XCOM: Chimera Squad

 PC
User Score
4.8

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 326 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 96 out of 326
  2. Mixed: 75 out of 326
  3. Negative: 155 out of 326

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  1. ELECTROVAMP
    Apr 27, 2020
    2
    Firaxis developers have sold themselves to politicians, they disgrace the great franchise.
    Firaxis and 2k games are ashamed.
    -1 loyal customer
  2. Cleomer
    Apr 25, 2020
    5
    It's a reasonably fun Xcom game, but the off-game political propaganda is a little too strong to ignore. Yet another game company that is more worried about lecturing us than entertaining us.
  3. SRKNZ
    Apr 27, 2020
    3
    Seems almost everything these days has been whacked with the woke stick. Guess I should not be surprised that games are getting a "make over" too.

    This is diversity loving, inclusive huggie XCom where people have made peace with the mean old aliens and now have coffee and do lunch with them. Its all sooo nice the world has turned pink and a nice lady called "mother" runs the show. If    Seems almost everything these days has been whacked with the woke stick. Guess I should not be surprised that games are getting a "make over" too.

    This is diversity loving, inclusive huggie XCom where people have made peace with the mean old aliens and now have coffee and do lunch with them. Its all sooo nice the world has turned pink and a nice lady called "mother" runs the show.

    If that sounds horrible to you, you are not alone. What I liked about XCom was its cold edge, the sense that this was as much as horror as a sci fi game where you faced off against a menacing unrelenting other. This for me is like taking the creature from Aliens and dressing it in a pink floppy hat whilst sharing a margarita with it.

    Yuck. 3/10.    … Expand
  4. condythug
    Apr 26, 2020
    4
    this release is a big step backwards for the xcom series, after the good last 2 xcom games from firaxis. i am not sure what the game designer was thinking when they created this. the comic strip style presentation of the game is completely odd for an xcom game. xcom is great b'c it has the dark tension and fear of being killed by aliens at any minute. this Chimera Squad has none of thethis release is a big step backwards for the xcom series, after the good last 2 xcom games from firaxis. i am not sure what the game designer was thinking when they created this. the comic strip style presentation of the game is completely odd for an xcom game. xcom is great b'c it has the dark tension and fear of being killed by aliens at any minute. this Chimera Squad has none of the great elements that made xcom good. it tries too hard to be colorful and fun when it is not relevant. in addition, the laughable dialogues make it more of a CCC game than a AAA release. clearly this release belongs to the junk pile and is yet another example of the cash grab methods by a declining Firaxis/2K. gaming companies nowadays seem to have taken the Disney route of taking old classical game titles and juicing them dry by creating rubbish to hoodwink gamers. sure they might succeed this once but people are not stupid and Firaxis is just damaging themselves in the long run with the bad reputation that they getting. is there any wonder why pirating games is still so widely done? B's who the **** is going to pay for such rubbish!?!… Expand
  5. videmon
    Apr 29, 2020
    3
    First I want to say that this game isn't bad, it's a decent game, with working and tested methanics in known universe and is quite lengthy. Now to bad stuff... The game is overly repetitive. It's so bad that after just 4 hours I didn't want to start the game anymore. There are balancing issues, where some of your units are becoming super soldiers. The fact that the maps are now extremelyFirst I want to say that this game isn't bad, it's a decent game, with working and tested methanics in known universe and is quite lengthy. Now to bad stuff... The game is overly repetitive. It's so bad that after just 4 hours I didn't want to start the game anymore. There are balancing issues, where some of your units are becoming super soldiers. The fact that the maps are now extremely smalls, the came lost its tactical aspect and the fights are taking 5-10 minutes. Even with those small maps, the games occasionally having issues in top hardware. Each fight starts the same with the new mechanic, which is interesting few dozen times, however gets annoying afterwards. Attempt and failure of making character driven story (or story in general) For the price they are asking, the game is solid 6 out of 10 (if not the very bad part) Very bad stuff: (also minor spoiler) The game is full of LGBT messages, which has no business in video games and especially in xcom universe. Males are in squad quite weaker, just because. The main "bad guy" is of course white male, with no story nor reasons nor plan. Aliens which were originally genderless, now have **** for some reason?! I am honestly afraid for xcom series and civ, if this is the direction they want to go. Now about the game play: everything shows that this game was originally designed for mobile platform, from small maps and very short encounters. However (I assume it haze something to do with release of gears tactics or the fact that they didn't managed to optimized it for mobile) it was quickly reworked for pc. Which explains also low price and poor optimization. I personally am against rushed projects, since they are usually anti customer.… Expand
  6. Mazisky
    Apr 25, 2020
    2
    A truly disappointment, nothing like previous Xcom games.

    -Really small and repetitive
    -No characters creation
    -Characters can't die
    -No base building
    -All maps of the game are small rooms in sequence.
    -Writing and characters are the worst seen in last 10 years.

    Buy Xcom 2 or Xcom EW, this is basically the mobile version.
  7. bohdanpodlaski
    Apr 26, 2020
    3
    Maybe it's only me but, all the X-Com, UFO games were for me about being a part of my own story. Customizing my character and all the team as my closest friends so I would care about each of them and want to keep them alive.
    When an alien or one of the main characters from Chimera fells down ... I just can't care less.
    That's just subjective opinion but lack of customization killed it    Maybe it's only me but, all the X-Com, UFO games were for me about being a part of my own story. Customizing my character and all the team as my closest friends so I would care about each of them and want to keep them alive.
    When an alien or one of the main characters from Chimera fells down ... I just can't care less.

    That's just subjective opinion but lack of customization killed it for me.
    I hope they will release mod/addon whatever (even without this story mode which I don't care about) where I will be able to play missions as it used to be and make my own personalized team.    … Expand
  8. EmperorProtects
    Apr 25, 2020
    0
    Truly sad. The X-Com franchise has devolved from being the gold standard of science fiction turn-based strategy to a mobile game for simpletons.

    Shallow, boring gameplay. Horrible depressing characters and writing. No customization or strategic depth. Frequent crashes and technical instability. Not sure what they're doing at Firaxis these days, but it seems like they must have fired    Truly sad. The X-Com franchise has devolved from being the gold standard of science fiction turn-based strategy to a mobile game for simpletons.

    Shallow, boring gameplay. Horrible depressing characters and writing. No customization or strategic depth. Frequent crashes and technical instability.

    Not sure what they're doing at Firaxis these days, but it seems like they must have fired everyone with a brain.    … Expand
  9. Citizenpete
    Feb 15, 2021
    2
    I've been playing the Xcom games since the first one in the nineties, but this one just doesn't work for me. It seems like Firaxis/2K is in desperate need of cash, the game collects and sells an extraordinary amount of telemetry data from players/customers. It seems to be unfinished, because all the time the game gets stuck, stutters or even crashes. The design and style are veryI've been playing the Xcom games since the first one in the nineties, but this one just doesn't work for me. It seems like Firaxis/2K is in desperate need of cash, the game collects and sells an extraordinary amount of telemetry data from players/customers. It seems to be unfinished, because all the time the game gets stuck, stutters or even crashes. The design and style are very youth-oriented, artificial and forcedly progressive. The innovations can't inspire for very long and somehow I miss the real Xcom feeling very quickly. It seems like a project of an ambitious modder. Refund. I would have never thought it, but it just doesn't grab me. A great pity. I hope the (real) third one continues the quality of the predecessors.… Expand
  10. Bubber
    Apr 24, 2020
    4
    The gameplay is pretty basic, nothing exciting, but it is a budget game. However the writing and characters are just awful, I can't deal with all these sassy people and woke dialog. Why do they keep doing this in movies and games when it always results in failure?
  11. Lambo442
    Apr 24, 2020
    2
    I was suprised this game was so mediocre, being made by the legendary Firaxis. The first thing that struck me which I found jarring was the dialogue, it's just so corny, with the banter between sqaud mates being really corny, with jokes landing flat. The tutorial was so boring I didn't even bother with the game. Introducing you to a small amount of game mechanics shouldn't be that dull.I was suprised this game was so mediocre, being made by the legendary Firaxis. The first thing that struck me which I found jarring was the dialogue, it's just so corny, with the banter between sqaud mates being really corny, with jokes landing flat. The tutorial was so boring I didn't even bother with the game. Introducing you to a small amount of game mechanics shouldn't be that dull. The 'turn' queue doesn't work for me with this title. It makes battles way too predictable. I can't help thinking this title is just a convenient cash cow that they didn't have to make too much effort on. Surely a new title in the xcom universe should be rivalling or surpassing the last one, not be a step backwards. Refunded this after 20mins and went back to War of the Chosen.… Expand
  12. dontadow
    Apr 24, 2020
    8
    Fun little game and worth the initial price. This is X-com lite, but is that bad when thinking about a game as heavy as x-com is.

    The tone and story change drastically for the better. I'm going to bet that racists and xenophobes are going to hate it , as the party is diverse of humans of various races and aliens and the true goal is to find real bad guys, not just kill everyone who    Fun little game and worth the initial price. This is X-com lite, but is that bad when thinking about a game as heavy as x-com is.

    The tone and story change drastically for the better. I'm going to bet that racists and xenophobes are going to hate it , as the party is diverse of humans of various races and aliens and the true goal is to find real bad guys, not just kill everyone who doesn't look like you. True, in all prevous games of x-com you worked with humans who mutated into aliens, but now we go a step further and we get some layers to that story about how this world would have progressed.

    It was this extra emphasis on a more grounded story that won me over. Games are maturing past the caveman like me kill u cause u different approach and moving to something that requires discerning.    … Expand
  13. VladRadu67
    Apr 24, 2020
    10
    The game is fun. It has however a completly diferent feel from the other Xcom games ,the tension from trying to go around and hunting the enemy is gone.
    The game is more action heavy.
    I expected Xcom Swat , and that is exacly what i got.
  14. TimbKo
    May 2, 2020
    0
    The game itself bring nothing new for the price tag except the movement one by one. And a single player game that can be run without internet.
  15. Losteone
    May 25, 2020
    0
    Bugged mess with outdated graphics, dumb dialog, and I think it's word XCom.
  16. SH1
    May 11, 2020
    0
    Good story but too buggy to buy at this point. This is why I should not buy AAA titles at release. Will it go to consoles? Imho yes eventually after all the bugs have been fixed.
  17. Violett
    May 22, 2020
    3
    Even worse than previous remakes, bleh. Many mechanics got cut. You cant build, you cant sell stuff, research tree got cut - you can research the best armor literally in 2 steps. You can capture aliens, but this gives you nothing but some points. Remember how hard and rewarding it was to capture Eternal guy? Missions are quite the same, there are no "terror" or "alien base" type missions.Even worse than previous remakes, bleh. Many mechanics got cut. You cant build, you cant sell stuff, research tree got cut - you can research the best armor literally in 2 steps. You can capture aliens, but this gives you nothing but some points. Remember how hard and rewarding it was to capture Eternal guy? Missions are quite the same, there are no "terror" or "alien base" type missions. There are some intresting abilities combinations, but other that that all characters looks the same, even blant chitchat between missions cant help it. 3 of 10 at best.… Expand
  18. fallout7050
    Aug 27, 2020
    0
    The game is totally disappointing at first it seems that it can be interesting but there is little that the new mechanics presented before 3 or more Crashes can do caused by the bad idea of ​​putting infinite enemies seriously, who came up with that idea? Not to mention that the Most enemies are generic and they get boring after a while like a continuation of xcom sucks and it shows thatThe game is totally disappointing at first it seems that it can be interesting but there is little that the new mechanics presented before 3 or more Crashes can do caused by the bad idea of ​​putting infinite enemies seriously, who came up with that idea? Not to mention that the Most enemies are generic and they get boring after a while like a continuation of xcom sucks and it shows that they could do something better like what they did with xcom 2 but they did not release an unfinished game and with many errors for me this is the rating the game deserves a 0… Expand
  19. AllNewSuperfake
    May 12, 2020
    4
    It isn't terrible for what it is, but I am tired of seeing franchises streamlined to death. I'm tired of having all the talent that was obviously involved wasted to dumb down yet another experience. But I guess it was either that - designing the game to become boring very fast so that you have an incentive to buy more stuff ("The Sims" has been doing this for more than 20 years) - orIt isn't terrible for what it is, but I am tired of seeing franchises streamlined to death. I'm tired of having all the talent that was obviously involved wasted to dumb down yet another experience. But I guess it was either that - designing the game to become boring very fast so that you have an incentive to buy more stuff ("The Sims" has been doing this for more than 20 years) - or another "Live Service"-game.

    This fittingly named "Chimera" was obviously made by people who don't understand the series.

    What makes it even more disappointing is that "War of the Chosen" did so many things right, and was praised for it - so why run in the opposite direction? Taking out customization and replay value, cutting out strategic options, killing basebuilding and management would be bad enough.

    But doing it so that you can chain me to a sub-par plot, trading player incentive and a personal experience against linear fan-fic-fluff when all that people wanted was more of the same is baffling.    … Expand
  20. Druganov
    May 18, 2020
    3
    The positives:

    + Smooth and solid gameplay, short rounds, you can play this game for half an hour at a time. + For the price, you get a decent deal in gameplay quality. The negatives: - Boring as hell after a few hours. 95% of the missions feel the same, breach here, shoot them, rinse and repeat. except some late faction missions. - "Epic" weapons are a joke, the added    The positives:

    + Smooth and solid gameplay, short rounds, you can play this game for half an hour at a time.

    + For the price, you get a decent deal in gameplay quality.

    The negatives:

    - Boring as hell after a few hours. 95% of the missions feel the same, breach here, shoot them, rinse and repeat. except some late faction missions.

    - "Epic" weapons are a joke, the added bonuses don't even improve the basic dmg, you only get a different skin.

    - Upgrades trough the armory or purchased feel worthless.

    - Personally, i don't like the new time-slot combat order system. takes away a lot of tactical thinking.

    - Painful and too obvious "woke" ideology being displayed, i try not to pay attention to those sort of things and just play a game, but after a while i smelled the stench of positive discrimination (which is still discrimination, only more subversive) oozing out of this game.

    - And my biggest gripe: The whole atmosphere feels childish and cringeworthy, the so-called banter between your X-COM personnel is so horrible that, in a way, i wish that i could grab a shotgun and, with 99% accuracy, unload it on their faces (and probably miss).
    The 3D style is too cartoony, and the 2D "art" work looks like it's been drawn by a toddler in MS paint.

    This is meant to be an X-COM lite with a small price-tag, sure enough, but for me it feels like i'm playing a **** mobile phone game on a PC.
    I hope the developers and publishers realise what a shame this is on the X-COM franchise.

    3/10    … Expand
  21. xxanderr000
    Oct 9, 2021
    0
    This game is just a woke s**t. I have never seen anything as woke as this steaming pile of s**t.
  22. Lamp
    Feb 7, 2021
    6
    Horrible, cheesy, Archer knockoff characters; obfuscated mechanics (like how much dmg does the burning status effect do?); clumsy UI; underdeveloped breach mechanic and base activities like the market. Crashes occasionally (often as the game tries to introduce reinforcements), but autosaves make that only a minor annoyance. Combat is serviceable.

    $10 is a fair price.
  23. AJCk19
    Jun 25, 2022
    5
    This is their 2nd time experimenting, within the newly rebooted series. But I rather just wait for the Xcom 3. Or just replay Xcom and Xcom2 with their associated expansions.

    It was worth trying and I guess they got to test out some new features, but never again will I play this.
  24. Tomle1202
    Jul 31, 2022
    7
    The watered-down XCOM formula still works in Chimera Squad, but it is watered-down nonetheless.
  25. DasDoktoerchen
    Nov 8, 2022
    4
    This game took the old X-com formula and added a few interresting new features. Sadly it also took some of the things I liked about X-com the most. I liked the fact that I could make my soldiers background up just the way I wanted to and had lots of customisation options.
    I appreciate that they tried to create their own characters, but in my opinion most of them are ruther unlikable. I    This game took the old X-com formula and added a few interresting new features. Sadly it also took some of the things I liked about X-com the most. I liked the fact that I could make my soldiers background up just the way I wanted to and had lots of customisation options.
    I appreciate that they tried to create their own characters, but in my opinion most of them are ruther unlikable. I grew from annoyed with them to straight up hating most of them rather fast. Thera are exeptions to that ( I liked claymore and Axiom, and I loved Torque.) but they are outweighed by the characters i disliked and I ended up wishing most of my characters to die.
    The graphics are ok. They aren't groundbreaking but they are nice to look at most of the time. Most enemys designs are good aswell.
    The music is good but nothing I would go out of my way to listen to (unlike X-Com 2).
    I can't judge the quality of the story as I couldn't bring myself to finish this game.

    Tl;dr: I can see X-Com fans and fans of round based stratey games enjoying this game, but its just not for me.    … Expand
  26. Jevgenijus
    Jan 27, 2021
    2
    Buggy as hell. Buggs are so seriuos, that makes it impossible to go thourght the game!!
  27. Bwnez0
    Aug 3, 2020
    5
    Never got around to finishing it and don’t intend to. I’d rather they just didn’t make this and invested more money into an eventual xcom 3 since xcom 2 and its expansion were so incredible. This is a decline in terms of gameplay though it does run quite smoothly compared to previous entries in the series.
  28. Kestranor
    Jan 10, 2021
    9
    I feel like this game does not deserve the hate it gets here. People just cry woke or compare it to an AAA title, then give this game a 0 score just because it features playable aliens or a diverse squad or a different turn system. I have played literally ALL X-COM (and UFO) games in the past, starting from the nineties. I enjoyed the DOS originals, I really enjoy the latest reboot, andI feel like this game does not deserve the hate it gets here. People just cry woke or compare it to an AAA title, then give this game a 0 score just because it features playable aliens or a diverse squad or a different turn system. I have played literally ALL X-COM (and UFO) games in the past, starting from the nineties. I enjoyed the DOS originals, I really enjoy the latest reboot, and played the "After" series and everything in between.
    This game clearly had a different approach in mind, but it was never hidden. All the information is available when people make the purchase, yet it doesn't stop them from **** and moaning that they get something different here. The game delivers exactly what it promises, and for the price, it is a great little tactical game, set within the new X-COM universe. The new turn order is refreshing, as well as the breach system. Agent abilities are varied, and since you can't get them all in one playthrough, there is incentive to replay it using different tactics.
    One of the common points for criticism is it's repetitiveness, which is somewhat valid, however, let's face it. All X-COM games are "repetitive" in nature. There's only so many variants of missions you can play before you've seen it all. However, this game features quick (15-30 mins) in and out encounters, which really makes hopping in and out of it easy. If I played it for 1 month straight, I'd probably be bored. Instead I played it as an off-game for some quick tactical fix, playing through 3-6 missions a day, and it's been fun. It also presents a lighter atmosphere, the characters are enjoyable, the banter is good, there's a lot of lore presented in various forms. Does this make the game woke? Maybe... I usually hate overly forced woke content as well, but I never felt it here. I just enjoyed it for what it is, not comparing it to a full price AAA title, or a full blown x-com game, giving it a chance to show it's vision for a different utopia. I wish more people could do the same.    … Expand
  29. deV14nt
    Apr 30, 2020
    0
    I can't picture a better advertisement for XCOM's new competitor using XCOM's old tried-and-true formula, Gears Tactics. I will be looking to Microsoft Game Studios in the future if Firaxis has lost its way. I don't care for the story and didn't enjoy anything about the game's first 20 minutes. Nothing compelling anywhere. I don't like the breach mechanic. It's basically like...so whatI can't picture a better advertisement for XCOM's new competitor using XCOM's old tried-and-true formula, Gears Tactics. I will be looking to Microsoft Game Studios in the future if Firaxis has lost its way. I don't care for the story and didn't enjoy anything about the game's first 20 minutes. Nothing compelling anywhere. I don't like the breach mechanic. It's basically like...so what are you going to do now that you totally ran out guns blazing and put all of your soldiers in harm's way. Rinse, repeat.… Expand
  30. gerva
    May 8, 2020
    0
    I have no words to describe this disgusting thing. I played All XCOM game from first UFO in 1996...I thought to see the worst in phoenix point..this is worse!
    Seeking for the tension that makes you don't move from chair for hours? Seeking for a tactical game? seeking to be surprised? This game is NOT for you.
    The (very poor) good: 1) Ranged overwatch (finally), but unuseful due to    I have no words to describe this disgusting thing. I played All XCOM game from first UFO in 1996...I thought to see the worst in phoenix point..this is worse!
    Seeking for the tension that makes you don't move from chair for hours? Seeking for a tactical game? seeking to be surprised? This game is NOT for you.

    The (very poor) good:
    1) Ranged overwatch (finally), but unuseful due to absence of tactical freedom
    2) Misc troop is a good idea, but The lack of freedom reduces it to unuseful!

    The bad:
    Why?
    1)Why wasting time to select soldiers to breach where there is only one door?
    2)Why breach in EACH room and reduce tactic to enter, fire,kill and stop?
    3)Why MINIMAL soldier customization?
    4)Why absurd timeline that make you only confusing?
    5)Why so complicated management?
    6)Why those ugly and static cartoons like a 70s comics?

    WHY WASTING MONEY FOR THIS?

    WHY???    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

31
#31 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 74 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 74
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 74
  3. Negative: 1 out of 74
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 24, 2020
    80
    A small tactical game that plays well and looks good. If you like XCOM and you don´t have a problem with more stereotypical missions and sometimes a bigger role of RNG, you will probably like it. [Issue#304]
  2. CD-Action
    Jun 25, 2020
    85
    It’s a fantastic, albeit rushed, XCOM for beginners. And a whole lot of freshness in the franchise. [07/2020, p.43]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Jun 22, 2020
    65
    I do not regret the time I spent playing Chimera Squad, but it’s a definite downgrade compared to the excellent XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.
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