Characters are insufferable, buzz feed blogger types.

Makes it unplayable

The worst game in the whole series. Selection of soldiers is artificially limted, character upgrade perks are useless, and the general feeling is of a board game where you just roll the dice and write down damage points. And of course, the staple of unimaginative game design - plain stupid enemy spam. Don't even bother.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a perfectly acceptable entry in the XCOM series. If you've haven't played the mainline games, play those instead, but if you've finished both mainline entries and need something to scratch that itch, this game works well.

Compared to the mainline series, the combat is fine. I prefer the mainline series' combat, but I wouldn't call Chimera Squad's combat a downgrade. It's the classic XCOM fare, blasting your way through hordes of enemies in tense tactical combat. The strategic element is really deep and a great to sink your teeth into.
Compared to most other game's combat, XCOM's is insanely enjoyable, giving the visceral feeling of finally cracking a crossword clue when you land a risky shot with one of your soldiers. Even not at it's greatest, Chimera Squad still delivers some of the best tactical combat out there.

The worldbuilding is probably the second-best part of this game (just behind the combat), with great dedication being given to make City 31 a lived-in place. The art style accentuates the lighthearted theme of the game, with cutscenes being rendered in a luscious cartoon style.

However, I do have some problems. The game is a bit buggy, with models clipping through walls and teleporting around. Also. the outbreak missions make no sense. When a district is panicking at max level, some random baddies show up and then just start killing civilians for no reason (to cool off, maybe.)

The villains of the groups that you have to chase have no character at all and die about 15 minutes after they get introduced. The story is paper-thin, serving exclusively as an excuse to move from one mission to another, but I can forgive that because the gameplay is where this game shines.

I do like how the game gives your soldiers more character, but I think that not allowing them to permanently die is a bit self-destructive. The game lets you pimp and preen and feel attached to these characters, which opens you up for a great emotional moment when your beloved sexy snek gets beaned in the head by a blast of plasma, killing them forever; a staple of the series. However, I understand why Firaxis wouldn't implement this, as I imagine they want to make a more casual game that's accessible to newer players.

Additionally, the map diversity is pretty small. Every arms deal/hostage situation/meeting in town happens at either a busted industrial lot, a drab nightclub or a munted modern apartment. The lack of diversity makes the game feel like you're playing the same missions on the same maps over and over and over.

In conclusion, if you want to scratch that XCOM itch without replaying a previous game, definitely pick up Chimera Squad . However, play the mainline games first, if you still haven't. Also, this game goes on crazy special (for reference, I picked this game up for $1.69). If you feel a bit apprehensive, I'd wait for one of these giant sales before buying. Thank you for reading, I hope you have a good day.

I think this could of been an interesting DLC or mod for XCOM2, but as a standalone game, it just lacks its own or XCOM2's charms.

It's hard to pin point what exactly is the issue with this game. It might be the lack of interesting base building, character progression, randomness, story, or all of them. What I can say is that this was not the game fans for XCOM wanted. I feel like the balance of randomness and player agency was the key to XCOM's replayability and fun came from. This game lacks in both aspects. Even then, it could of been a good game if the there were things that make worth playing while with interesting combat, story, or whatever. Sadly, this doesn't have its own unique identity. As I said at the start, it feels like a DLC/Mod.

I understand the more character focused, story driven approach the devs were going for and I too think it is an interesting approach to XCOM universe. The issue was, understandablly, trying to preserve the XCOM structure. I think this game was on the opposite spectrum. I think doing that went against this game as it just felt like things were missing in this game compared to XCOM. If it was differentiated more, it probably would of stood on its own. But again, if you do that, what is the point of being part of a XCOM franchise.

In the end, this game is a not so bad, not so good, down the middle game on its own. When considering it as XCOM game, this just isn't it. Not really for the fans, not really for non-fans. There are better alternatives for both type of players.

Boring, the only thing that is xcom about this game is the world they are in, nothing else

this game helped me get over my raging astrophobia from the last two games

A fun mini-XCOM game where you're basically a SWAT team managing a city instead of a global defense force or resistance network. As someone who is decent at XCOM games, I found this enjoyable as some of the mechanics/management are either simpler or scaled down, so it doesn't drag on forever like the main entries sometimes do.

Other things about the game are up to your preference. The squadmates are fixed (so lower customization/team personalization), but many of their unique abilities are really good. The writing for dialogue can be cringe, but the radio adverts were actually pretty funny. Some early Mass Effect vibes in the better lines.

Overall, if you mainline Long War, you probably don't want this. If you like XCOM but not the longer commitment of 1 or 2, this game is for you.

It is the least XCOMy XCOM, which makes it good and bad.

Bad, because it doesn't have the difficulty and permanence other XCOMs have
Good, because it's cool without ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ you in the ass

Very addicting and adds to the overall story. I would consider this a x-com 2.5.