Announced only last week and debuting as soon as tomorrow, XCOM: Chimera Squad is without a doubt one of the most surprising marketing campaigns of the last few years. That's especially true when considering that XCOM is one of the biggest franchises in the history of the strategy genre, with the series stretching all the way back to the early 90s.
For those who didn't see the news when it dropped last week, Chimera Squad looks to be a brand new take on the staple XCOM formula, removing the patented perma-death and soldier creation of the previous games in favor of offering players a set squad of characters with their own skills and abilities. These aren't the only changes either, with the game switching to an initiative turn-based system for the first time ever alongside a number of other interesting gameplay additions.
With the spin-off dropping tomorrow, it appears reviews are finally here for the next adventure in the XCOM series, so how does it hold up?
Screenrant (Christopher Teuten)
"XCOM: Chimera Squad gives off a sort of Far Cry: Blood Dragon feel upon first glance, but the longer a player stays invested the more the game begins to feel like classic XCOM, despite all of the changes and tweaks... considering XCOM: Chimera Squad's remarkably cheap price, it's a worthy addition for any turn-based strategy fan's collection."
Score 4.5 / 5
Comicbook.com (Rollin Bishop)
"XCOM: Chimera Squad is by no means perfect, but a lot of what made my experience with it frustrating are the sort of things that are likely to get patched at some point in the future. Still, the vibrant worldbuilding and refreshed combat and strategy layer make for an exceedingly delightful time, and it’s hard not to recommend folks at least give it a shot if they’ve ever been interested in strategy games."
Score: 8 / 10
Game Informer (Ben Reeves)
"The XCOM series is well-known for its intricate turn-based action. Chimera Squad augments those systems with a few clever ideas, but some of the new systems don't play well with XCOM's existing foundation. The interwoven turn order and removal of permadeath are fun experiments, but they ultimately weaken XCOM's delicately balanced action. Chimera Squad is a neat standalone project, but it doesn’t stand as tall as the rest of the series."
Score: 8 / 10
Games Radar (Alex Avard)
"Divergent design decisions aside, Chimera Squad's campaign still presents hours of stimulating XCOM content, and at its discounted price point, the value for money here is genuinely impressive. But while the more ambitious spirit of creativity whirring beneath Chimera Squad's revised DNA is exciting, you can understand Firaxis' reluctance to give this instalment the eminence of full sequel status."
Score: 4 / 5
PC Gamer (Tom Senior)
"This isn't budget XCOM exactly, it's an attempt to rework the series' rules into a snappier experience. There's a version of Chimera Squad I can imagine that's even more elegant and streamlined, but I still felt the familiar feelings of elation when a combo comes off, and annoyance when that 90 percent shot misses. If anything, it's convinced me to start yet another XCOM 2 campaign, and that's no bad thing."
Score: 72 / 100
US Gamer (Kat Bailey)
"XCOM: Chimera Squad retains much of what makes XCOM such a special tactics series, in the process adding in some genuine improvements to its already excellent formula. But these improvements are undermined by some strange art choices, as well as a general reluctance to maximize some of its bolder changes. All in all, an interesting experiment, but one that still has a ways to go before reaching its full potential."
Score: 3.5 / 5
IGN (Tom Marks)
"XCOM: Chimera Squad may be a full XCOM spin-off, but it feels more like testing ground for radical departures from the previous two games than a proper sequel. It plays with bold changes to the existing mechanics and story, but only props them up with a thin bit of scaffolding rather than a cohesive whole. Its unique characters are wonderful and its new ideas are certainly an interesting change of pace, even if they sacrifice some of the deeper strategic choice and dynamically generated storytelling I love the series for. Thankfully, none of those changes stop its combat from still being XCOM, and that tried-and-true formula (even with initiative-based turns) goes a long way toward keeping it fun in the face of its frustrating bugs and occasional missteps."
Score: 7 / 10
Polygon (Charlie Hall)
"Despite its imperfections, fans of tactical strategy games should snatch XCOM: Chimera Squad up as soon as possible. The asking price means that no one has much to lose by giving it a shot, even if you didn’t like previous XCOM titles. With luck, the price point will even expose the genre to more players than ever before."
Score: Unscored
It seems that, while far from as competent as the previous two mainline entries in the series, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a small slice of fun that offers exceptional value for the experience its offering. Although critics seem to pull up the game's wide array of bugs, lack of stakes as a result of no perma-death, and reduced complexity in certain scenarios as issues, it seems the game also is an interesting testing ground for a number of new concepts that could be implemented into future sequels. With a potential XCOM 3 seemingly a while off, the general perception is that this is a fairly strong offering to long-time fans looking for a taste of XCOM action to tide them over until then.
XCOM: Chimera Squad will be available on April 24, 2020 for PC.