XCOM: Chimera Squad Critic Reviews

Xcom: Chimera Squad is proof positive that Firaxis are masters of the genre. The perfect starting point for newcomers, yet featuring enough depth for franchise vets, there is no reason to skip this title, especially at its bargain price.

The newest entry in the XCOM franchise is faster and focused on a much smaller portion of the world, but that doesn't mean it's any less strategic.

Featuring a wonderful cast of characters with their own unique perks and capabilities, as well as the extremely fun Breach Mode, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a brilliant spinoff that provides a refreshing take on a classic franchise's long-standing formula.

This is a series that never overtly focused on story or character. It’s trying something new, and it is very, very good. Chimera Squad is a great game in its own right, and it has me over the moon to imagine what a proper XCOM 3 is going to play like.

The new combat elements are where the game truly shines with the implementation of special units with specific and unique abilities, which needs to continue in the series going forward. While the game takes place in the official XCOM timeline, it still sits as a side story and its own entity. The political undertone rather than the alien war isn’t preferred, but there’s kudos there for trying something new and not throwing it into XCOM 3. The voice acting is abysmal and there’s no multiplayer option, but it’s hard to complain given the price point. A welcome surprise, XCOM: Chimera Squad plays like a real-time board game and the strategy element pays off.

If you enjoyed the series then this is a good addition to your collection. It’s a decent price normally but during a sale it’s a great value option to get some more turn based combat gaming in… just make sure you save often and watch out for that one enemy who’s just waiting to flank you.

An interesting XCOM spin-off with a few new ideas and great value for money. The writing and a few bugs let the game down a bit but as a whole it is a great appetizer for the eventual XCOM 3.

While XCOM Chimera Squad may look a bit funny at times -- and the game itself tends to crash every 45 minutes or so -- it's hard to fault it as an RTS available for less than $15 AUD.

Chimera Squad experiments with smaller encounters, more unique characters, and a change in the combat order with remarkable success. Although still weighed down by the traditional issues of the series, Chimera Squad excels in what it set out to achieve and is an incredibly satisfying tactical game.

Chimera Squad gives XCOM something it needed a lot more of: direction. The stakes are lower, but the execution is smoother.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is yet another fantastic addition to the 25-year-old franchise’s quality lineup of titles, delivering a new suite of mechanics that bring a whole new dimension of strategy to its already addictive combat.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a solid attempt at a stand-alone, quick-play XCOM 2 campaign. The trimmed-down mechanics make it a lot easier to go through the campaign relatively quickly instead of having to dedicate yourself to it. It's undeniably simpler than the game it's based on, and the massive shift in tone might be too much for some XCOM fans. For those who don't mind or newcomers looking to get a taste of XCOM, Chimera Squad is difficult to pass up.

The care of XCOM: Chimera Squad is total despite being a much less ambitious work than XCOM 2 and the only thing that tarnishes its good intentions are a few errors and crashes that can easily be solved in the first days of the title's life.

XCOM: Chimera Squad brings together a huge list of fresh new ways to play. Each change introduces a new layer of strategy, and the new turn system completely upends what you know about XCOM. This is a daring new take on this venerable series, and having just completed it, I can’t wait to run it again.

At a $20 price point (or $10 for early access), XCOM: Chimera Squad is a mostly successful experiment. Firaxis Games has cherry-picked many of the best elements of the XCOM series and put them in a more fast-paced, action-oriented title. Tactical superiority still reigns supreme, especially with the intelligently designed breach mode. However, I think some players will miss the more hardcore elements of XCOM despite their exclusion not necessarily fitting the pace of this title. In no way does Chimera Squad feel like a budget title, outside of its somewhat clumsy menus and presentation. But this graphic novel-style, pulpy tactical adventure seems to be the tipping off point for something equally exciting and grander in the future.

It’s a fantastic, albeit rushed, XCOM for beginners. And a whole lot of freshness in the franchise.

Firaxis takes some risks, yes. But probably to bring a little variety to the XCOM series and maybe build a bridge to a real successor. The new features are all well thought out and offer enough differences to XCOM 2 to justify the purchase, but you shouldn't expect a revolution.

While new XCOM lost in scale, it makes up for it in style. It’s great that agents now engage in friendly banter both in and out of missions, and room-scale shootouts are far more intense than hunting for enemy pods in a city block.

A fantastic gem, and an excellent spin-off for one of gaming's most celebrated strategy franchises.

Firaxis lets its hair down for a fun but flawed twist on XCOM's proven recipe of tactics and tension.