Xenonauts 2 review: old school XCOM-like doesn’t pull punches

Despite XCOM being a borderline household name at this point (Mario and Warhammer 40,000 have certainly taken note), few games have mimicked the series’ origins as openly as 2014’s Xenonauts. As a love letter to 1994’s UFO Defense: X-COMIt added more complexity to an already difficult turn-based game, weaving branching technology upgrades and tense strategic skirmishes. Xenonauts 2,This tradition continues by increasing the complexity, nuance and depth of both. Xenonauts And the game which inspired it.

This is the premise Xenonauts 2, sells itself: It’s 2009, but the Cold War never ended, and society is beginning to fray. UFOs are becoming more and more active, as global geopolitical tensions have increased. You are in charge of a multi-national special forces unit dedicated to protecting Earth from the invaders. You have a few outdated weapons (M16s, M9 Berettas) and it seems like the world can’t make any progress without peace. As you start to adopt and assimilate alien products, this quickly changes. Narratively the tone of this story is delightful, as it alternates between funny notes and other ones that are decidedly dark.

If you’ve never played Xenonauts — or any XCOM games, for that matter — you needn’t flee in terror. The way this sequel explains the inner workings and overlapping systems is one of its greatest strengths. What the first XenonautsThe previous version was difficult to navigate and offered little guidance. However, the new version offers a comprehensive tutorial as well as an excellent nesting-tooltip feature that lets you identify important words or processes quickly in the user interface. The text is a great resource to help you learn the UI and key words.

Goldhawk Interactive/Hooded Horse

You can also find out more about the following: Xenonauts 2,, there’s a constant, potent tension upheld by the dual layers of local, squad-based battles and the overarching strategy of the global map. Half of the game is spent in your war room back at base, where you monitor the geoscape, a global map that highlights alien activity and displays the reach of your headquarters’ sensors. While UFOs fly across the airspace you monitor, you can scramble your fighter jets and try to shoot them down. There is no guarantee of success, as there will often be more targets to shoot than units available.

The macro-level system of combat is fully automated. Fighting is random and takes into consideration the skill and technology of the player. There is an option for a more detailed approach that allows you to observe the automated fight in real time from a two-dimensional overhead display, but as developer Goldhawk Interactive points out, it’s not yet fully functional in the early access version, so it’s difficult to determine the depth of the feature at this time. Currently, it’s simply an elongated automation where you can watch the encounter play out with abstraction. This lack of completion isn’t too concerning as these aerial battles aren’t a major focus in the game. Instead, the bulk of gameplay is focused on more tactical and intimate ground battles.

Goldhawk Interactive/Hooded Horse

Each system is based around squad-based combat. This boots-on the-ground phase is a result of all of your time spent at base, managing and upgrading your soldiers’ equipment and choosing which research projects you want to pursue. It’s satisfying to plan for forthcoming tactical challenges while back at base, only to be confronted with scenarios that are equal parts disorienting and exhilarating once you drop into the tactical layer.

Of course, there is the usual focus on cover and percentile odds to hit alien targets. You can also take advantage of a variety of other features, which encourages you to adapt your tactics. The terrain, for example, can be completely destroyed. Walls can be blown down and new paths created throughout the map. You can fire your weapons in a variety of ways to maximize efficiency and quality. This can make it difficult to determine whether you should use a low percentage of shots to conserve your action points or if you should fire more accurately aimed, go full-auto, or go for a high percentage to maximize the number of targets. You must also consider your soldiers’ morale, their panic and the neutral civilians you may have to defend or protect. Here are some other wrinkles you may encounter. You can also find out more about the following: missions.

Goldhawk Interactive/Hooded Horse

The different missions add more depth to combat. Standard scenario involves the hunt for the UFO and then the subsequent capture of it by your fighter squadron. You can use your creativity as a commander to achieve victory by eliminating the enemies on the map, or simply by locating the alien ship and holding it for several consecutive turns. Other mission options will appear as time passes during the campaign, some of which progress the “main storyline.” These include investigating and raiding “Cleaner” outposts — the hideouts of a clandestine human faction that works in opposition to your cause. You may need to take data from servers or kill VIP targets. It’s all varied and compelling, and, combined with the versatility of different maps, continually morphs campaigns until their (hopefully favorable) conclusions.

The main differences between them are their variety and unpredictable nature. Xenonauts 2, The original game is also included. The game has many new aliens, new equipment, new options for research, and new scenarios. Crucially, the sequel’s skirmishes also take place in a fully 3D environment. You can rotate the camera, which is more than simple novelty, as it allows you to spot new lines of sight or get a bead on a target you couldn’t quite make out previously.

But that’s the thing: These improvements are welcome, but as the hours Whatsh By, they feel flat. In the end, they feel flat. Xenonauts 2,The 2014 title is strikingly similar. Goldhawk nudged Xenonauts 2,’s graphics in a modern direction, with vivid character models and sharp special effects. All the systems and subsystems are still complex and gritty. It is not a new story. If you’re happy with the hours of gameplay in the first title, but want something different like the jump between XCOM Enemy unknownThe following are some examples of how to get started: XCOM 2, XCOM 2Or XCOM: War of the Chosen after that, won’t find one here.

Goldhawk Interactive/Hooded Horse

It’s also necessary to reiterate that this is very much an early access title. In addition to the detailed aerial combat layer being unfinished, there are whole pages of text missing in certain sections of the story, instead featuring a prominent “[placeholder]” tag. The turn-based gameplay is what makes this game so enjoyable. It feels powerful and full featured. However, the turn-based combat is a delight and feels fully featured. Xenonauts 2,In its current state, the campaign struggles to remove its rough edges.

Xenonauts 2,This isn’t a groundbreaking release. It’s a conservative modernizing of an old-school tactical predecessor. It sits comfortably in that weird little niche of a sequel to a love letter of a ’90s classic. Although the improved scenarios and variety may not have pushed it much further, this game was already very good.

Xenonauts 2, Release date for Windows PC is July 18. Hooded Horse supplied a download code to be used in the review. Vox Media partners with affiliates. Vox Media can earn affiliate commissions, but this does not affect editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.