The XCom franchise is easily one of the best in tactical strategy games. From the original games on PC, to the more recent entries that have made it to consoles too, they keep on bringing more hardcore tactical battles for us to fight through. The sci-fi setting only helps to make the games more appealing, at least to those of us who enjoy fighting against aliens for ownership of Earth. Now, we’re getting a brand new game, XCom: Chimera Squad.
XCom: Chimera Squad
The game takes place five years after the events of XCom 2: War of the Chosen. There has been a fragile peace on Earth for that time, but now events are unfolding in City 31 that threaten that peace. Chimera Squad is a group of veterans, including aliens, who are all well-trained and capable in combat. They’ll be the task force that you take control of in each mission, pushing back against the forces that seem to be working in the cracks of the city’s security, trying to desperately restart the war that they lost.
The game’s battles don’t take the same format as they did in XCom 2. Here, they’re reactive missions that are a response to events within City 31. Every mission begins with a Breach Mode session, which allows you to choose the entry points for every member of Chimera Squad. These positions might compliment each other, as well as the abilities of each member of the squad. This part of every mission will not be the end, in fact it’s barely even the start.
the biggest departure from the mainline XCom series is the fact that you won’t be losing squad members to death. If a soldier’s health points are depleted, they’ll begin to bleed out. Once stabilised by another team member, they’ll remain unconscious for the rest of the mission. If they die however, it’s game over, and the mission must be restarted. In previous games, you’d lose that squad member, and that would be it, but not here.
Back at HQ, you’ll be given access to a map that shows the unrest levels for every district in City 31. You need to prioritise missions that will lower the unrest in districts that are looking critical, otherwise things could go south very quickly. Check out the gameplay overview below for more information.
XCom: Chimera Squad launches on April 24, which should give you plenty to do while in lockdown.
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