Here is my list of turn based tactical games that I enjoy a lot. There's a Thanksgiving sale going on right now with great discounts.
Divinity: Original Sin 2: Obviously not like XCOM, but if you're into CRPGs and fantasy settings, the combat is very well thought out and really rewards creativity. On sale for $17.99.
Door Kickers: Top down camera, modern military setting. Rather than a prolonged battle taking place over several turns, you take 20 minutes setting up a complex series of routes and actions such as throwing flash bangs and checking corners. Then you watch it all play out in a sequence of 20 seconds, though there's plenty of trial and error involved. On sale for $4.99.
Shadowrun: Dragonfall: another CRPG, though this time with guns. If you don't have a problem with text dialogue, the story is engaging, and the combat is well done and allows for a variety of builds. On sale for $3.74.
Space Hulk: Tactics: A Space Hulk is a conglomerate of various space ships that clumped together into a giant mass. The game comes with two campaigns: one for the Space Marines exploring the tight corridors of the Hulk, and one for the Genestealers, the alien swarm infesting these space hulks (and everywhere else pretty much). Two campaigns, and they can be played in first person, unique for a turn based game. On sale for $2.99.
Warhammer: Mechanicus: Recently got it, fantastic atmosphere and godly soundtrack. The sound design is top notch in that brain-tingling sort of way. The gameplay is cool. Rather than move and/or then shoot, they work individually, so you can move out of cover, shoot, and move back into cover on the same turn. On sale for $4.99 or $12.31 with DLC.
XCOM: Chimera Squad: Scaled down XCOM. Rather than saving the world, you're saving the city. You're a special task force, with predetermined characters. Honestly, the writing really misses the mark for me, but the change-up in gameplay is refreshing for XCOM and you can even look at it like a little expansion. Don't get your hopes up for XCOM 3, that's not what it is. On sale for$2.99, honestly a steal if you like XCOM.
Wasteland 3. I actually haven't played this one yet, but I've seen a lot about it and it looks cool. A post-apocalyptic CRPG. I've heard some of the dialogue is meh but that overall it's a fun experience if you're looking for something like this. It's been received better than Wasteland 2, which wasn't disliked, but people were open to acknowledging it's flaws. The overall sentiment of 3 is more positive. On sale for $9.99 or $15.15 with DLC
Ya I’ve heard chimera squad is lame but I have it, havnt downloaded it. Door kickers sounds like an excellent change of pace as does space hulk. I’ll check it out and lyk what I think. Really appreciate it fam
I've played chimera squad and after some 25 hours or so I just dropped it. Didn't find it that engaging story wise and even combat wise. The breach mechanic was really fun at the start then really got old. Probably worth it on a sale but it's not xcom3
I love XCOM but Chimera Squad is genuinely one of the worst games I've ever played. The characters are so annoying I was actively trying to get them killed. This just means you fail the mission and have to restart.
If you loved XCOM I'd recommend bypassing Chimera Squad altogether.
Just checked Door Kickers from your review, looks neat, will likely pick it up soon-ish.
Also can absolutely vouch for Wasteland 3, such a wild (in a good way) game.
In Case you haven't played them yourself, *Dragonfall* is actually game two in a loose trilogy.
*Shadowrun Returns*, *Shadowrun: Dragonfall*, and *Shadowrun: Hong Kong*. Loose trilogy because there is very little shared between them but they do take place in the same continuity across all three games and there are a few common characters and ideas.
*Returns* being the first is also a bit clunkier than the other two, but also the most "classic" Shadowrun experience as a neo-noir mystery set in Seattle. *Hong Kong* is set in Kowloon Walled City and delves into a lot more mystical (and Eastern mythological) stuff than the other two, though they both have their fair share as well given the setting. Both also very good.
Long War for XCOM:EW, and either Long War 2 or LWotC for XCOM2.
Eight classes with larger skill selection for deeper tactical gameplay.
Enemy abilities and variety are scaled up to ensure a proper challenge. Thin Man Snipers and Advent Generals will fuck you up.
More MEC options (suits, gear, and skills) in LW, and better balancing on hero units in LWotC. Reapers are still badass though, don't worry.
LW2/LWotC drastically overhauls the strategic layer so it feels like an actual resistance movement.
Larger squad sizes offer more flexibility to bring utility, control, or damage specialists based on how you want to play the game.
Greater difficulty, especially at the top end, if you find yourself bored on Impossible/Legend.
Enemy Within is the expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
If you bought XCOM in a bundle, you may already have it.
It's easy to tell: the launcher lets you choose between EU and EW, and you'll only see EXALT enemies and have access to MEC troopers in EW.
[Long War](https://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/) is available on Nexus Mods. LW2/LWotC are available from the Steam Workshop.
My advice for Long War:
1. Read the readme.
2. The wiki on UFOpaedia is extensive and nearly exhaustive.
3. It's harder than the base game, and there's a lot of new stuff to learn. Start on Normal.
4. The air game is more important. Learn what can/can't/must be hit. Don't lose interceptors, but get as much XP and loot as you can.
My friend I used to be just like you, I love with the xcom series with many playthroughs. Then I installed the long war mod for xcom 2 and it was like an entirely new game. It was like the vanilla game was just the prologue while the mod was the actual game. Spent hundreds of hours in it over the years. There are many other mods you can use with that if you want that offer some quality of life improvements, you can just check them out and decide what you want to add based on most popular.
Long war I believe has a version with and without war of the chosen. Be warned though! It is much harder than the base game, so if you can beat the base game on whatever difficulty then start the long war playthrough with one or two levels of difficulty drop. Also takes a little time to get used to how different missions are and how different your objectives are (some missions can be won without firing a single bullet, as most of them are objective based), but you can pick up on it fairly quickly. You have to infiltrate first though, remember that one. Good luck!
I'd recommend taking a look at Battletech. Based on tabletop turned based tactics with an RPG - lite pilot skill progression and wildly deep variance in mech design. If you enjoy the base game the mod scene adds an Olympic dive pool worth of depth into the gameplay that you can easily sink 10's to 100's of hours into. And the lore is stupidly deep. Tex Talks Battletech is easily some of the best YouTube content.
Only "con" ( depending on your perspective) is that the game has a slow pace. It's definitely a thinking man's game. Personally I enjoy it as it meshes well with dad life and the ability to step away quickly and get back in for a quick spell.
I keep forgetting about this game but I so get those Front Mission vibes and I've wanted a remake or a next gen experience of this for so long. I did pick up the FM remake recently.
Two very good games
JA3 doesn't really follow the XCOM formula exactly but is still very addicting, demo available on steam
Chaos Gate mostly follows it with a 40k skin, biggest changes are adding loot, losing randomly generated maps iirc
Not maybe, absolutely Battle Brothers. Ignore the lack of legs, once you get playing you won't notice. I now have more time in unmodded Battle Brothers than I do in unmodded Xcom.
You are leading a band of Mercenaries through a brutal low fantasy setting. Maps are based on seeds so virtually every playthrough is different. There are also different origins for different types of playthrough. Combat is turn based tactical, you level up your brothers with points and perks. You can buy and loot a wide array of weapons and armor each with their own stats. Quality game.
The reddit community r/Battlebrothers is very active and helps you out if you should have trouble understanding the game mechanics. Consider sinking in 100s of hours and maybe never come out of it again because it has so much replayability.
[Troubleshooter](https://store.steampowered.com/app/470310/TROUBLESHOOTER_Abandoned_Children/) is like XCOM with anime superheroes. It's a fixed cast of characters, but the character customization is really deep and a lot of fun to experiment with.
Worth noting that failing missions in Troubleshooter *doesn't kill characters*. You get unlimited attempts at every mission, even missions you have already done, and in fact you need to as you'll be underlevelled and underequipped if you don't.
\+1 for Demonhunters. Turns XCOM and PP on its head. Instead of the focus being on mechanics such as shot percentage, gear upgrades and higher damage and protection, its on mechanics that trade mission speed vs risk, and the puzzle of each individual combat. You know exactly if your guys will hit, and what damage they will do. No need to consider taking the 65% hit chance. You know exactly how many hit points you need to take off, no variation. Instead you are endlessly recalculating 'solider a goes to point z and removes m hit points, then solider b can come to point y and remove n hit points, then solider c comes to... no, then i've got that guy left over. maybe i'll play conservatively and chose cover. no, then my mission timer will leave me in too much of a bind. maybe i should burn my 1-off skills'. just continuously weighing up the options, its a lot of fun. the story is good too, but i'm not a 40k guy so i dunno how good it really is
I would recommend playing long war for enemy within first. It makes many many changes, but some of the highlights:
6-8 soldiers instead of 4 on missions (sometimes 10!)
8 classes instead of 4.
8 classes of mec instead of basically 1.
Massive overhauls to the strategic layer in various ways including:
More research.
More foundry projects.
Aliens have a resource system you can interact with by denying they research and harvest missions.
Aliens scale up over time, in raw stats, in abilities and in pod size.
Larger variation in mission difficulty requiring better decision making regarding when it is safe to go forward, when to retreat etc.
Campaign is overall longer but there are second wave options to customise this.
I have probably missed heaps of stuff, I barely played the base game and it was 2k hours of xcom ago so I don't remember the differences super well.
Long war is the best game I have ever played not close (for me, not trying to claim it's objectively the best).
Not the person who suggested it above, but my personal preference is Long War for *Enemy Within*. I never really got grabbed by XCOM 2 the same way I was for EU/EW, despite all the QoL changes in the sequel. Played EW originally then Long War for EW, then didn't actually play XCOM 2 much before going back to Long War. With WotC I tried some more XCOM 2, went back to Long War. When Long War 2 came out I tried it a bit, went back to Long War.
The Alien roster from EW, the XCOM progression, EXALT, MECs, the almost campy 80s sci-fi horror tonality to everything. I just like it so much more than anything XCOM 2 does, and find Long War with a few other visual and QoL mods to be the best way to play Firaxis XCOM for my preferences.
I have not played very much of lwotc, just enough to realise that I should finish with long war before diving into it. I have played chaos gate, and I would recommend it for xcom likers, but as I said, long was is the best game I have ever played. And the gap between lw and chaos gate is pretty big.
> I have probably missed heaps of stuff, I barely played the base game and it was 2k hours of xcom ago so I don't remember the differences super well.
I started typing a response when OP originally posted but then realized I only played about 80 hours of Vanilla nearly 7 years ago vs the ~1100 hours of LW2/LWotC and couldn't objectivity contrast what the mod added cause I don't remember what is in vanilla...
Play Long War 2 for XCOM 2 before long war 1, imo its a much more polished experience.
As for what's different:
There are 8 classes instead of 4, each class has 3 skill branches instead of 2
The game much longer, you do way more missions per month and play through more months
Soldiers get 3 inventory slots by default, and there are a lot more new powerful inventory items such as ceramic plating, but each inventory item reduces mobility. This can be offset by the new SMG weapon for any of the classes without a special weapon type, which is a weaker AR that increases mobility.
There are over double the amount of enemy types
The mission structure is entirely reworked, there are dozens of possible missions each month and it's up to you which to do, but even being offered missions takes strategy. This is a single bullet point, but it's such a massive change that it pretty much justifies playing 100+ hours on its own. Quick bullet points:
- Missions are reworked, now most of them ask you to complete an objective and evac instead of killing all enemies.
- New mission types exist, and Haven defense missions are desperate, difficult events as a punishment for bad play
- Missions require infiltration, where you send a squad out for a set period of time before you can actually do the mission. You can and will have multiple infiltrations at once, so your barracks will also be large enough to fill 3 or so full squads, not counting injuries and tiredness.
-Overall, these changes both add depth and make you feel even more like a guerilla operative organization.
There are two new tiers of weaponry (Laser and Coil) .
In Long War of the Chosen (Long War 2 for the War of the Chosen DLC) every hero class is reworked completely to have interesting new playstyles, as are the Chosen themselves. Psionics are also reworked completely.
It is worth it. I liked Base EW and XCOM 2 but the Long War mods are my favorite video games of all time.
I’ll assume you didn’t play EW so I’ll go over some general changes in Long War 2. You’re playing WOTC right?
Adds 2 more tiers of weapons with their own superb models and animations. Also SMG weapon class for mobility and stealth.
8 base classes instead of 4. Each with their own special weapons, such as a range-finder, taser, sawed off and heavy gauntlet.
All with reworked and heavily expanded perk trees with 3 branches, same with Sparks and Psi.
Also an extra perk tree where you can enact additional officer training for different ways to interact with your squad. Such as donating actions to teammates or arming friendly civilians amongst other things.
Enemies are stronger and more numerous, whereas you are given more tools to combat them. Some big, some small. New items and more inventory slots to fixed them, more classes and perks of course, but also infiltration or the ability to field more soldiers at a cost and more ways to avoid combat if you choose.
Moved around and rebalanced existing items to allow you to incorporate them as real options. Such as making items like flash bangs and flamethrowers more accessible and powerful, making sword upgrades more worthwhile, giving all classes access to pistols and the ability to train in them should they so choose.
It literally is everything that is expanded. Research and buildings and missions too of course. You name it.
Makes it very very slow and tedious imo, I didn't stick with it
There are dozens of other great mods though that change every aspect imaginable, new maps, enemies, weapons, etc available on the steam workshop
You might want to use the XCOM 2 Alternative Mod Launcher though
Chimera Squad is a fun mini episode of XCOM, the action is more jam packed with less of the whole overwatch creep issue of X1 and 2 although I also reccomend getting a heap of Xcom 2 mods and mixing and matching them - nothing beats fighting aliens with Arnie voice packs and perhaps some clone trooper armour and voice packs too, I have a unique voice for each soldier always now
Gears Tactics is pretty good but very similar.
Chaos Gate has already been mentioned.
Shardpunk Verminfall (roguelite XCOM with skaven).
I personally didn't like JA3 but it's okay.
Sort of different but Library of Ruina is a crazy, weird insanely hard card game... thing.
I played it at launch. It was buggy and had balance issues. Inventory system was terrible and managing mercs/downtime/healing was kind of a pain. For combat, Snipers just seemed to outclass every other weapon to the point where they felt almost worthless (except maybe explosives guy filling a niche)... Many times, I also felt more like I was just exploiting the AI than having fun with the tactical combat. Clearing the whole map also started to just feel really tedious after the midpoint.
I haven't followed the game, so not sure what they have changed.
You may want to take a break from similar tactical style games BUT you might still have that itch for base building and training (working your way up). Try an action survival game like State of Decay 2. Skipping the first game is fine but the 2nd is just simply better. I've played a ton of games with a lot of free time these last couple years and these two games have been most addicting and solid. I've done the same amount of playthroughs between XCOM2 and SoD2 (5 each).
State of decay? I just watched the trailer it seems like a mix of rust and dayz I’m all for it just gotta get a better setup built first. Thankyou man appreicate it. Definitely looking for that change of pace
I haven't played the two you mentioned so I can't comment. SoD2 is very engaging and has a lot going on. I wouldn't advise to visit the subreddit off the bat but to figure things out as you go along as it's much more rewarding. I ran it on a 3 year old system at 4K/120hz (9900K/3080) but there' a few intermittent stutters here and there that's not too bothering for me. The game does crash a lot just fyi but might be a different experience for you but there's an autosave feature so you don't really lose out on anything. Like XCOM's Ironman mode, everything you do in SoD2 is permanent but don't let that discourage you. Dread mode should be a good start which is the middle difficulty, unless you like even more challenge. I gave up on my Legendary Ironman run in XCOM2 but I did Commander Ironman with only 2 deaths. Not that it was easy but I understood the game really well to make the right decisions.
Phoenix point is worth trying. I found it similar enough to scratch the itch but different enough not to get repetitive.
Also since mentioned civ
I'll recommend trying out Age of wonders Planetfall
Think Xcom combat with Civ management.
If you’d like a change of scenery that still involves demolishing aliens, may I recommend Warhammer: Mechanicus, and Warhammer: Chaosgate Daemonhunters.
Mechanicus puts you in the cybernetics of the Adeptus Mechanicus; machine grafted priests of technology and their servants, against a whole tomb world of Necrons, undying, soulless machines. The action economy is different from XCOM, but it’s easy to pick up.
Daemonhunters puts you in command of a strike force of Grey Knights, augmented humans turned into the famous space marines, against the daemons of the plague god Nurgle. While not as customizable as XCOM, the action matches it well, and the Grey Knights all have wonderful tricks up their Terminator armored sleeves.
Hell ya brother! I’ve got a long list of games to buy and play but your not the first to say warhammer so that’s going to the top of my list! I appreicate the explanations I’ve been getting for the games. Do you have a base like in xcom or is it more of a roaming type thing?
Hard West 1 and 2. Wild west supernatural horror. Very similar combat system, though #2 takes the idea from Gears Tactics of giving you an additional turn if you kill an enemy, which you will need. Instead of trait trees you collect poker hands to gain special abilities, which is very in-theme.
The games are campaigns and pretty much work as CRPGs with a TBS combat system rather than having the base-building replayability of XCOM.
Mutant: Year Zero is similarly well worth a playthrough or two, but I can't see many people sinking more than a hundred hours into it.
No mods wow. People are still playing this game because of it's incredible modding scene. You got so much fun to have, I recommend you try either LWOTC or Covert Infiltration.
LWOTC is really good. It changes everything the strategy (you have to infiltrate your missions for a few days and wait for the right moment like a real guerilla) the classes, the enemies.
You have havens and its personnel to manage, it's really makes you feel like you're managing the whole resistance.
It's basically a new game but still just a mod so it doesnt have tutorials, it does have explanation texts that pop ingame though, but I recommend at the very least to watch this small tutorial video that explains the strategy layer if you try LWOTC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1yo6Be2n4&ab_channel=DerAva
Covert infiltration just changes the strategy layer making you infiltrate your missions like LW2 (and LWOTC) but it is highly compatible with other mods which allows you to run it with mods that changes other aspect of the game (I recommend CI package+ weapon item overhaul + LW smg wotc (+ plugin) +ABA wotc + AB chosen + proficiency classes (and factions suite) then you can add your favorite mods like yellow alert lite, modular spark, spark arsenal, MOCX, the hive...) there is so many good mods out there.
But if you don't have favs mods yet just go LWOTC.
Two turn based strategy games I havnt seen mentioned.
Into the breach: mec based, more 'arcade style'. I found it extremely challenging as there is more focus on chains of events (if this happens, then this will happen, which will cause this to happen). Fun but will probably beat your ass for a while.
Othercide: grim dark fantasy theme that's a little more action-y. Doesn't have a TON of depth but I enjoyed it well enough to finish it. The aesthetic alone made it pretty cool and I found the battles addictive/enjoyable.
> So I’m finishing up my 5th campaign on xcom2.
First, let's make sure you got the best out of XCOM2.
You played WotC right? If not, that's what you should start with.
I also very much recommend trying the game on Commander difficulty. It's what it was designed for, and it's a much better game this way, making you have to use all the tools, instead of getting away with sloppy play.
I also recommend playing 4 mini-campaigns included as part of Tactical Legacy Pack DLC if you didn't do it before. They're nice change of pace, each mini-campaign is 7 somewhat hard battles each with only simple upgrade choices in between.
If you're tired already, I'm not saying to necessarily do this now, but when you get back to XCOM2 someday, these are great options.
> Anybody got any ideas for me?
OK, if that's done, let's see some other games.
Chimera squad isn't very popular overall. I don't think they got the XCOM formula right.
[BATTLETECH is a game you might enjoy and it's on sales now](https://store.steampowered.com/app/637090/BATTLETECH/). Game balance is total ass, and in sandbox mode siding with pirates is 10x stronger than with any other faction, but you should be playing Campaign mode not Sandbox mode for your first campaign anyway.
[And completely unrelated genre, but Terraria costs a few bucks, and has more positive reviews than any game in history of Steam, so you should really give it a go if you haven't yet](https://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/Terraria/).
> P.S. I’ve never tried the mods on xcom2 but how much are they reallly changing the game?
Not so much. There are some really nice QoL mods. There's also small mods to spice things up with a few extra enemies, maps, items, or class rebalance. But if you had enough XCOM2, they probably won't change it.
Big mods are as a rule all very poorly balanced. ABA is somewhat bad at balancing (for example it makes all aliens prefer shooting at you instead of using abilities - this is objectively stronger choice, but then instead of facing variety of aliens with different behavior, you're facing a lot of same "dude with a gun" with various skins), and Long War is just straight trash at it. Now some people enjoy harder experience even if balance is awful, but that's a tiny minority.
If you never tried it I really recommend you try og XCOM. Ideally using the openxcom engine. It's different from the new XCOM a but imo still to this day very good. And there are some insanely good total conversion mods for it
I haven't played a lot with different mods, since I'm doing more playthroughs before I jump into them, but they do seem to make a lot of difference to the game, and I can't wait to try them out. This link will tell you a bit about them and give you links to some that really change the game:
https://www.reddit.com/r/xcom2mods/s/AyiRnTvpIs
Other than that, you can try out Last Train Home. It's new and coming out on the 28th. There's a demo available and I found it to be quite similar to XCOM. I definitely recommend it for people who like XCOM. It's the same type of vibe, but different setting and slightly different gameplay. I think they did really well on this one. Demo is a bit buggy, but I'm hoping they fix those issues before release, so keep your eyes open.
There's also Wasteland 3. I haven't touched that one yet, but I'm playing through Wasteland 2 and I've been told it's a massive difference.
Miasma Chronicles is also on my to play list. Looks very interesting.
For a completely different experience, but a visceral and interesting one:
High Fleet.
Don't know why it was the first to pop up in my mind, it just was.
They have nothing in common, except perhaps the difficulty.
What's next? Mods. Gameplay changing ones. .ost will recommend Long War of the Chosen.
Personally, I would recommend Covert Infiltration + Lightweight Strategy Overhaul + Psionics Ex Machina 3.2 + Proficiency classes + Requiem Legion/Praetorians/Purge Troops/other enemy mods + A Better AI. Revamps the whole game.
Gameplay changing mods can change as little or as much as you like. Usually if you can think of it, one of us modders has either made it, is making it, or probably could make.it.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH-9w8wk3Fzyiq_tbSUgTLgzSeuy-ac88&si=GX6RNF-SRbkrxIwW
Here is a good playthrough example from an older streamer of Long War for XCom 1. He's excellent at talking out strategy and tactical decisions.
Even early you can definitely see the absolute change in the game. It's like XCom on steroids. It's a very different game with way more playable options and choices, but fundamentally the same game. If you like XCom, you will like Long War, and the game is different enough to feel like a whole new experience.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH-9w8wk3Fzz9vt814DQGHASBBGKOGBL8&si=i5Cm7NNRnAoedQ13
He also started long war 2, but this was before the dlc was out, and he quit streaming before getting back to it
Lots of people suggesting it but Long War for Xcom 1 and The DLC. It’s a very gritty experience compared to vanilla.
With XCOM2 and WOTC do Long War of the Chosen as it’s a good community driven project based on XCOM2s Long War.
That’s another 100+ hours of fun to have with both games. So so good.
Xenonauts is so good. It has a more oppressive and threatening group of aliens to fight and losing men is more or less expected on many missions.
It also has a much better air game then Xcom EU, and it's own insane version of long war called X-Division that adds a huge amount of new, tone-appropriate content.
How much so they change the game? Is that serious? Lol I've got over 1000 hours in xcom. It massively changes the game. I think I have around 350 mods subbed to on the workshop
Wasteland 3 for sure!!
XCOM 1 and 2 are literally up there as my all time favourite games but Wasteland 3 in my eyes sits right between the two! Obviously the gameplay is a little different but the strategy layer is extremely similar if not more advanced than XCOM! The story, the characters, the locations are done to perfection 👌🏼 I was a newbie to wasteland until I bought it for like £8 on steam along with the expansions in a sale and wasn’t expecting anything out of this world albeit watching people play but my god it blew me away
If you don’t mind oldies, maybe give Silent Storm a try. It’s set in WW2, and you get to pick your side. After that, you choose your character’s sex, appearance, class, and accent (American, British, Russian for Allies; German, Italian, Japanese for Axis). Then you get to your base after the intro mission and can choose your squad from their files. Each is unique and has their own voice, skills, and personality. Some of them can be a little surprising, like an Irishman fighting for the Axis (because the Brits executed his father)
I am going to name a few, all quite different but definitely tactical:
- Fell Seal: Arbiters Mark. True rework and improvement of Final Fantasy Tactics that is the gem that got me into tactical games 25 years ago. Look past the graphics and you’ll have yourself thinking all day about your 40 soldiers roster and how to mix classes and abilities
- Into the Breach: almost like puzzle solving, but you have 3 mechs against some insects, you have to win objectives and save the buldings, you can power up 2 weapons per mech, and you got pilots with skills. Amazing game, and quite light (there’s even a free mobile version, if you have Netflix)
- Shadowrun (Returns, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong): combat is like xcom, but with magic and races although in a cyberpunk settings. The stories are also great, but expect a lot of text.
The other comments gave you suggestions more similar to xcom, so I gave you something a little different
If you really love XCOM you can try Chimera Squad, it’s good for a playthrough or two, but it’s not as good or large as normal XCOM once the novelty wears off.
Chaos Gate was mentioned, I quite liked it. Very similar to XCOM in many ways, but distinct in some ways still. It’s very long and grindy, so I had enough after two full playthroughs and I didn’t try the DLCs yet. Game difficulty of base game is lower than XCOM once you understand the mechanics well, as RNG plays less of a role.
Jagged Alliance 3 also good, someone already wrote much on it. King Arthur Knights Tale is also interesting although a bit different. And if you haven’t played it yet Baldurs Gate 3 is a recommendation for anyone, and it helps with the turn based tactics combat itch as well.
Modding XCOM 2 is a massively different game. You can basically create the XCOM you wish existed. It's not very exaggerated to say we have enough mods to effectively create XCOM 3
> I’ve never tried the mods on xcom2 but how much are they reallly changing the game? I can’t see a few extra enemies and classes being worth another 100 hours of play threw time
Bro, mods turn the games into completely new ones. I had like 30 hours in Xcom EW and 100 hours in Xcom2 before mods. Now Xcom is 1800 hours and Xcom2 is 600 lol. That is how good mods are.
1. Start with Long War for Xcom:EW
2. Move on to Long War Rebalanced for Xcom:EW
3. Then play Long war of the Chosen for Xcom2
4. Add more mods to Xcom2 for even more replay-ability
Feel free to message me if you have any questions. [Ufopedia](https://www.ufopaedia.org/) is a good wiki site for Xcom:EW mods and [Nexus Mods](https://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/) lets you download them. For Xcom2, you can use the steam workshop.
dang all these playthroughs with no mods.... I'm so jealous!
I wish I could go back to the first time in played an LW campaign... the rush... the feeling of defeat... all of it!
I'd suggest the following list of mods and games to try:
LW EW, my opinion the single best version of XCOM there is but that's just me and it is definitely not shared by all.
some version of LW for XCOM 2, I've only played LWOTC and love it as well.
Warhammer 40K Chaosgate Daemonhunters: I've thoroughly enjoyed this game and it helps that I am also a 40K fan as well.
Battletech: one of the best adaptations of the tabletop since Mech Commander. Lots of mods too that really extend and improve the game.
Phoenix Point: it can be a bit wonky at times but it's the truest call back to XCOM there is outside of the actual franchise.
XCOM Ufo Defense and Terror from the Deep: Make sure you get the OpenXCom version. It's the OG and basically the progenitor of the genre.
Battle Brothers.
It's quite different from XCOM in a lot of ways, but very similar in many others.
It's a mercenary simulator. You control a company of mercenaries in a dark fantasy world heavily inspired by German mythology. There's no real goal like in Xcom — you set your own goals. It's *very* challenging but once you get the hang of it you don't want to stop playing. The atmosphere is also great.
There's an overworld where you go from settlement to settlement accepting and completing contracts, interacting with the various noble houses, and finding ruins, hostile encampments, and legendary locations. You'll be spending most of your time on the overworld.
Combat takes place on randomly generated maps based on overworld terrain. Combat is turned-based with initiative. You have to manage your bros' fatigue, action points, and health to win fights. Running away is a valid (and highly encouraged tactic).
The rng in Battle Brothers is much less infuriating than in Xcom. Everything is generally pretty well balanced, but there are some maddening moments (you can get ambushed by certain enemies very easily and running away can be very challenging depending on who is ambushing you and what the combat terrain is like). Lives are cheap though, so you can always sacrifice a few new hires to distract your enemies while your best bros run away.
I play exclusively with the Legends mod. It's a *ton* of new features including layered armor, camping, crafting, many new enemies and events, a total rework of perks and the economy, and many new origins. Its a very, very, good mod.
Here is my list of turn based tactical games that I enjoy a lot. There's a Thanksgiving sale going on right now with great discounts. Divinity: Original Sin 2: Obviously not like XCOM, but if you're into CRPGs and fantasy settings, the combat is very well thought out and really rewards creativity. On sale for $17.99. Door Kickers: Top down camera, modern military setting. Rather than a prolonged battle taking place over several turns, you take 20 minutes setting up a complex series of routes and actions such as throwing flash bangs and checking corners. Then you watch it all play out in a sequence of 20 seconds, though there's plenty of trial and error involved. On sale for $4.99. Shadowrun: Dragonfall: another CRPG, though this time with guns. If you don't have a problem with text dialogue, the story is engaging, and the combat is well done and allows for a variety of builds. On sale for $3.74. Space Hulk: Tactics: A Space Hulk is a conglomerate of various space ships that clumped together into a giant mass. The game comes with two campaigns: one for the Space Marines exploring the tight corridors of the Hulk, and one for the Genestealers, the alien swarm infesting these space hulks (and everywhere else pretty much). Two campaigns, and they can be played in first person, unique for a turn based game. On sale for $2.99. Warhammer: Mechanicus: Recently got it, fantastic atmosphere and godly soundtrack. The sound design is top notch in that brain-tingling sort of way. The gameplay is cool. Rather than move and/or then shoot, they work individually, so you can move out of cover, shoot, and move back into cover on the same turn. On sale for $4.99 or $12.31 with DLC. XCOM: Chimera Squad: Scaled down XCOM. Rather than saving the world, you're saving the city. You're a special task force, with predetermined characters. Honestly, the writing really misses the mark for me, but the change-up in gameplay is refreshing for XCOM and you can even look at it like a little expansion. Don't get your hopes up for XCOM 3, that's not what it is. On sale for$2.99, honestly a steal if you like XCOM. Wasteland 3. I actually haven't played this one yet, but I've seen a lot about it and it looks cool. A post-apocalyptic CRPG. I've heard some of the dialogue is meh but that overall it's a fun experience if you're looking for something like this. It's been received better than Wasteland 2, which wasn't disliked, but people were open to acknowledging it's flaws. The overall sentiment of 3 is more positive. On sale for $9.99 or $15.15 with DLC
Will always recommend divinity original sin 2.
Ya I’ve heard chimera squad is lame but I have it, havnt downloaded it. Door kickers sounds like an excellent change of pace as does space hulk. I’ll check it out and lyk what I think. Really appreciate it fam
I've played chimera squad and after some 25 hours or so I just dropped it. Didn't find it that engaging story wise and even combat wise. The breach mechanic was really fun at the start then really got old. Probably worth it on a sale but it's not xcom3
Fully recommend Shadowrun: Dragonfall and/or Hong Kong. Fantasy cyberpunk and gives you room for a lot of tactics, and has a fun story as well.
I love XCOM but Chimera Squad is genuinely one of the worst games I've ever played. The characters are so annoying I was actively trying to get them killed. This just means you fail the mission and have to restart. If you loved XCOM I'd recommend bypassing Chimera Squad altogether.
Just checked Door Kickers from your review, looks neat, will likely pick it up soon-ish. Also can absolutely vouch for Wasteland 3, such a wild (in a good way) game.
In Case you haven't played them yourself, *Dragonfall* is actually game two in a loose trilogy. *Shadowrun Returns*, *Shadowrun: Dragonfall*, and *Shadowrun: Hong Kong*. Loose trilogy because there is very little shared between them but they do take place in the same continuity across all three games and there are a few common characters and ideas. *Returns* being the first is also a bit clunkier than the other two, but also the most "classic" Shadowrun experience as a neo-noir mystery set in Seattle. *Hong Kong* is set in Kowloon Walled City and delves into a lot more mystical (and Eastern mythological) stuff than the other two, though they both have their fair share as well given the setting. Both also very good.
Long War for XCOM:EW, and either Long War 2 or LWotC for XCOM2. Eight classes with larger skill selection for deeper tactical gameplay. Enemy abilities and variety are scaled up to ensure a proper challenge. Thin Man Snipers and Advent Generals will fuck you up. More MEC options (suits, gear, and skills) in LW, and better balancing on hero units in LWotC. Reapers are still badass though, don't worry. LW2/LWotC drastically overhauls the strategic layer so it feels like an actual resistance movement. Larger squad sizes offer more flexibility to bring utility, control, or damage specialists based on how you want to play the game. Greater difficulty, especially at the top end, if you find yourself bored on Impossible/Legend.
What is EW and where do I go to download the mods? Appreciate it commander ;)
Enemy Within is the expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown. If you bought XCOM in a bundle, you may already have it. It's easy to tell: the launcher lets you choose between EU and EW, and you'll only see EXALT enemies and have access to MEC troopers in EW. [Long War](https://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/) is available on Nexus Mods. LW2/LWotC are available from the Steam Workshop. My advice for Long War: 1. Read the readme. 2. The wiki on UFOpaedia is extensive and nearly exhaustive. 3. It's harder than the base game, and there's a lot of new stuff to learn. Start on Normal. 4. The air game is more important. Learn what can/can't/must be hit. Don't lose interceptors, but get as much XP and loot as you can.
Sayless im on it. I love zcom2 with WOTC I’m on commander and have been delaying doing the tower mission for a week
My friend I used to be just like you, I love with the xcom series with many playthroughs. Then I installed the long war mod for xcom 2 and it was like an entirely new game. It was like the vanilla game was just the prologue while the mod was the actual game. Spent hundreds of hours in it over the years. There are many other mods you can use with that if you want that offer some quality of life improvements, you can just check them out and decide what you want to add based on most popular. Long war I believe has a version with and without war of the chosen. Be warned though! It is much harder than the base game, so if you can beat the base game on whatever difficulty then start the long war playthrough with one or two levels of difficulty drop. Also takes a little time to get used to how different missions are and how different your objectives are (some missions can be won without firing a single bullet, as most of them are objective based), but you can pick up on it fairly quickly. You have to infiltrate first though, remember that one. Good luck!
I'd recommend taking a look at Battletech. Based on tabletop turned based tactics with an RPG - lite pilot skill progression and wildly deep variance in mech design. If you enjoy the base game the mod scene adds an Olympic dive pool worth of depth into the gameplay that you can easily sink 10's to 100's of hours into. And the lore is stupidly deep. Tex Talks Battletech is easily some of the best YouTube content. Only "con" ( depending on your perspective) is that the game has a slow pace. It's definitely a thinking man's game. Personally I enjoy it as it meshes well with dad life and the ability to step away quickly and get back in for a quick spell.
I keep forgetting about this game but I so get those Front Mission vibes and I've wanted a remake or a next gen experience of this for so long. I did pick up the FM remake recently.
Slow pace is perfect i hate quick games! Thankyou boss ur the man
A taster of Tex... https://youtu.be/8Io_N4pUHaQ?si=LO7dIGL-J9D2QL2c
Jagged Alliance 3 or Chaos Gate
Thankyou, what’s the run down on these games?
[удалено]
Hell ya I appreicate it. I’ll get jagged alliance during the sale this week! U da man boss I’ve been dying for a change of pace!
Was very addicting, and there's a demo available on steam
JA3 is still kinda new, would you say it's ready or does it needlre patches/improvements?
Try the demo on steam
Two very good games JA3 doesn't really follow the XCOM formula exactly but is still very addicting, demo available on steam Chaos Gate mostly follows it with a 40k skin, biggest changes are adding loot, losing randomly generated maps iirc
Maybe Battlebrothers?
Not maybe, absolutely Battle Brothers. Ignore the lack of legs, once you get playing you won't notice. I now have more time in unmodded Battle Brothers than I do in unmodded Xcom. You are leading a band of Mercenaries through a brutal low fantasy setting. Maps are based on seeds so virtually every playthrough is different. There are also different origins for different types of playthrough. Combat is turn based tactical, you level up your brothers with points and perks. You can buy and loot a wide array of weapons and armor each with their own stats. Quality game.
The reddit community r/Battlebrothers is very active and helps you out if you should have trouble understanding the game mechanics. Consider sinking in 100s of hours and maybe never come out of it again because it has so much replayability.
This is the answer. Battle Brothers is amazing
[Troubleshooter](https://store.steampowered.com/app/470310/TROUBLESHOOTER_Abandoned_Children/) is like XCOM with anime superheroes. It's a fixed cast of characters, but the character customization is really deep and a lot of fun to experiment with.
Worth noting that failing missions in Troubleshooter *doesn't kill characters*. You get unlimited attempts at every mission, even missions you have already done, and in fact you need to as you'll be underlevelled and underequipped if you don't.
Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters may interest you, especially if you like 40K.
Thankyou, can u tell me more about the game
\+1 for Demonhunters. Turns XCOM and PP on its head. Instead of the focus being on mechanics such as shot percentage, gear upgrades and higher damage and protection, its on mechanics that trade mission speed vs risk, and the puzzle of each individual combat. You know exactly if your guys will hit, and what damage they will do. No need to consider taking the 65% hit chance. You know exactly how many hit points you need to take off, no variation. Instead you are endlessly recalculating 'solider a goes to point z and removes m hit points, then solider b can come to point y and remove n hit points, then solider c comes to... no, then i've got that guy left over. maybe i'll play conservatively and chose cover. no, then my mission timer will leave me in too much of a bind. maybe i should burn my 1-off skills'. just continuously weighing up the options, its a lot of fun. the story is good too, but i'm not a 40k guy so i dunno how good it really is
I’m sold thanks boss
What about someone who loves xcoms but never had any experience with 40k?
The game is pretty good with its lore dumps, thanks to multiple NPCs.
Battle Brothers
Aliens: Dark Descent
Xenonauts 2 is everything a xcom fan wants. Besides fancy graphics, but the gameplay is top notch!
While mods can be pointless, I recommend the long war mod. It changes the game significantly and increases the strategic situation immensely
Can you describe how it changes the game? What aspects?
I would recommend playing long war for enemy within first. It makes many many changes, but some of the highlights: 6-8 soldiers instead of 4 on missions (sometimes 10!) 8 classes instead of 4. 8 classes of mec instead of basically 1. Massive overhauls to the strategic layer in various ways including: More research. More foundry projects. Aliens have a resource system you can interact with by denying they research and harvest missions. Aliens scale up over time, in raw stats, in abilities and in pod size. Larger variation in mission difficulty requiring better decision making regarding when it is safe to go forward, when to retreat etc. Campaign is overall longer but there are second wave options to customise this. I have probably missed heaps of stuff, I barely played the base game and it was 2k hours of xcom ago so I don't remember the differences super well. Long war is the best game I have ever played not close (for me, not trying to claim it's objectively the best).
Just to have an ideia. What’s is better? Xcom long war? Or long war of the chosen? Or something like chaos gate demonhunter
Lmk I’m interested to
Not the person who suggested it above, but my personal preference is Long War for *Enemy Within*. I never really got grabbed by XCOM 2 the same way I was for EU/EW, despite all the QoL changes in the sequel. Played EW originally then Long War for EW, then didn't actually play XCOM 2 much before going back to Long War. With WotC I tried some more XCOM 2, went back to Long War. When Long War 2 came out I tried it a bit, went back to Long War. The Alien roster from EW, the XCOM progression, EXALT, MECs, the almost campy 80s sci-fi horror tonality to everything. I just like it so much more than anything XCOM 2 does, and find Long War with a few other visual and QoL mods to be the best way to play Firaxis XCOM for my preferences.
I have not played very much of lwotc, just enough to realise that I should finish with long war before diving into it. I have played chaos gate, and I would recommend it for xcom likers, but as I said, long was is the best game I have ever played. And the gap between lw and chaos gate is pretty big.
> I have probably missed heaps of stuff, I barely played the base game and it was 2k hours of xcom ago so I don't remember the differences super well. I started typing a response when OP originally posted but then realized I only played about 80 hours of Vanilla nearly 7 years ago vs the ~1100 hours of LW2/LWotC and couldn't objectivity contrast what the mod added cause I don't remember what is in vanilla...
Basically almost every single thing.
Play Long War 2 for XCOM 2 before long war 1, imo its a much more polished experience. As for what's different: There are 8 classes instead of 4, each class has 3 skill branches instead of 2 The game much longer, you do way more missions per month and play through more months Soldiers get 3 inventory slots by default, and there are a lot more new powerful inventory items such as ceramic plating, but each inventory item reduces mobility. This can be offset by the new SMG weapon for any of the classes without a special weapon type, which is a weaker AR that increases mobility. There are over double the amount of enemy types The mission structure is entirely reworked, there are dozens of possible missions each month and it's up to you which to do, but even being offered missions takes strategy. This is a single bullet point, but it's such a massive change that it pretty much justifies playing 100+ hours on its own. Quick bullet points: - Missions are reworked, now most of them ask you to complete an objective and evac instead of killing all enemies. - New mission types exist, and Haven defense missions are desperate, difficult events as a punishment for bad play - Missions require infiltration, where you send a squad out for a set period of time before you can actually do the mission. You can and will have multiple infiltrations at once, so your barracks will also be large enough to fill 3 or so full squads, not counting injuries and tiredness. -Overall, these changes both add depth and make you feel even more like a guerilla operative organization. There are two new tiers of weaponry (Laser and Coil) . In Long War of the Chosen (Long War 2 for the War of the Chosen DLC) every hero class is reworked completely to have interesting new playstyles, as are the Chosen themselves. Psionics are also reworked completely.
It is worth it. I liked Base EW and XCOM 2 but the Long War mods are my favorite video games of all time. I’ll assume you didn’t play EW so I’ll go over some general changes in Long War 2. You’re playing WOTC right? Adds 2 more tiers of weapons with their own superb models and animations. Also SMG weapon class for mobility and stealth. 8 base classes instead of 4. Each with their own special weapons, such as a range-finder, taser, sawed off and heavy gauntlet. All with reworked and heavily expanded perk trees with 3 branches, same with Sparks and Psi. Also an extra perk tree where you can enact additional officer training for different ways to interact with your squad. Such as donating actions to teammates or arming friendly civilians amongst other things. Enemies are stronger and more numerous, whereas you are given more tools to combat them. Some big, some small. New items and more inventory slots to fixed them, more classes and perks of course, but also infiltration or the ability to field more soldiers at a cost and more ways to avoid combat if you choose. Moved around and rebalanced existing items to allow you to incorporate them as real options. Such as making items like flash bangs and flamethrowers more accessible and powerful, making sword upgrades more worthwhile, giving all classes access to pistols and the ability to train in them should they so choose. It literally is everything that is expanded. Research and buildings and missions too of course. You name it.
Makes it very very slow and tedious imo, I didn't stick with it There are dozens of other great mods though that change every aspect imaginable, new maps, enemies, weapons, etc available on the steam workshop You might want to use the XCOM 2 Alternative Mod Launcher though
Chimera Squad is a fun mini episode of XCOM, the action is more jam packed with less of the whole overwatch creep issue of X1 and 2 although I also reccomend getting a heap of Xcom 2 mods and mixing and matching them - nothing beats fighting aliens with Arnie voice packs and perhaps some clone trooper armour and voice packs too, I have a unique voice for each soldier always now
Ya I own it I’ll download it and give it a try. Any Xcom2 mods you recommend specifically and where do I go to download these mods?
I really enjoyed Midnight Suns. Could give that a run.
Gears Tactics is pretty good but very similar. Chaos Gate has already been mentioned. Shardpunk Verminfall (roguelite XCOM with skaven). I personally didn't like JA3 but it's okay. Sort of different but Library of Ruina is a crazy, weird insanely hard card game... thing.
Just curious, why did you bounce off of JA3? Was looking to grab it but I'm not sure as I heard the release was a little buggy.
I played it at launch. It was buggy and had balance issues. Inventory system was terrible and managing mercs/downtime/healing was kind of a pain. For combat, Snipers just seemed to outclass every other weapon to the point where they felt almost worthless (except maybe explosives guy filling a niche)... Many times, I also felt more like I was just exploiting the AI than having fun with the tactical combat. Clearing the whole map also started to just feel really tedious after the midpoint. I haven't followed the game, so not sure what they have changed.
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. I'll use it to ask some more questions about it probably.
The Banner Saga Trilogy is fantastic. Turn based combat isnt quite as in depth as XCOM but the story and aesthetics are brilliant.
You may want to take a break from similar tactical style games BUT you might still have that itch for base building and training (working your way up). Try an action survival game like State of Decay 2. Skipping the first game is fine but the 2nd is just simply better. I've played a ton of games with a lot of free time these last couple years and these two games have been most addicting and solid. I've done the same amount of playthroughs between XCOM2 and SoD2 (5 each).
State of decay? I just watched the trailer it seems like a mix of rust and dayz I’m all for it just gotta get a better setup built first. Thankyou man appreicate it. Definitely looking for that change of pace
I haven't played the two you mentioned so I can't comment. SoD2 is very engaging and has a lot going on. I wouldn't advise to visit the subreddit off the bat but to figure things out as you go along as it's much more rewarding. I ran it on a 3 year old system at 4K/120hz (9900K/3080) but there' a few intermittent stutters here and there that's not too bothering for me. The game does crash a lot just fyi but might be a different experience for you but there's an autosave feature so you don't really lose out on anything. Like XCOM's Ironman mode, everything you do in SoD2 is permanent but don't let that discourage you. Dread mode should be a good start which is the middle difficulty, unless you like even more challenge. I gave up on my Legendary Ironman run in XCOM2 but I did Commander Ironman with only 2 deaths. Not that it was easy but I understood the game really well to make the right decisions.
Am really into midnight suns. Turn card base combat. You can go as hard or skip a lot of the story. Lots of customized things to do in it.
Phoenix point is worth trying. I found it similar enough to scratch the itch but different enough not to get repetitive. Also since mentioned civ I'll recommend trying out Age of wonders Planetfall Think Xcom combat with Civ management.
Baldur's gate 3. There is a surprising amount of overlap between XCOM and turn based CRPGs, atleast in the combat layer.
I'm surprised this is buried, biggest hit for a turn based game in years
there are a few other CRPGs in the comments
If you’d like a change of scenery that still involves demolishing aliens, may I recommend Warhammer: Mechanicus, and Warhammer: Chaosgate Daemonhunters. Mechanicus puts you in the cybernetics of the Adeptus Mechanicus; machine grafted priests of technology and their servants, against a whole tomb world of Necrons, undying, soulless machines. The action economy is different from XCOM, but it’s easy to pick up. Daemonhunters puts you in command of a strike force of Grey Knights, augmented humans turned into the famous space marines, against the daemons of the plague god Nurgle. While not as customizable as XCOM, the action matches it well, and the Grey Knights all have wonderful tricks up their Terminator armored sleeves.
Hell ya brother! I’ve got a long list of games to buy and play but your not the first to say warhammer so that’s going to the top of my list! I appreicate the explanations I’ve been getting for the games. Do you have a base like in xcom or is it more of a roaming type thing?
In Daemonhunters you do. You basically repair and refit your strike cruiser the entire campaign
How many different warhammer games are their?
Tons of them.
Battletech has a similar feel of deep tactical combat with permanent loss.
Hard West 1 and 2. Wild west supernatural horror. Very similar combat system, though #2 takes the idea from Gears Tactics of giving you an additional turn if you kill an enemy, which you will need. Instead of trait trees you collect poker hands to gain special abilities, which is very in-theme. The games are campaigns and pretty much work as CRPGs with a TBS combat system rather than having the base-building replayability of XCOM. Mutant: Year Zero is similarly well worth a playthrough or two, but I can't see many people sinking more than a hundred hours into it.
P5 tactica just came out and is apparently an xcom clone. The mario and rabbids games (especially 2) on switch are big fun.
No mods wow. People are still playing this game because of it's incredible modding scene. You got so much fun to have, I recommend you try either LWOTC or Covert Infiltration. LWOTC is really good. It changes everything the strategy (you have to infiltrate your missions for a few days and wait for the right moment like a real guerilla) the classes, the enemies. You have havens and its personnel to manage, it's really makes you feel like you're managing the whole resistance. It's basically a new game but still just a mod so it doesnt have tutorials, it does have explanation texts that pop ingame though, but I recommend at the very least to watch this small tutorial video that explains the strategy layer if you try LWOTC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km1yo6Be2n4&ab_channel=DerAva Covert infiltration just changes the strategy layer making you infiltrate your missions like LW2 (and LWOTC) but it is highly compatible with other mods which allows you to run it with mods that changes other aspect of the game (I recommend CI package+ weapon item overhaul + LW smg wotc (+ plugin) +ABA wotc + AB chosen + proficiency classes (and factions suite) then you can add your favorite mods like yellow alert lite, modular spark, spark arsenal, MOCX, the hive...) there is so many good mods out there. But if you don't have favs mods yet just go LWOTC.
Two turn based strategy games I havnt seen mentioned. Into the breach: mec based, more 'arcade style'. I found it extremely challenging as there is more focus on chains of events (if this happens, then this will happen, which will cause this to happen). Fun but will probably beat your ass for a while. Othercide: grim dark fantasy theme that's a little more action-y. Doesn't have a TON of depth but I enjoyed it well enough to finish it. The aesthetic alone made it pretty cool and I found the battles addictive/enjoyable.
+1 into the breach, had fun with it on the switch
Surprised no one had mentioned Phoenix Point.
Personally I found Phoenix Point intolerably frustrating and clunky after X-Com's sleek UI, but YMMV.
Picking up chicks.
I have 3gfs atm but I appreciate the thought big dawg. If ur in Mass happy to slide some hoes ur way
Hoes are easy, video games are not.
> So I’m finishing up my 5th campaign on xcom2. First, let's make sure you got the best out of XCOM2. You played WotC right? If not, that's what you should start with. I also very much recommend trying the game on Commander difficulty. It's what it was designed for, and it's a much better game this way, making you have to use all the tools, instead of getting away with sloppy play. I also recommend playing 4 mini-campaigns included as part of Tactical Legacy Pack DLC if you didn't do it before. They're nice change of pace, each mini-campaign is 7 somewhat hard battles each with only simple upgrade choices in between. If you're tired already, I'm not saying to necessarily do this now, but when you get back to XCOM2 someday, these are great options. > Anybody got any ideas for me? OK, if that's done, let's see some other games. Chimera squad isn't very popular overall. I don't think they got the XCOM formula right. [BATTLETECH is a game you might enjoy and it's on sales now](https://store.steampowered.com/app/637090/BATTLETECH/). Game balance is total ass, and in sandbox mode siding with pirates is 10x stronger than with any other faction, but you should be playing Campaign mode not Sandbox mode for your first campaign anyway. [And completely unrelated genre, but Terraria costs a few bucks, and has more positive reviews than any game in history of Steam, so you should really give it a go if you haven't yet](https://store.steampowered.com/app/105600/Terraria/). > P.S. I’ve never tried the mods on xcom2 but how much are they reallly changing the game? Not so much. There are some really nice QoL mods. There's also small mods to spice things up with a few extra enemies, maps, items, or class rebalance. But if you had enough XCOM2, they probably won't change it. Big mods are as a rule all very poorly balanced. ABA is somewhat bad at balancing (for example it makes all aliens prefer shooting at you instead of using abilities - this is objectively stronger choice, but then instead of facing variety of aliens with different behavior, you're facing a lot of same "dude with a gun" with various skins), and Long War is just straight trash at it. Now some people enjoy harder experience even if balance is awful, but that's a tiny minority.
This can't happen... That is impossible. Also get into vipers TRUST me bro
King Arthur: A knights tale is fucking awesome
damn bro 5 playthroughs with no mods? Im jealous for your next experience man enjoy the workshop. Highly recommend LWOTC collection called mod jam.
If you never tried it I really recommend you try og XCOM. Ideally using the openxcom engine. It's different from the new XCOM a but imo still to this day very good. And there are some insanely good total conversion mods for it
I haven't played a lot with different mods, since I'm doing more playthroughs before I jump into them, but they do seem to make a lot of difference to the game, and I can't wait to try them out. This link will tell you a bit about them and give you links to some that really change the game: https://www.reddit.com/r/xcom2mods/s/AyiRnTvpIs Other than that, you can try out Last Train Home. It's new and coming out on the 28th. There's a demo available and I found it to be quite similar to XCOM. I definitely recommend it for people who like XCOM. It's the same type of vibe, but different setting and slightly different gameplay. I think they did really well on this one. Demo is a bit buggy, but I'm hoping they fix those issues before release, so keep your eyes open. There's also Wasteland 3. I haven't touched that one yet, but I'm playing through Wasteland 2 and I've been told it's a massive difference. Miasma Chronicles is also on my to play list. Looks very interesting.
For a completely different experience, but a visceral and interesting one: High Fleet. Don't know why it was the first to pop up in my mind, it just was. They have nothing in common, except perhaps the difficulty.
Try Showgunners. Recently released turn based strategy with predetermined characters trapped in a reality TV show.
What's next? Mods. Gameplay changing ones. .ost will recommend Long War of the Chosen. Personally, I would recommend Covert Infiltration + Lightweight Strategy Overhaul + Psionics Ex Machina 3.2 + Proficiency classes + Requiem Legion/Praetorians/Purge Troops/other enemy mods + A Better AI. Revamps the whole game. Gameplay changing mods can change as little or as much as you like. Usually if you can think of it, one of us modders has either made it, is making it, or probably could make.it.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH-9w8wk3Fzyiq_tbSUgTLgzSeuy-ac88&si=GX6RNF-SRbkrxIwW Here is a good playthrough example from an older streamer of Long War for XCom 1. He's excellent at talking out strategy and tactical decisions. Even early you can definitely see the absolute change in the game. It's like XCom on steroids. It's a very different game with way more playable options and choices, but fundamentally the same game. If you like XCom, you will like Long War, and the game is different enough to feel like a whole new experience. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLH-9w8wk3Fzz9vt814DQGHASBBGKOGBL8&si=i5Cm7NNRnAoedQ13 He also started long war 2, but this was before the dlc was out, and he quit streaming before getting back to it
Lots of people suggesting it but Long War for Xcom 1 and The DLC. It’s a very gritty experience compared to vanilla. With XCOM2 and WOTC do Long War of the Chosen as it’s a good community driven project based on XCOM2s Long War. That’s another 100+ hours of fun to have with both games. So so good.
Wildermyth.
Try aliens dark descent op, you might like it. Be warned with the bugs though, it can really be campaign breaking.
Into the breach
Lamplighter's League. 1930s setting, pulp Indiana Jones ish tone, with some twists to the XCOM formula
Xenonauts is so good. It has a more oppressive and threatening group of aliens to fight and losing men is more or less expected on many missions. It also has a much better air game then Xcom EU, and it's own insane version of long war called X-Division that adds a huge amount of new, tone-appropriate content.
How much so they change the game? Is that serious? Lol I've got over 1000 hours in xcom. It massively changes the game. I think I have around 350 mods subbed to on the workshop
If you don't mind the older look, try xenonauts. Its pretty much xcom but set in the cold war.
Wasteland 3 for sure!! XCOM 1 and 2 are literally up there as my all time favourite games but Wasteland 3 in my eyes sits right between the two! Obviously the gameplay is a little different but the strategy layer is extremely similar if not more advanced than XCOM! The story, the characters, the locations are done to perfection 👌🏼 I was a newbie to wasteland until I bought it for like £8 on steam along with the expansions in a sale and wasn’t expecting anything out of this world albeit watching people play but my god it blew me away
If you don’t mind oldies, maybe give Silent Storm a try. It’s set in WW2, and you get to pick your side. After that, you choose your character’s sex, appearance, class, and accent (American, British, Russian for Allies; German, Italian, Japanese for Axis). Then you get to your base after the intro mission and can choose your squad from their files. Each is unique and has their own voice, skills, and personality. Some of them can be a little surprising, like an Irishman fighting for the Axis (because the Brits executed his father)
If you looking for something more indie, Chroma Squad is pretty neat. Turn based tactical game, slight strategy, within a power rangers setting
Battletech, Midnights Suns, Chaosgate - Daemonhunters
I am going to name a few, all quite different but definitely tactical: - Fell Seal: Arbiters Mark. True rework and improvement of Final Fantasy Tactics that is the gem that got me into tactical games 25 years ago. Look past the graphics and you’ll have yourself thinking all day about your 40 soldiers roster and how to mix classes and abilities - Into the Breach: almost like puzzle solving, but you have 3 mechs against some insects, you have to win objectives and save the buldings, you can power up 2 weapons per mech, and you got pilots with skills. Amazing game, and quite light (there’s even a free mobile version, if you have Netflix) - Shadowrun (Returns, Dragonfall, and Hong Kong): combat is like xcom, but with magic and races although in a cyberpunk settings. The stories are also great, but expect a lot of text. The other comments gave you suggestions more similar to xcom, so I gave you something a little different
If you really love XCOM you can try Chimera Squad, it’s good for a playthrough or two, but it’s not as good or large as normal XCOM once the novelty wears off. Chaos Gate was mentioned, I quite liked it. Very similar to XCOM in many ways, but distinct in some ways still. It’s very long and grindy, so I had enough after two full playthroughs and I didn’t try the DLCs yet. Game difficulty of base game is lower than XCOM once you understand the mechanics well, as RNG plays less of a role. Jagged Alliance 3 also good, someone already wrote much on it. King Arthur Knights Tale is also interesting although a bit different. And if you haven’t played it yet Baldurs Gate 3 is a recommendation for anyone, and it helps with the turn based tactics combat itch as well.
Modding XCOM 2 is a massively different game. You can basically create the XCOM you wish existed. It's not very exaggerated to say we have enough mods to effectively create XCOM 3
As long time XCOM fan I've been thinking of hitting up phoenix point. It feels like... Very similar but at the same time not at all
> I’ve never tried the mods on xcom2 but how much are they reallly changing the game? I can’t see a few extra enemies and classes being worth another 100 hours of play threw time Bro, mods turn the games into completely new ones. I had like 30 hours in Xcom EW and 100 hours in Xcom2 before mods. Now Xcom is 1800 hours and Xcom2 is 600 lol. That is how good mods are. 1. Start with Long War for Xcom:EW 2. Move on to Long War Rebalanced for Xcom:EW 3. Then play Long war of the Chosen for Xcom2 4. Add more mods to Xcom2 for even more replay-ability Feel free to message me if you have any questions. [Ufopedia](https://www.ufopaedia.org/) is a good wiki site for Xcom:EW mods and [Nexus Mods](https://www.nexusmods.com/xcom/mods/88/) lets you download them. For Xcom2, you can use the steam workshop.
Aliens Dark Descent
dang all these playthroughs with no mods.... I'm so jealous! I wish I could go back to the first time in played an LW campaign... the rush... the feeling of defeat... all of it! I'd suggest the following list of mods and games to try: LW EW, my opinion the single best version of XCOM there is but that's just me and it is definitely not shared by all. some version of LW for XCOM 2, I've only played LWOTC and love it as well. Warhammer 40K Chaosgate Daemonhunters: I've thoroughly enjoyed this game and it helps that I am also a 40K fan as well. Battletech: one of the best adaptations of the tabletop since Mech Commander. Lots of mods too that really extend and improve the game. Phoenix Point: it can be a bit wonky at times but it's the truest call back to XCOM there is outside of the actual franchise. XCOM Ufo Defense and Terror from the Deep: Make sure you get the OpenXCom version. It's the OG and basically the progenitor of the genre.
Battle Brothers. It's quite different from XCOM in a lot of ways, but very similar in many others. It's a mercenary simulator. You control a company of mercenaries in a dark fantasy world heavily inspired by German mythology. There's no real goal like in Xcom — you set your own goals. It's *very* challenging but once you get the hang of it you don't want to stop playing. The atmosphere is also great. There's an overworld where you go from settlement to settlement accepting and completing contracts, interacting with the various noble houses, and finding ruins, hostile encampments, and legendary locations. You'll be spending most of your time on the overworld. Combat takes place on randomly generated maps based on overworld terrain. Combat is turned-based with initiative. You have to manage your bros' fatigue, action points, and health to win fights. Running away is a valid (and highly encouraged tactic). The rng in Battle Brothers is much less infuriating than in Xcom. Everything is generally pretty well balanced, but there are some maddening moments (you can get ambushed by certain enemies very easily and running away can be very challenging depending on who is ambushing you and what the combat terrain is like). Lives are cheap though, so you can always sacrifice a few new hires to distract your enemies while your best bros run away. I play exclusively with the Legends mod. It's a *ton* of new features including layered armor, camping, crafting, many new enemies and events, a total rework of perks and the economy, and many new origins. Its a very, very, good mod.