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. Pickle
    Mar 12, 2021
    5
    Ridiculously difficult, the game can't compensate with its beautiful presentation, and fantastic sound design, for what it is essentially a game with deeply flawed gameplay and balancing options in regards to its level of difficulty, It's beyond me as to why developers choose to make their games as challenging only to then add difficulty options that, really, don't provide any differenceRidiculously difficult, the game can't compensate with its beautiful presentation, and fantastic sound design, for what it is essentially a game with deeply flawed gameplay and balancing options in regards to its level of difficulty, It's beyond me as to why developers choose to make their games as challenging only to then add difficulty options that, really, don't provide any difference when it comes to the overall difficulty of theg ame.… Expand
  2. Kurt_Rivera
    Feb 8, 2016
    5
    Из плюсов, которые я успел обозначить для себя за те пару часов, на которые меня хватило в игре, могу обозначить лишь графику. Смотрится все зрелищно. Анимация, стрельба - приятно. Более чем достаточно для того, чтобы адекватно воспринимать тактическую игрушку, даже если ты не самый большой фанат тактики.
    Минусы: оптимизация игры отвратительна. Моя конфигурация такова: i7 3770k, GTX 780,    Из плюсов, которые я успел обозначить для себя за те пару часов, на которые меня хватило в игре, могу обозначить лишь графику. Смотрится все зрелищно. Анимация, стрельба - приятно. Более чем достаточно для того, чтобы адекватно воспринимать тактическую игрушку, даже если ты не самый большой фанат тактики.
    Минусы: оптимизация игры отвратительна. Моя конфигурация такова: i7 3770k, GTX 780, 8GB оперативки. Ведьмак 3 идет на ультра, с выключенными Nvidia волосами и верт. синхронизацией.
    Здесь же сплошные проседания. При чем в таких моментах, где их вообще не ожидаешь увидеть. В меню редактирования персонажа, например. Странно.
    Что по настоящему взбесило, так это рельсы. От игр этой серии прежде всего ожидаешь свободы. Случайно генерируемые задания в зависимости от решений на тактической карте, исследований ну и тд. Здесь же я на протяжении первых двух часов просто ехал в тележке по рельсам. До смешного. Ты не можешь выбрать отсек на базе, который тебя интересует сейчас. Выбрать исследование. Да вообще ничего не можешь. Не игра, а затянувшийся поинтклик. Бесконечное обучение. Бесконечные речи и заставки. Хочешь поиграть? Да пошел ты. Смотри, какие мы подготовили заставки. В них так много драматизма. Смотри. Смотри, сука, мы ведь так старались как можно дальше оттянуть тебя от геймплея.
    Сама тактика безбожно примитивна. Минимальный набор. Сдобренный глюками от души. Стрельба сквозь стены, самосожжения персонажей, которые решают пройти сквозь огонь, а не обойти рядом.
    Совершенно неадекватная камера. Ты делаешь ход, решаешь поразить противника. И тебе в упор на протяжении всего действа показывают дуло твоего автомата, вместо цели. Ты даже не знаешь, чем закончилась стрельба. Попал ты, или нет. Ты смотришь в сраное дуло автомата.
    Вообще на каждом углу как следует намазано оказуаливанием. Всего и вся. Допущение на допущении. Даже трупы не надо выносить никуда. Хотя в обучении нас этому учат. Завершил миссию и вуаля. Все, что там было - у тебя на базе. Нет никаких одиночных выстрелов, или стрельбы очередями. Никаких прицеливаний в голову, или ноги. Короче - вообще ничего, что могло бы разнообразить тактическую игру. Одни декорации. Тычут и тычут тебе ими в бороду, чтобы прикрыть банальный гейплей.
    И как вишенка на торте - в каждой второй миссии ограничение времени. Не дай взорваться генератору за 8 ходов. Не дай еще чему нибудь произойти за 6 ходов. Все это еще больше заставляет тебя ехать по рельсам, уготованным разработчиками. Потому что для успешного завершения задачи в 8 ходов есть лишь 1, максимум два сценария действий. Враги будут вот тут, а потом пойдут сюда. И ты должен подготовить засаду. Хочешь придумать что то свое? Да флаг в руки. Но у тебя 8 ходов, так что скорее всего ты пойдешь на хрен со своей инициативностью.
    Короче, как и 90% современных игр - XCOM2 не представляет ценности для будущих поколений. Подойдет лишь очень непритязательным игрокам. И упаси вас бог включать голову и хоть на йоту начинать относится к этой игре, как к тактике.    … Expand
  3. game_over
    Feb 14, 2016
    5
    Bugs, poor optimization, turn limits, and uneven(and often harsh) difficulty are some of the problems with the game.

    Graphics, character customization, and a wonderful Xcom atmosphere are some of the positives of the game. The tactical gameplay is sometimes great fun and sometimes a frustration (and not because the enemy AI is good, quite the opposite). I am a little disappointed    Bugs, poor optimization, turn limits, and uneven(and often harsh) difficulty are some of the problems with the game.

    Graphics, character customization, and a wonderful Xcom atmosphere are some of the positives of the game.

    The tactical gameplay is sometimes great fun and sometimes a frustration (and not because the enemy AI is good, quite the opposite).

    I am a little disappointed that I paid full price for this. My bad 2k. Don't worry, won't happen again.    … Expand
  4. golgor
    Mar 14, 2016
    5
    The game deserves a 10/10 for single player game (I love it)...and a 0/10 for multiplayer; unplayable imo!!! A shame for a so well polished strategy game!
  5. PaKr
    Mar 2, 2016
    5
    In general -- disappointment. I hoped till the last moment that if it's made for PC they will remake it. I was wrong:
    --- Same AI limitation like it's possible to fight with one "pack" while another is just behind the corner, but the "trigger" is not fired so they don't react.
    --- Flat equipment approach. --- Most combats have turns limitation. It's like "we don't want to remake our    In general -- disappointment. I hoped till the last moment that if it's made for PC they will remake it. I was wrong:
    --- Same AI limitation like it's possible to fight with one "pack" while another is just behind the corner, but the "trigger" is not fired so they don't react.
    --- Flat equipment approach.
    --- Most combats have turns limitation. It's like "we don't want to remake our stupid tactical AI so we will add complicity with reinforcements from the rare and turns limitation"
    -+ Global turns limitation AKA Avatar project.
    --- Same "console" adopted UI. For God sake. I play with mouse. Why I can't chose the solder with mouse click on it?    … Expand
  6. Octomort
    Feb 14, 2016
    5
    DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, YET!
    Wait a few months until it drops to half price.
    Many of the yellow reviews explain in detail very well. to sum up;- Some very good ideas amateurishly put into practice. like stealth, doesn't really work. most tactical battles are a rush on a timer-so forget subtle play. The whole game is on a timer, not a bad idea, badly put into practice. and so on, as    DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, YET!
    Wait a few months until it drops to half price.
    Many of the yellow reviews explain in detail very well.
    to sum up;-
    Some very good ideas amateurishly put into practice.
    like stealth, doesn't really work. most tactical battles are a rush on a timer-so forget subtle play.
    The whole game is on a timer, not a bad idea, badly put into practice.
    and so on, as mentioned elsewhere on this site.
    Not worth the original price tag.    … Expand
  7. Pendra
    Mar 15, 2016
    5
    I'm a die hard fan of XCOM OG and XCOM EU/EW as well.

    This installment is pretty good, but XCOM EU/EW beats it at every turn. The story is so-so. The enemies and tech are uninspiring. The maps are nice, but pointless. You go from point A to B in a straight line, preferably on the roof for a better line of fire. The animations in-game are weak. The characters are not really likable. The    I'm a die hard fan of XCOM OG and XCOM EU/EW as well.

    This installment is pretty good, but XCOM EU/EW beats it at every turn.
    The story is so-so. The enemies and tech are uninspiring. The maps are nice, but pointless. You go from point A to B in a straight line, preferably on the roof for a better line of fire. The animations in-game are weak. The characters are not really likable. The final mission is a plain carnage.

    Some good mechanics were removed but some good mechanics were added, so in general, no improvement, over XCOM EW.

    The graphics are sharper, and there is proper mod support. These are good. If you like turn based games, you will like this as well.    … Expand
  8. PowerfullPlayer
    Feb 12, 2016
    5
    Игра полностью завязана на рандоме, и это убивает тактическую составляющую игры. У меня было такое, что я теряю за один ход всех своих солдат, загружаюсь пред этим местом мой боец попадает в цель и я выигрываю бой без единой потери. Задумка хорошая но реализация на троечку. Так же очень раздражают большие перерывы между миссиями, я пришел сюда за геймплеем в итоге меня заставляют смотретьИгра полностью завязана на рандоме, и это убивает тактическую составляющую игры. У меня было такое, что я теряю за один ход всех своих солдат, загружаюсь пред этим местом мой боец попадает в цель и я выигрываю бой без единой потери. Задумка хорошая но реализация на троечку. Так же очень раздражают большие перерывы между миссиями, я пришел сюда за геймплеем в итоге меня заставляют смотреть скучные заставки. Ну и оптимизация, графически это игра 2005 года а системные требования 2016. Очень слабо. Думаю, если бы у игры были более мене нормальные конкуренты, в неё бы вообще никто играть не стал.… Expand
  9. Kennethbj
    Feb 7, 2016
    5
    There are 3 elements to this game that is important from a perspective of "judging" it.
    1) Game play loop
    2) Story 3) Technical issues Firstly game play loop. It's solid, the tactical strategies and choices you make both in the combat part and the "base building" matters. The combat game play is very solid, but will frustrate people who had degrees of RNG. The skill element to this    There are 3 elements to this game that is important from a perspective of "judging" it.
    1) Game play loop
    2) Story
    3) Technical issues

    Firstly game play loop.
    It's solid, the tactical strategies and choices you make both in the combat part and the "base building" matters. The combat game play is very solid, but will frustrate people who had degrees of RNG. The skill element to this game is much like poker. In poker you need to understand your strengths long and short terms, cards and chip stack size. In X-com 2, you need to understand the RNG and what leads to it. Sometimes you have to rush to complete a mission and maybe sacrifice a solider in order to complete the objective and progress long term. It's a good and challenging loop that rewards a thoughtful process of weighting pros and cons of you actions. It can also be extremely heartbreaking sometimes.

    Secondly the story... Oh boy... The world design is fine, but they've clearly not done a very good job at writing the actual story OR creating any sort of connection between the player and the characters. It's the most bland AAA title i've played in a very long time. I'd argue that some sports games like Fifa almost does a better job at creating a more engaging story. And this scars my soul as a big sci-fi fan and a player of the original x-com, i really thought they would have taken this into the brave new world of games, but alas, it wasn't anywhere near.

    On the technical side, It looks good... but it suffers from down right stupid design decision and poor performance in certain places. There are little animation sequences that slow down the game play something drastic, and after a while it'll start infuriating you. It's when you hack a terminal and you need to press a button to continue, there's a small delay from the time to press the key until something actually happens - it makes the game feel unresponsive. It's the same deal with reloading and attacking, and not to mention when you discover some enemies. The first time you encounter some enemies it's cool that the game slows down so you can acknowledge what it is you're dealing with, but after you've faced those enemy types just a few times, it becomes a very annoying slow down of the game play flow, which counts against the experience of the game. There are multiple examples of these slow downs of game play and it's pulling the score down for me, massively. Also, despite having a rather powerful rig with SSD and all the trimming, i suffered horrible load times and looking at the windows resource monitor while it loading, it really wasn't pushing the hardware, which is rather annoying. Also I had an issue when just starting a new map where the game would "time out" for upwards for a minute before actually starting... makes no sense.

    All in all - the game is enjoyable if you can see pass the technical issues and only focus on the game play loop, this will be the corner stone for many people, because we don't have many of these games around anymore. The step up in AI of the enemies was nice, but fundamentally i don't think this was a much better game that X-com from a few years ago. Personally it missed the mark for me, and the technically aspects and poor design decision ultimately pulled the score down for me.    … Expand
  10. MINUAGE
    Feb 7, 2016
    5
    It's **** lie. Don't believe "METASCORE"

    1. UNBELIEVABLE TERRIBLE PERFORMANCE
    2. FAILLED LEVEL DESINED (DEPENDS ON YOUR 'LUCK', NOT STRATEGY)
    3. NO IMPROVEMENT UI FROM XCOM1

    I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW XCOM2 GET OVER 90 SCORES.
    IT TASTED LIKE UNCOOKED FISH STAKE.
  11. mggzer
    Feb 7, 2016
    5
    There is a good game here, it's just drowning in performance problems and questionable design decisions. This title is very iterative in some respects but innovative in the worst possible ways. I played a great deal of EU/EW on both Classic and later Impossible difficulty(as well as Long War, but I can't base this off something Firaxis didn't create), and never did I feel as though I wasThere is a good game here, it's just drowning in performance problems and questionable design decisions. This title is very iterative in some respects but innovative in the worst possible ways. I played a great deal of EU/EW on both Classic and later Impossible difficulty(as well as Long War, but I can't base this off something Firaxis didn't create), and never did I feel as though I was being hurt by circumstances out of my control.

    Unfortunately this game is plagued by artificial difficulty due a combination of multiple factors.
    -You a railroaded into one playstyle(one very dependent on RNG, unlike the previous reboot) due to a limit of 8-12 turns on most missions
    -Procedurally generated maps add to this, as you can be placed in borderline impossible situations as a result of start positions and alien pod patrols(it's quite honestly a shame, the maps are a strength of the game in all other aspects).
    -Powerful alien encounters can be made unwinnable due to the above.

    Also if your hardware isn't top of the line, you may have problems even running this game. I myself haven't run into anything unplayable, but sporadic fps drops as well as stuttering and hitching have been encountered. This was even after playing with the settings quite a bit. I may have just been lucky, some have reported worse on better hardware than I have available. My PC is probably somewhere in the mid tier now, but it's by no means low end. Sandy Bridge i7 3820, GTX 680, 16GB DDR3 RAM, and no SSD.

    I mentioned there being a good game here despite these issues? Well there have been some improvements from the previous Firaxis XCOM.

    +Obvious graphical improvements in all areas.
    +Sound design is overall better, as in effects and such(though EU had better music in my opinion).
    +The procedural generation of the levels is fundamentally a strength(despite the way it's actually utilized).
    +Mod support is benefit to any title.
    +Customization is mostly better, though lacking in a few areas.

    Anything I didn't mention I feel is either the same as the previous game, or just overshadowed by more important things I wanted to stress here. Overall a 5/10(average game for me) is incredibly generous as I've been extremely disappointed with this release in more ways than one.    … Expand
  12. vict116
    Feb 11, 2016
    5
    This is a game I followed since E3 and pre-ordered and loaded. The gameplay is great. The dynamics are similar to the first XCOM but now with more ramped-up enemies. I love how the map works.

    But as I played into the game, the system keeps hard-crashing and along that, has a whole lot of performance issues. I run on two video cards and it doesn't seem to utilize it either, while    This is a game I followed since E3 and pre-ordered and loaded. The gameplay is great. The dynamics are similar to the first XCOM but now with more ramped-up enemies. I love how the map works.

    But as I played into the game, the system keeps hard-crashing and along that, has a whole lot of performance issues. I run on two video cards and it doesn't seem to utilize it either, while taxing one GPU and heating up the other even after workarounds made in the GFX profile. If the game did crash so much, I would of saved hours trying to get this game to work.    … Expand
  13. saber7
    Feb 15, 2016
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Why can't someone just make a 1:1 remake of the original with better graphics. Here is everything that's wrong with XCOM 2 as compared to the original (no the actual original. Not the first FIRAXIS game.)

    1. Solider limit. Seriously?
    2. Bases. Plural. Bases. BASES!
    3. Base invasion. The "base invasion" in XCOM 2 is a pathetic joke. It's just more of the same "blow up this thing" mission except now you have to defend your ramp. It doesn't even take place inside your base!
    4. Timers. There wasn't a single timer in the original's missions. This is a contrived way to create tension. The original is still way more tense than this game and they do it through atmosphere, music, and gameplay.
    5. Tactics. Most of the missions start you right on top of the enemy (literally in some cases) in XCOM 2. You can't move more than a few feet without the enemy spotting you and then running to cover (because why? Isn't it my freaking turn?) Then there's the timers that take the tactics out of most missions. Pathetic.
    6. Alien Bases. The bases in the original were huge, haunting, strange, and awesome. The bases in this game are a joke in comparison.
    7. Linearity. The linearity of this game and its story is repulsive. Then the overworld timers shove you down a path or else. Yeah that's fun.
    8. AVATAR. Seriously? When did video game designers start thinking it was fun to be nagged?
    9. Animations. The animations are cool .. the first time you see them. Then they are show stoppers and happen so often and are SO slow ... it really sucks the tension out of the air. "Am I going to miss? Aw dang it I don't care just shoot already!" Then the enemies have their response animations when they're shot. WHY!?
    10. Talking. The original didn't say a thing to me and I loved it. Why is there so much dam talking in this game and why does it pause the game so often while I listen to this drivel?
    11. TIME UNITS. This is the worst part of the remakes. Two moves? Seriously. What is the thinking behind this? "Gamers is so dumb nowadays that if they have more than two moves to contemplate their heads may asplode." Give me back my time units. My reserve for a snap shot. My auto fire. My aimed shot. MY CROUCH! BECAUSE ELITE SOLDIERS IN THE FUTURE CAN'T CROUCH!
    12. Ammo. "I cans only shoot three times before I have to reload cause this is the FUTURE"
    13. UFO crashes. Because hunting down stray aliens from a downed UFO is so 20th century.
    14. Management - No seriously. Can I manage my own inventory from my base and not have to fly TO the black market. Did they deinvent the post office? Can we send drones? Wait, don't they send the drones since we are buying stuff?
    15. Manufacturing. Wait, how does everyone have a magnetic rifle? I just bought one! Oh that's right I'ms too shtoopid to manage my manufacturing.

    The Pros

    1. Graphics - no wait. They are laggy. Pretty but laggy.
    2. Did I mention the graphics?

    Please someone just remake the original with pretty graphics and don't touch a thing on it. Don't try to make new creatures or weapons because YOU CAN'T BE TRUSTED! TRUST NO ONE.    … Expand
  14. PutCashIn
    Feb 25, 2016
    5
    I would not recommend this game, there are plenty of more unique turn based squad games that have exactly the same features - Fixed screen 'towns/hq/campsite/npc interaction' +research/roster control with a turn based squad combat game alongside.

    Many competing games are cheaper and add something new, this is a rehash with some terrible controls and very average gameplay. Weird    I would not recommend this game, there are plenty of more unique turn based squad games that have exactly the same features - Fixed screen 'towns/hq/campsite/npc interaction' +research/roster control with a turn based squad combat game alongside.

    Many competing games are cheaper and add something new, this is a rehash with some terrible controls and very average gameplay.

    Weird tactical decisions - no tactical map, yet you fly an alien HQ spaceship that routinely scans entire sections of continents, one grenade per character until research unlock of a *wow* second slot, grenades and med packs take up the same slot, 69% accuracy on basic assault troops when you are 2 meters (!) away from an enemy.

    Essentially, it seems most of the development was spent on cut scenes and very little on any idea of balanced gameplay features. It is almost as if it proved to difficult to balance anything so they development just cut most interesting ideas and lumped everything into one badly managed soldier profile.    … Expand
  15. klepo
    Jun 6, 2016
    5
    I tried. I really tried.

    I enjoyed the original XCom and played though it several times. The reboot was a good time. Again, worth several play-throughs. This thing? It's just .. hateful. Sadistic. I don't know who they made it for, but it wasn't for a fan of the prior games. I tried to find the fun, I tried to find the enjoyment. But after dozens of hours I have to conclude    I tried. I really tried.

    I enjoyed the original XCom and played though it several times.

    The reboot was a good time. Again, worth several play-throughs.

    This thing? It's just .. hateful. Sadistic. I don't know who they made it for, but it wasn't for a fan of the prior games. I tried to find the fun, I tried to find the enjoyment. But after dozens of hours I have to conclude that it just isn't there.

    They need to acknowledge that they only made this game for themselves - an ultra-hardcore subset of the prior games' fans. Whoever backed this as a business venture was badly ripped off by a self-serving development team. The XCom brand hasn't been this badly mishandled since Enforcer.    … Expand
  16. xKTN
    Jun 18, 2016
    5
    I'm new to XCOM series. Haven't played older games yet, so I decided to try this one. I like gameplay, except one thing - aim percentage. It's ridiculous when you miss, staying in front of enemy with 85% chance to successful hit. The other thing I don't like are time-wasting and completely unnecessary animations after all actions. Fortunately there are mods that allow player to skip them.I'm new to XCOM series. Haven't played older games yet, so I decided to try this one. I like gameplay, except one thing - aim percentage. It's ridiculous when you miss, staying in front of enemy with 85% chance to successful hit. The other thing I don't like are time-wasting and completely unnecessary animations after all actions. Fortunately there are mods that allow player to skip them. And bugs. Maaaany bugs. I think every player faced some kind of bugs in this game. Starting from jumping under ground, ending on game breaking red screens or mission crashes. The most of bugs are fixed but I can't rate this game higher than 5.… Expand
  17. zombie326
    Jul 20, 2016
    5
    Unreliable statistics(i.e missing on 100%) turn counters for each mission (Yes you're limited to about 8 turns every mission) and plenty of bugs ruin a beloved franchise. An X-COM game should never be a 5.
  18. trash-46645
    Nov 10, 2017
    5
    Review after some 20 or so hours of gameplay. I'm an X-COM veteran - I played the original UFO: EU, X-COM: TFTD, X-COM: Apocalypse and even the previous X-COM:EU game (which I quite liked) so I'm no noob. I would score the game much higher but what I really dislike in this latest version is the ever present timer on pretty much all missions (only a minority do not have a timer). In theReview after some 20 or so hours of gameplay. I'm an X-COM veteran - I played the original UFO: EU, X-COM: TFTD, X-COM: Apocalypse and even the previous X-COM:EU game (which I quite liked) so I'm no noob. I would score the game much higher but what I really dislike in this latest version is the ever present timer on pretty much all missions (only a minority do not have a timer). In the previous X-COM:EU there also were timers on those containers but it was always this sort of "bonus" objective that was good if you done it but you didn't have to, unlike now where the timer is the goal. The game is constantly pushing you to rush, never allowing you to take your time and work your way tactically through the mission. I really dislike this design decision. Also I dislike the concealment mechanics. Clearly this is not an infiltration game and the whole concealment mechanics is pretty much pointless - again it's there to push you into early rush into a position near the objective and hope for the best once the fight starts instead of allowing you to work your way towards it tactically. I don't like that. Otherwise the game seems solid - it contains all the elements we like in an X-COM game but for me it's ruined by the timers which prevent me to play the game the way I like and forces me to rush the objective, every time. Forget about taking the longer route around the map to avoid the patrols, or carefully position your squad before the assault, looking for the best spot, none of that - the game forces you to go front in guns blazing otherwise you will miss the timer which means mission failed. The same rush design can unfortunately be seen even in the overall war management - you are constantly bombarded by events, the game never gives you any time to breathe, take your time, prepare. Some might think this makes the game challenging but I don't agree, it makes the game annoying. I'm fine with challenge but when presented with one I'd like to be able to face it my way. Unfortunately there seems to be only one way - rush or fail. That's not a challenge, that's just limiting game design and a step back from previous version which rewarded you for successful rush (getting the containers in time) but also allowed you to play more carefully and tactically.… Expand
  19. Gaarq
    Mar 8, 2023
    5
    generally, xcom 2 is a good sequel, with lots of new stuff, and new mechanistics, but there are at least two things which i consider negative. first, the constant time pressure. i know, it is supposed to be fun to solve problems under stress and with limited resources, but sometimes it is too much. the stupid thing of "scanning" the region to get smth eats time and makes the stress evengenerally, xcom 2 is a good sequel, with lots of new stuff, and new mechanistics, but there are at least two things which i consider negative. first, the constant time pressure. i know, it is supposed to be fun to solve problems under stress and with limited resources, but sometimes it is too much. the stupid thing of "scanning" the region to get smth eats time and makes the stress even pushier. the missions are jumping one after the other, it is difficult to decide which one is more important than the other. second, the very slow healing and shortage of staff, decimating the men without time and resources to improve armament, not funny at all. yes, i successfully finished it, but it was far less fun than xcom 1 aka enemy unknown. if i want a stress i go to wurck ;) third, last and least, it is still a bit buggy, especially the ruler aliens. well, i like to often replay xcom 1, but xcom 2 i tried to play only thrice.… Expand
  20. Xodis99
    Jun 6, 2018
    5
    The game can most definitely be fun at times and the modding community is amazing not only for creating new and custom content, to fixing/adding features in the game (most of which the developers should have taken care of). However the entire game is drastically brought down by a number of things, most glaring of the issues is the optimization. The game runs rather poorly even on computersThe game can most definitely be fun at times and the modding community is amazing not only for creating new and custom content, to fixing/adding features in the game (most of which the developers should have taken care of). However the entire game is drastically brought down by a number of things, most glaring of the issues is the optimization. The game runs rather poorly even on computers that are well above the recommended requirements and the developers have said they are aware of these issues, yet not a single thing has been done to fix said issue. It is hard to enjoy the game when every action seems to cause the game to freeze and stutter. Next is the mission timers and lack of mission variety. Adding turn timers to nearly every single mission in the game does not equal fun, it equals annoyance. If there was no mod to remove them the game would be borderline unplayable with these on. On top of it all the game boils down to 3-4 mission types, disable bomb/comms uplink, bring civilian to extract, and clear area of enemies, the rest are linear story missions so all of it gets rather repetitive. Lastly, they have the nerve to still ave the base game cost $60 then have $15 DLC then a $40 DLC with content that should have been in the base game is outright insulting. Do not offer people a "season pass" version and then lock the biggest piece of content out of that behind a single DLC that costs 2/3 of the game you already purchased. $115 for a "complete" experience is absurd especially when the game itself is an optimized mess as it is and simply a scummy business practice. The game is not even a big budget "triple A" title, it is a half baked strategy game with little variety and passion put into it by 2K.… Expand
  21. Oshiri_Maeda
    Apr 13, 2023
    5
    By 2023 this game has nothing but a famous name. By this point many xcom-like games are just straight up better. Mutant Year Zero as an example.
  22. MusclyMcGee
    Apr 18, 2022
    5
    Not fun when all enemies are bullet sponges and your soldiers can't hit Sh**, and can all be killed in one turn if you are unlucky (which is what the core gameplay revolves around). Everything else is actually quite good, I enjoyed the stuff on the ship, such as customising your soldiers and upgrading your ships rooms. I also found the story/lore to be quite intriguing, which you get a lotNot fun when all enemies are bullet sponges and your soldiers can't hit Sh**, and can all be killed in one turn if you are unlucky (which is what the core gameplay revolves around). Everything else is actually quite good, I enjoyed the stuff on the ship, such as customising your soldiers and upgrading your ships rooms. I also found the story/lore to be quite intriguing, which you get a lot of. PS, this game is hard AF (or just simply unfair/rng based), even on the easy difficulty.… Expand
  23. HydrophobikFish
    Jun 9, 2023
    5
    Did not do it for me at all. Have tried multiple times to get into, but something about it does not grab me. I think the way timed missions force you to make risky decisions feels bad because soldiers getting wounded or dying can often have disproportionate consequences, but if I mod out the timer its obvious the game was designed with it in mind and it becomes too easy. Overall, just notDid not do it for me at all. Have tried multiple times to get into, but something about it does not grab me. I think the way timed missions force you to make risky decisions feels bad because soldiers getting wounded or dying can often have disproportionate consequences, but if I mod out the timer its obvious the game was designed with it in mind and it becomes too easy. Overall, just not for me. Too punishing in ways that feel unfair.… Expand
  24. TemplarGR
    Sep 18, 2016
    4
    I was very dissapointed by this game. I am a fun of the original XCOM games, and i played them to death as a kid. Especially Apocalypse, which in my personal opinion is the best of the franchise to date. I played the first game from 2K and while it was very "streamlined" (aka dumbed down), i kinda liked it. Not the best, but certainly a worthwhile experience for a playthrough or two.I was very dissapointed by this game. I am a fun of the original XCOM games, and i played them to death as a kid. Especially Apocalypse, which in my personal opinion is the best of the franchise to date. I played the first game from 2K and while it was very "streamlined" (aka dumbed down), i kinda liked it. Not the best, but certainly a worthwhile experience for a playthrough or two.

    So, i was expecting to like this one as well, and i was VERY disappointed. At launch it was a broken mess, with ton of bugs, ran like sh1t on perfectly capable hardware. It is somewhat fixed today, with far better performance and not that many game-breaking bugs. Still, i don't understand why it has those steep hardware requirements. I am playing it at max settings and it doesn't look that much better compared to the first XCOM.

    As for the game, it is more or less the same thing, with more timers on missions and other minor changes and additions of some new enemies. Again, the changes are welcome, but insignificant. I believe Enemy Within expansion was a larger improvement to Enemy Uknown, than the sequel. And that says a lot.

    It is not a bad game by any means, but it is not a good one either. I am feeling cheated by this. You are better off just playing Enemy Within again. It is cheaper, more feature complete, requires a far cheaper computer to run it, and you won't notice much of a difference anyway.

    All in all, 4.    … Expand
  25. malcolmm
    Jan 18, 2017
    4
    So many issues with this game, I'm glad I only paid $12 for it from Humble Bundle. As usual for a AAA title the "professional" reviews rate the game much higher than the general public.

    First off, the tutorial is terrible, pretty much completely useless. It hardly merits being called a tutorial, it is just a short mission with a few prompts. It misses many important parts of the mission    So many issues with this game, I'm glad I only paid $12 for it from Humble Bundle. As usual for a AAA title the "professional" reviews rate the game much higher than the general public.

    First off, the tutorial is terrible, pretty much completely useless. It hardly merits being called a tutorial, it is just a short mission with a few prompts. It misses many important parts of the mission interface. As for the rest of the game, good luck, no tutorial for what to do back at the base. I did play the previous XCOM but that was years ago, I've forgotten pretty much everything about the game. There is a manual but it is useless, it just repeats what the equally useless tutorial tells you.

    Most of the game consists of video sequences, it is obvious where most of the budget went. The missions themselves are extremely simple yet very frustrating. Still the same over emphasis on luck. Making most of the missions timed was a huge mistake, you mostly have to rush the target with little time for tactics.

    I normally don't buy AAA titles, mostly boring graphics showcases. XCOM2 is a prime example of this, all flash but no substance. Microprose did it so much better, Firaxis has managed to ruin both XCOM and Civilization.    … Expand
  26. 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
  27. choppy
    Oct 2, 2016
    4
    The cosmetics change from Xcom 1, but little else. In order to make it seem like a new game, and to please all the long-war geeks, the difficulty is cranked up in a bunch of artificial ways. Almost every mission has a timer or constant stream of scripted enemy drop-ins. And this is the overall theme of the game: you are constantly being spammed with so many events and non-meaningfulThe cosmetics change from Xcom 1, but little else. In order to make it seem like a new game, and to please all the long-war geeks, the difficulty is cranked up in a bunch of artificial ways. Almost every mission has a timer or constant stream of scripted enemy drop-ins. And this is the overall theme of the game: you are constantly being spammed with so many events and non-meaningful choices that it's almost impossible to keep up with basic tasks, and eventually you will be forced to make a detrimental choice. Strategy gaming at its finest!

    Once again, all percentages are pre-determined at the start of every mission, so an 80 or 90 percentage shot is completely meaningless - it doesn't matter what you do or where you move, from the beginning of the mission it's been determined whether you're going to hit or miss (this is true - search the forums for discussion). You can stand right next to an enemy, going full auto, and still miss every time. So ridiculous. You the mouseclicker aren't even necessary for the game, because everything's already determined. It could just run the percentages itself and determine the same outcome. Your actions have literally no effect on whether you hit or miss - just like real life and real combat, right?

    Given that every mission relies on pre-scripted events and pre-determined enemy placements, the only "strategy" or "tactics" are remembering where the enemies are going to spawn and pre-placing your troops to ambush them. So, the only thing that matters is positioning, based on either luck in the fog of war or your knowledge of previous failures.

    This game might as well be calling "Pathing Manager 2016", since pathing is the only meaningful thing you control and the singular thing that makes the difference between success and failure in the mission. If most of your paths succeed on the first try, you got lucky. If most of your paths fail, suck it up and lose, or try new paths on a reload. And that's it. That's all you do in the entire game. This is obscured by other crap like "Dark Events", which are basically 'pick which 1 out of 3 bad things you want to try to stop' through another 'pick-a-path' mission. Again, totally meaningless for the overall outcome, but it's very deep "strategy", right? Not so much.    … Expand
  28. Avadon
    Feb 7, 2016
    4
    XCOM 2 is challenging, but for the wrong reasons. Most of it comes from the randomness that exists as its core mechanic, from the level design (procedural), to hit chances, to turn limit sizes, to world map events. Whether you'll like it or not depends on what you want out of it.

    Personally, I'd prefer a more tightly designed game that is harder than this (more enemies in maps +bigger    XCOM 2 is challenging, but for the wrong reasons. Most of it comes from the randomness that exists as its core mechanic, from the level design (procedural), to hit chances, to turn limit sizes, to world map events. Whether you'll like it or not depends on what you want out of it.

    Personally, I'd prefer a more tightly designed game that is harder than this (more enemies in maps +bigger maps +more "puzzle-y" encounters), but without the timers and stress and RNG everywhere. I'd rather have developer-designed maps and missions with tough encounters where you need to utilize the terrain and your equipment in the right way, rather than proceduraly generated missions with a turn limit that is barely enough for you to sprint to the objective and destroy it, and then pray as the 4 pods that you aggroed along the way rain down on you from the ceilings and wipe out your entire squad while your overwatches miss. Only to go back to the world map and see the Avatar gaining its 3rd ping in the same week due to RNG dark events.

    XCOM 2 is overwhelming in a way that makes you feel helpless. Because you are. Better read some Reddit threads and restart the whole thing, doing only the absolutely most optimal things. Why do the rest of the options exist again?

    You can mod out all the crazy 8 turn limits and massive random spikes in Avatar progress though. Great. What you are left with then is an extremely easy game. Guess why. Because that's what it is. An extremely easy game, made hard only through RNG rigged to screw you as a core design philosophy. The encounters themselves are easy and the maps are poorly designed, like everything procedural. There's no actual depth. There are no "damn, I'm a genious" moments as you lure an overwhelming force back to a well fortified position with half of your squad lying in the perfect ambush. The game gives you no time to think. No time to strategize. No time to have fun.    … Expand
  29. Bob68
    Feb 7, 2016
    4
    No Pad Support it's a Joke....My pad Xbox 360 don't work...lol
    And just a bugged game with Constant fps drops, hangs, graphical glitch
    unskippable cut scenes andd more...
  30. ZetarXenil
    Feb 5, 2016
    4
    What seemed to be great game, turned out to be another good concept buried under the pile of frustrating bugs, poorly executed mechanics and other annoyances. Game runs really bad, you can frequently get stuck on some of the menus and the amount of bugs is just enormous. They didn't even fix bugs that existed 4 years ago, back in Enemy Unknown. We live in sad times, once again promisingWhat seemed to be great game, turned out to be another good concept buried under the pile of frustrating bugs, poorly executed mechanics and other annoyances. Game runs really bad, you can frequently get stuck on some of the menus and the amount of bugs is just enormous. They didn't even fix bugs that existed 4 years ago, back in Enemy Unknown. We live in sad times, once again promising game gets ruined by the laziness of the devs.… 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

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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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