the floors, ceilings and other objects that normally would not allow for that. This makes the whole planning and strategy a very frustrating and unenjoyable. I often left with the feeling that game developers left product 50% finished just enough to make profit from sales and let the fans go to hell.

    Balance:
    What?! There is no balance what so ever. Seriously, none. Enemy units overpowered in every mission just enough to make sure that at least half of your team dies. And it doesn't matter how well you plan and play because game mechanics and timer will do their dirty work of forcing you into a simple run-and-gun path where you just engage head-on with enemy quads and then.. then you die or fail the objective no matter what you do.
    Overall story is randomized by advent events which are even more unbalanced in terms of rewards/loses. Every mission feels like a playing roulette.

    Resources:
    Supplies are always in shortage. It is impossible to keep your squad at it is required minimum to do the next mission while your wounded soldiers are heeling. As result you send your team as a unit of 2-3 or with no gear to fight effectively overpowered AI.

    Bugs:
    Oh dear, bugs were there core concept of this game. Loading times are eternal, waiting times between actions are beyond any imagination. On top of all this you get no less lethal bugs that leave you only with one option - uninstall this garbage. One thing that will remain though - is a regret about invested time and money on this game.

    My advise:
    Stay AWAY from XCOM 2. This game is not worth even a cent. A complete fiasco from Firaxis studios.    … Expand
  5. GreenBastard
    Feb 23, 2016
    9
    Once again, an excellent game seems to be getting a great deal of hate on this site. If you loved Enemy Unknown and Within, you will love the sequel. Its difficult, as it should be, and there are some bugs to be quashed. But Firaxis has given us a gem that I hope they will continue to support, and even if they don't, modders have already proven that they will keep it fresh for years toOnce again, an excellent game seems to be getting a great deal of hate on this site. If you loved Enemy Unknown and Within, you will love the sequel. Its difficult, as it should be, and there are some bugs to be quashed. But Firaxis has given us a gem that I hope they will continue to support, and even if they don't, modders have already proven that they will keep it fresh for years to come.

    R.I.P. to the 13 soldiers I lost on play through one, ye shall not grow old.    … Expand
  6. Foonch
    Feb 23, 2016
    3
    This game is almost good, and i mean Damn good. Then you get a few hours in and it all goes down hill extremely fast...
    I wanted to love this game. I'm a huge X-Com fan. This misses the mark. The flying base the "Avenger" is just a frustrating waste of time, it bogs down the game.
    Some of the new enemies completely unbalance the game. Like the enemy that has the same ability as the    This game is almost good, and i mean Damn good. Then you get a few hours in and it all goes down hill extremely fast...
    I wanted to love this game. I'm a huge X-Com fan. This misses the mark. The flying base the "Avenger" is just a frustrating waste of time, it bogs down the game.

    Some of the new enemies completely unbalance the game. Like the enemy that has the same ability as the Ranger class. Which is lazy and lame, the rangers ability should be unique to your squad. Your going up against a much larger force, they should'nt have the same abilities as you, and this ability allows them to move across vast distances and melee you, and it rarely misses, so basically you'll always have a wounded soldier almost guaranteed every mission once that enemy is introduced.

    When your not in missions the sheer amount of crap constantly going on is ridiculous. Its micro management hell. I understand your supposed to make some hard decisions, and I felt the original remake did a good job of balancing this.
    The sequel we got here though, my god... It's like getting piles and piles of little sticky notes constantly, meanwhile your trying to deal with another pile of sticky notes, and to top it off you are just constantly getting interrupted when you are just trying to get something done!

    Its buggy, choppy, and slow.

    Oh, and the amount of timed missions is completely awful! Once you get a few hours into the game the enemy troop difficulty ramps up VERY quickly. If your lucky you'll barely have magnetic guns at this point, and its not enough...

    Something is just off with this game, and leaves me just frustrated, with little willingness to play it anymore.
    I'm going to try getting a refund. This just just isn't the sequel i thought we'd get. It must have a new lead game designer or something.    … Expand
  7. Paulystan
    Feb 23, 2016
    1
    So... I am and will remain a big fan of the original XCOM games which were awesome. They were clever, in depth, made you jump at times, really amazing games for the time. They were apparently also really amazing games for now. XCOM 2 is more of the same rubbish as XCOM Enemy Unknown but with some tweaks. Some of those tweaks are just down right silly at that. These new XCOM games are justSo... I am and will remain a big fan of the original XCOM games which were awesome. They were clever, in depth, made you jump at times, really amazing games for the time. They were apparently also really amazing games for now. XCOM 2 is more of the same rubbish as XCOM Enemy Unknown but with some tweaks. Some of those tweaks are just down right silly at that. These new XCOM games are just shadows of a previously excellent series and I feel ripped off that I would get excited and hopeful about them only to be dashed.

    They have some basic things going for them in their own right but I cannot help but compare them to a much more brilliant past. Bring XCOM back the way it should be, awesome.This is a veneer thin, poorly planned and frustratingly executed pile of poop.    … Expand
  8. Shane_
    Feb 22, 2016
    9
    Quite possibly the best game of it's type since the original Xcom. As someone who eagerly awaited the release of EU, I was heavily disappointed until an expansion (Enemy Within) and more importantly a huge mod (Long War) made the game interesting and worthy of a few playthroughs. But it still just wasn't what I wanted from Xcom. I felt like I was playing a tactical RPG, rather than aQuite possibly the best game of it's type since the original Xcom. As someone who eagerly awaited the release of EU, I was heavily disappointed until an expansion (Enemy Within) and more importantly a huge mod (Long War) made the game interesting and worthy of a few playthroughs. But it still just wasn't what I wanted from Xcom. I felt like I was playing a tactical RPG, rather than a strategy game with tactical battles.

    Xcom 2 was everything I wanted in EU and more. No more crawling through every mission in overwatch as almost all missions have multiple objectives, many of which are time sensitive. The strategy layer has been greatly improved by giving you more options than where to build your facilities and what to research first.

    The tactical battles have been tweaked but are generally what we saw in EU. What's improved here is the skill trees and mission structure. Every single skill in the game is useful and there are multiple ways to build each class without feeling underpowered. And every mission has a few objectives other than "kill everything". EU felt like they had this in mind but never got around to flushing it out, but in Xcom 2 Firaxis nailed it. No more crawling through every mission in overwatch, no more running the same 6 soldiers every mission in the same configuration doing the same thing over and over again. Turn counters and different scenarios make sure you have to adapt to the mission's requirements.

    Unlike Enemy Unknown and Xenonauts (another amazing Xcom look-alike) it's a completely different campaign and scenario. Many of us might have expected a "second wave" of the invasion, or a retaliation of some sort, but Firaxis found a much more interesting and unique spin-the Aliens won, and they're almost done with their plans for us a couple of decades later. It means a completely different strategy layer than shooting down UFOs and checking out the wreckage over and over again.

    The game isn't without it's flaws, though. The optimization is no where near where it should be for a game developed exclusively for PC. And there are more bugs than I would like, as someone who's not going to play without Ironman mode on. But it runs, and if the only real flaw I can find is performance in a game that still works well enough for me, then I'm still calling it a GOTY contender (in a year with Mount and Blade 2 and Torment Tides of Numenera on the way, that's saying a lot).    … Expand
  9. 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
  10. fffffff
    Feb 21, 2016
    9
    Doing my part to counteract the people rating this game 0/10 because it's too hard. Xcom deserves better. Turn timers are an amazing addition to the game that add a welcome layer of challenge by removing the overwatch cheese that many Xcom1 players mistakenly took for "strategy". Sorry guys, you will have to use real strategy now. I hope you will update your reviews when you figure itDoing my part to counteract the people rating this game 0/10 because it's too hard. Xcom deserves better. Turn timers are an amazing addition to the game that add a welcome layer of challenge by removing the overwatch cheese that many Xcom1 players mistakenly took for "strategy". Sorry guys, you will have to use real strategy now. I hope you will update your reviews when you figure it out.

    Gave 9/10 because game suffers from many more release bugs and optimization issues than is usually considered acceptable. Still extremely playable--am about to (successfully) finish an Ironman Commander playthrough.    … Expand
  11. PaperMacheMan
    Feb 21, 2016
    3
    I want to give this game a 10 because I love the concept, am a huge fan of the series and I think the intent here is exactly what a good sequel should be like. The problem is that the execution has let this game down completely.

    The game has a wealth of game breaking bugs. Some critical bugs are only just being ironed out now, these are the CTD issues and performance issues people have    I want to give this game a 10 because I love the concept, am a huge fan of the series and I think the intent here is exactly what a good sequel should be like. The problem is that the execution has let this game down completely.

    The game has a wealth of game breaking bugs. Some critical bugs are only just being ironed out now, these are the CTD issues and performance issues people have experienced. What I'm even more frustrated about though are the bugs which break the entire mechanic of the game.

    This game is all about risk reward and the decisions you make. To highlight this it has a game mode - ironmode - which saves every turn automatically. For many fans of the series this is the only way to play Xcom. Save scumming takes out the risk and only gives reward, which makes for a boring game.

    So with that in mind, it makes bugs affecting game-play hugely punishing. Getting shot through the floor when you're in high cover; suddenly receiving a flanked penalty from being exposed when you're clearly not; getting shot through walls etc. It removes the key mechanic in the game. In some games, that's not a problem but in this one, if your squad gets wiped because the game bugged and gave the AI free shots at your squad, that's irreversible and completely game breaking.

    I'm sick of games coming out with these kinds of issues. This is not a hardware based bug but is right in the guts of the code and would have been obvious in any kind of QA process. So they've decided to ship a buggy game and the critic reviews seem to be ok with that, time and time again.

    Well I'm not. I paid $80 AUD and have restarted the campaign because of this. Eventually when and if these bugs are addressed I will have already sunk too many hours into this game for the story to matter.

    DON'T REWARD THIS KIND OF CRAP. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SPEND IT ON A FINISHED PRODUCT.    … Expand
  12. Paxton476
    Feb 21, 2016
    3
    Good points:
    Nice graphics and lots of potential for customization, particularly with mods.
    Bad points: Performance issues (lag, particularly in strategic mode ), which seem unrelated to another problem which is that the action is very poorly synchronized, with weird pauses after taking a shot and being spotted by an enemy, for example. Also several other minor bugs such as people    Good points:
    Nice graphics and lots of potential for customization, particularly with mods.

    Bad points:
    Performance issues (lag, particularly in strategic mode ), which seem unrelated to another problem which is that the action is very poorly synchronized, with weird pauses after taking a shot and being spotted by an enemy, for example. Also several other minor bugs such as people shooting through cover/away from target.
    Beyond these presumably fixable issues is an underlying repetitiveness in the game design that gets tedious fairly fast and may not necessarily be saved by modders.    … Expand
  13. rawb
    Feb 21, 2016
    0
    I hate this game. If played as a game of save and reload, there is no challenge. Every action can be redone so that RNG is in your favour and that you know where enemies are etc. Therefore I chose ironman mode. The game clearly hasn't been playtested for it though, its just a stupid gimmick for sadists. So basically, choose between pointless none consequence gameplay or something brutallyI hate this game. If played as a game of save and reload, there is no challenge. Every action can be redone so that RNG is in your favour and that you know where enemies are etc. Therefore I chose ironman mode. The game clearly hasn't been playtested for it though, its just a stupid gimmick for sadists. So basically, choose between pointless none consequence gameplay or something brutally unforgiving that quickly becomes unplayable as your troops die faster than you can upgrade them ahead of the enemy. I **** hate this game and wish I never bought it.… Expand
  14. Blahqqbirds
    Feb 20, 2016
    8
    Great game but gets repetitive. For people complaining about it being too hard; research faceless asap and get as mimic balls. This will make even legend ironman mode a joke.
  15. 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.
  16. Kriss_A
    Feb 19, 2016
    0
    Currently broken. Do not buy.

    Performance issues.
    Gameplay bugs.
    Crashes.
    Is actually really light on content, certainly not worth full price.
    Pre-order exclusive DLC currently not available.

    The game is ok, it's not very good, but it's not horrible, but every single aspect outside of the core design is lacking horribly.
  17. Spx
    Feb 19, 2016
    4
    This game has been improved from the first chapter but still lacks the re-playability and the freedom of the original xcom. I think it could be a good game for a single campaign but it will become boring very soon. Again very scripted (probability to hit sometimes aren't real). However I would buy this for 20 usd at most. Waiting for Xenonauts 2 ;)
  18. 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.
  19. PJD
    Feb 18, 2016
    6
    Overall not as pleased with this iteration as I was with the first.

    Pros: - Looks better. - More customization - More meaningful character development. Cons: - Timed missions eliminate some comp strategies. - Sharpshooter is useless until late game. - Grenades too strong. - Events occur too quickly. Not enough time passes to research basic things like psi. I think I hit the    Overall not as pleased with this iteration as I was with the first.

    Pros:
    - Looks better.
    - More customization
    - More meaningful character development.

    Cons:
    - Timed missions eliminate some comp strategies.
    - Sharpshooter is useless until late game.
    - Grenades too strong.
    - Events occur too quickly. Not enough time passes to research basic things like psi. I think I hit the last mission before even one of my soldiers was a psi op.
    - Events occur too quickly.
    - First time through I didn't really have a sense of what was going on with the map. Tutorial doesn't explain much here.
    - Game gets super easy once you load out a grenadier + specialist party. Probably because so few enemies have explosives resistance.
    - Early game may be a bit too challenging. I think this is due to the speed at which events roll in compared to the speed of research. This was a problem with the first game, too.
    - Game feels oddly on rails. I'm not sure why. Probably due to the timed missions which restricts variety and exploration of strategy in a mission.    … Expand
  20. Hovis
    Feb 18, 2016
    5
    S'alright I suppose. Problems lie in the fact that it isn't challenging. Once you figure it out, and it does not take long to figure it out, you're done. And you're done every difficulty, every new game. Power creep and an overly streamlined strategic layer have knackered it. Still kind of fun to blow stuff up though.
  21. Lasa
    Feb 18, 2016
    8
    XCOM 2 have some performance issues, glitches and so on but play like it is great.
    People complaining about forcing player to finish mission fast like in 8-12 turns.
    Those people like to stay in overwatch for 15 turns until eventually enemy runs into them, or when they run into a tough encounter they dash out off sight and wait again in overwatch, and they call it strategy well i am glad    XCOM 2 have some performance issues, glitches and so on but play like it is great.
    People complaining about forcing player to finish mission fast like in 8-12 turns.
    Those people like to stay in overwatch for 15 turns until eventually enemy runs into them, or when they run into a tough encounter they dash out off sight and wait again in overwatch, and they call it strategy well i am glad that kind of strategy is not possible.
    if you claim the game is to difficult it means you are rushing through the game and not planning your moves. I recommend to watch beaglerush videos who is like an expert in the game.

    The AI might shoot you when triggered if you out of cover, great
    No more overwatch camping, great

    the only thing it botters me is the fact the AI is still so damned stupid like sectoid is last enemy and he is flanking you and he raises a zombie instead shooting you in the head. sectoid never uses the plasma pistol unless he is flashbanged    … Expand
  22. rayado1
    Feb 17, 2016
    9
    First of all I think this game is a very good game and is a big improvement over the first Xcom with many of the new mechanics adding to the game's strategic options. Still this game is not for everyone and it can be unbalanced, especially at the beginning but the different difficulties and the large variety of modding options help balance the game a bit.

    I like the game a lot, I felt    First of all I think this game is a very good game and is a big improvement over the first Xcom with many of the new mechanics adding to the game's strategic options. Still this game is not for everyone and it can be unbalanced, especially at the beginning but the different difficulties and the large variety of modding options help balance the game a bit.

    I like the game a lot, I felt it could have used more story but it was still an amazing game. The reason I'm giving it a 9 out of 10 is because as of right now the game has a lot of glitches and bugs that can make it look strange or do things that make no sense.    … Expand
  23. Merku
    Feb 17, 2016
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. X-COM 2 pretty much this game franchise's ROME 2. And that's not a compliment. As others said XCOM 2 is challenging. But for all the wrong reasons. There's a Game over timer called the "Avatar project". The only way to stop or slow it down is to raid the Blacksite facilities.. Which are very heavily guarded. The other reason the game is challenging. Timed Missions. Gotta rescue an VIP. Or destroy something.. You have to do it in 10 turns or something or you auto lose.

    The story bland too. Never once is the premise explained in any sort of depth. "Oh Commander we rescued you from the aliens... Let's get to work." No "This is what happened while you were out.." You have an whiney clichie collaborator seeking redemption for a Scientist and an stereotypical cyberpunk Asian Engineer who is always bickering with said scientist. The Enemies.. Are borning. Enemies that should be tough are easy. Such as Sectopods. The first one I found I killed in a single turn. I remember in EU took like 3 or 5 turns with a full squad fully upgraded going all out. Aliens that should be weak are too tough. Sectoids. They're nasty buggers. And they're right from the bat there.

    The ending is dull with censored violence. Oh looks like that Advent trooper is about to get his face bashed in and... Cut to the bottom of the ocean for terror from the deep lead in.

    Last point the game is game breakingly buggy. Runs like cold **** Your soldiers will randomly fall through the map and die sometimes. The game crashes often. Actually the bugs are so numorous and gameplay hindering it makes Bethesda look great at debugging.    … Expand
  24. ribsngibs
    Feb 17, 2016
    9
    I love it. There are a few performance issues even on a great machine, mostly in loading screens and sometimes with pauses during enemy AI, but they are minor and irrelevant to the playing of the game (it's a turn based game, after all). There are also a few weird bugs (lots of graphical glitches, from soldiers facing the wrong way to fire their guns to incorrect rendering of differentI love it. There are a few performance issues even on a great machine, mostly in loading screens and sometimes with pauses during enemy AI, but they are minor and irrelevant to the playing of the game (it's a turn based game, after all). There are also a few weird bugs (lots of graphical glitches, from soldiers facing the wrong way to fire their guns to incorrect rendering of different building levels), but they are also minor and not game-breaking. The bugs are nowhere near as bad as the XCom:EU/EW bugs with teleporting pod patrols, etc..

    Bugs aside, the game is really great. The turn timer as well as the new concealment mechanic on most maps fixes all of the tedium of creeping forward with overwatch that plagued XCom:EU/EW. The new skills and classes seem to synergize really well with each other. The new enemies are fun, look great, and are very creatively designed, the no-more-overkill-on-squad-overwatch is a long overdue "fix", and in general, there are a lot of small quality of life improvements that make this game a joy to play (for example, line-of-sight indicators so you are never surprised that you can or cannot see an enemy when moving to another tile, or pathing movement controls so that you can tell your soldier not to crash through a window or run through poison/fire while moving to a destination.)

    It's a really wonderful sequel.    … Expand
  25. Tscheunt
    Feb 17, 2016
    9
    I really like this game, however there is one thing that needs to be fixed, and that is the timer for the fights, i honestly think that is was a good idea to put a timer in there to get a better feeling for the urgency and so on, however i think that it is too short, you dont have any chance to do anything different than storming in and hoping for the best, especially at the beginning, iI really like this game, however there is one thing that needs to be fixed, and that is the timer for the fights, i honestly think that is was a good idea to put a timer in there to get a better feeling for the urgency and so on, however i think that it is too short, you dont have any chance to do anything different than storming in and hoping for the best, especially at the beginning, i got the timer tweaks mod which gives you four more turns and suudenly i was able to go a little bit stealthy if i wanted or just defend for a turn or two when there were too many enemies, however thats the only thing i really have to criticize, everything else is improved in comparison to XCOM: EW or EU.
    I´d like to give it 10, but the timer killed too much of my fun and was too frustrating to completely ignore it.    … Expand
  26. lslbryan
    Feb 16, 2016
    10
    All those giving zeros for their review are either extremely biased, looking for ezmode games, or too noob/lazy to manually optimise their graphics settings. Not to mention there are a whole lot of mods to resolve most of the main complaints such as rush timers, and UI imperfections

    This game is far perfect but it is fun enought. My honest rating would be a 7 but given that there are    All those giving zeros for their review are either extremely biased, looking for ezmode games, or too noob/lazy to manually optimise their graphics settings. Not to mention there are a whole lot of mods to resolve most of the main complaints such as rush timers, and UI imperfections

    This game is far perfect but it is fun enought. My honest rating would be a 7 but given that there are too many useless zero ratings I will give it a 10 to to offset the zeros.

    Please, how can any game be zero unless it is not totally working. I respect those who give their objective views (such as 4/10 and stating the reasons why). The number of senseless, non-objective zero ratings just turns me off and not just for this game, degrading the credibility of the user rating and painting a distorted picture of the quality of any game.    … Expand
  27. Gohenko
    Feb 16, 2016
    8
    The game itself is brilliant. The tactical turn-based combat works great most of the time and the base management elements are nicely robust without feeling too overwhelming. The controversial turn timers haven't really managed to frustrate me, more often than not they just help create more tense moments on the battlefield.

    Unfortunately, the performance problems are real. Forget about    The game itself is brilliant. The tactical turn-based combat works great most of the time and the base management elements are nicely robust without feeling too overwhelming. The controversial turn timers haven't really managed to frustrate me, more often than not they just help create more tense moments on the battlefield.

    Unfortunately, the performance problems are real. Forget about getting constant 60fps with any kind of rig. I've also experienced a variety of bugs and glitches, and so far I've had at least 5 hard crashes during my 56 hours of playtime. However, none of these problems are big enough to keep me from returning to the game time and time again. It's that good.    … Expand
  28. Dethstar
    Feb 16, 2016
    4
    I want to like this. It isnt terrible but far from satisfying. They learned nothing from the last one.

    The pros. Still, it is Xcom. Sort of. It looks pretty. Has a nice idea behind it in some elements. Personally, I have never experienced any crashes The cons. This is more strategy than luck. Core mechanics appear to be broken. (ie. Line of sight is really botched, some odd    I want to like this. It isnt terrible but far from satisfying. They learned nothing from the last one.

    The pros.
    Still, it is Xcom. Sort of.
    It looks pretty.
    Has a nice idea behind it in some elements.
    Personally, I have never experienced any crashes

    The cons.
    This is more strategy than luck.

    Core mechanics appear to be broken. (ie. Line of sight is really botched, some odd things happen, at times, the engine itself appears confused.

    I have had an alien run at my squad where they were on overwatch with high percentage chances. They all miss their shots. This is not unusual and the maths does not stack up.

    I have also hit an alien expecting 3 damage (as indicated) and done 7. It doesn't fill you with confidence that the game is ok.

    The odds are very stacked against you which makes it challenging unless your playing on very easy mode. However, what make the game annoying is that the missions are insanely repetitive. Some similarity would be understandable but it is so limited it is ridiculous.

    Worst of all, the missions are in the main time limited so its more a of run through, keep repeating until you get lucky and do it again. Very little strategy involved and at times, it is simply like repeatedly rolling the dice hoping that the line of sight doesn't botch and nothing weird happens until it works out. It isn't fun.

    The Global strategic outlout is very much the same. You are not choosing where you go, the game is really telling you what you need to do and giving a very poor illusion of choice.

    Runs very badly indeed. This is not subjective, I have extremely high 3d mark scores and spend a lot of time and effort building my PC;s (not to mention cash) My Titan X's are running at 1550-1600 during gaming and the CPU 4.7ghz (hexacore) yet the game though smooth doesn't run well. It feels like console port in terms of not being happy with hardware and seemingly not using properly. I see this seems to be across a wide range of builds.    … Expand
  29. The_VoidX
    Feb 16, 2016
    10
    XCOM 2 ist für mich eine gelungene Fortsetzung zu XCOM Enenmy Unkown /Within geworden, mit toller Guerilla Atmosphäre und Story.

    Pro: - Tolle Widerstands Atmosphäre - Fordernde Gefechte - Hoher Wiederspielwert dank zufallsgenerieten Karten - Avenger dient als Fliegende Basis - Tolle Klassen (Ranger, Grenadier, Spezialist, Scharfschütze und Psi-Soldat) - Soldaten wachsen einem ans    XCOM 2 ist für mich eine gelungene Fortsetzung zu XCOM Enenmy Unkown /Within geworden, mit toller Guerilla Atmosphäre und Story.

    Pro:
    - Tolle Widerstands Atmosphäre
    - Fordernde Gefechte
    - Hoher Wiederspielwert dank zufallsgenerieten Karten
    - Avenger dient als Fliegende Basis
    - Tolle Klassen (Ranger, Grenadier, Spezialist, Scharfschütze und Psi-Soldat)
    - Soldaten wachsen einem ans Herz dank unzähliger Individualisierungsmöglichkeiten.
    - Gute Gegnervielfalt aus altbekannten und neuen Aliens
    - Viele Forschungs- und Ausrüstungsmöglichkeiten
    - Zeitlimits passen super zur Guerilla Atmosphäre
    - Super Mod Unterstützung

    Contra:
    - leichte Performance Probleme (bei mir aber nur gelegentliche Ruckler in den Zwischensequenzen)
    - gelegentliche Anzeige Bugs (z.B. Gegner zielt nach links und trifft einen Soldaten der rechts steht)
    - Zeitlimits nicht jedermanns Geschmack, da sie auf den höheren Schwierigkeitsgraden Hektik auslösen können.    … Expand
  30. wpdaisley
    Feb 16, 2016
    10
    Phenomenal game. Good soldier classes that accomplish different things and strategy to challenge the player.

    The people complaining about the turn limits and the modding them out misunderstand guerrilla warfare and are ruining the game. You are guerrilla fights so you have limited time to get in, complete your objective, and get out; otherwise you would be crushed. If you mod the    Phenomenal game. Good soldier classes that accomplish different things and strategy to challenge the player.

    The people complaining about the turn limits and the modding them out misunderstand guerrilla warfare and are ruining the game. You are guerrilla fights so you have limited time to get in, complete your objective, and get out; otherwise you would be crushed.

    If you mod the turns out then you ruin the game. Without the turn limits, the game would be so easy. Why not just inch up every turn and put your squad on overwatch so you can ambush and shred the enemy every time before they can do anything? What is the strategy in that? If you dislike the turns so much then you are turtling too much and need to confront the strategy head on.

    There are a few minor bugs and glitches but I am sure those will be resolved in the coming months with patches and updates and nothing neared making the game unplayable.    … 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.
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  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.
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