Xenonauts

play with X-Division

Most of the game is this clunky soldier turn based combat, most of the rest is skipping between combat missions. The problem is the combat is too random. It's not a simulator that punishes you harshly and make you think about decisions, its a sim that randomly punishes you with shots that insta kill your units. More to the point, at the start, at least, the aliens are much stronger than your units in so far as they have way more action points and seem way more accurate. Somehow.

Which would be fine, except that your arbitrarily limited to the number of units you can bring (transport vehicle shows extra room but you can't add more troops, only cars), the edges of the battle field are hard limited, and you have no control over your starting position, meaning sometimes you get screwed over by the map at the beginning.

Much of the frustration would be solved if combat felt like something you could influence consistently, but the game's explanation is terrible, You'll notice units are constantly 1 or two points short of using grenades, and every unit has a different cost for using them. Unitsreaction fire when they should. Presumably this is because of the reflex stat, though this still isn't explained and it takes time to notice these facts in tiny tool tips.

The aliens also often move randomly. You can take their weapons when they die, but can't use them later until unlocking the research. Which....given your only allowed one team per mission that can benefit from them ,seems nonsocial. Still even when using them, your units can't use them like the aliens can

It also takes time to replace these untrained soldiers, for whatever reason.

Basically, compare the game to XCOM, which is refines its turn based combat, and XCOM is very similar but simply better and more understandable. This is like 2000's budget XCOM.

great

Incredible.

i love the game, but hate the reapers, you see big purple bugs you run the hell the other way, get everyone on the dropship and abort the mission itll be hell. Also you will take losses in alien bases

XCOM with just enough changed to avoid copyright infringement.

That being said, it is extremely well done and delivers exactly what it promises.

The only regular bug that I have come across is corrupted auto-saves in "Ironman" mode which is typical of all games that use this type of save scheme (note: regular mode allows manual saves)

Like XCOM, the games difficulty spikes quickly at the beginning, but becomes more manageable once you begin researching and producing new technologies.

The game also comes with an "open" version that allows and organises the use of mods (found on the games Steam community page)

If you're comparing it to the original XCOM: UFO defence, it very likely is a massive step up in every way and would be more up your alley.

But if you're comparing it to the Firaxis' XCOM: Enemy Unknown/Within and XCOM 2 series, including long war, you might find the game to be a struggle to play on.

This review might seem weak, given I spent at most, 59 minutes playing the game before giving up and refunding, and yeah, I'm not gonna lie, its gonna seem petty, but I'll just explain what my biggest problems were in that 1 hour, and my experiences during the hour:

My biggest problem was that the game relied extremely heavily on you reading the manual for learning the game (Which you can actually miss if you're not paying attention, the manual is not on steam itself so if you enter the game past the launcher, you need to actually close the game, and start the launcher again to have the option to open your manual, unless you wanna google, its kinda annoying to figure that out), with your only information in game being text boxes that don't really give you much visual representation or actually teach you anything, they give you more lore/story stuff.

So, either assuming you read the manual, or just skip it like I did initially, you are quite literally, just tossed right in and are assumed to know how the game works or at the very least, have an understanding of what you're doing. Again, if you're comparing it to the original 1994 XCOM UFO Defence, its probably very likely familiar, and potentially a massive step up and you might be right at home.

But for a game that came out 20 years later, in 2014 (and only 2 years after the rebooted XCOM: Enemy Unknown), long after manuals stopped being something required to understand the game controls and mechanics, and even stopped being included in game boxes... It didn't leave a great impression, I'm sure to veteran players I may look 'entitled' or 'lazy' for not spending probably 30 - 60 minutes reading a manual, which sure, I'll concede, that's not a hugely outrageous ask, but I am wanting to play the damn game too, however the appeal of manuals was also how short and flashy they were, here I'm reading 33 pages of just pure text that only really explain parts of the mechanics and not the controls or how to do stuff, that's boring, its unhelpful. I was hoping the game would at least give me even a simple prompt on how to do stuff, at best I got told how to build a base, and... That was it, I was just forced to deal with everything on the fly!

I already had a very minor / basic idea of how the game would work just based on what I saw from videos from both the original UFO defence, and videos of Xenonauts, but despite that familiarity, the next biggest problem that came following the manual was the UI, which is just... Atrocious, its too small, for reference I was playing on a 1600x900 in windowed mode, so by no means am I playing on 4K screens here, I found it incredibly difficult to see where even my cash flow was (Its very small, but hidden away in the top right) i was constantly leaning in and squinting to read the small text, I only found out by sheer luck that my objectives were in the bottom right, blending in to the background on the geoscape, again, I'm not playing on a huge monitor, its 1920x1080.

Now, the combat. You know what I will give credit that the time units system certainly is more understandable compared to the original UFO Defence (cause not even the original i understand, but here, I did), but outside of just basic movements, everything else you are quite literally left to figure out all on your own if you are again, not reading the manual, which is not great, when I struggle to even figure out some basic mechanics that are much easier to go through in other games, such as:

• How do I shoot accurate shots? Why are all my shots low accuracy?
  
• Why can the enemy overwatch me, but I can't seem to overwatch them?
  
[*] How on earth do I heal my soldier that is currently bleeding out?

I did eventually figure out the 1st and 3rd through trial and error, shooting accurate shots was not that hard to find out, but it definitely took me some tries to realise that clicking on the same enemy multiple times to expend more time units increases the chance of a successful hit (to a maximum of 95% only, you can NEVER go beyond that, its hard-coded, as stated in the manual)! That's cool! But that's not something you want to find out after already wasting several shots on low % chances to hit!

As for the healing, that took me quite a bit longer! I was aware that some of my soldiers had a medpack in their inventory as I had given a few of them extra ammo and a pistol for good measure, but there was no prompt to actually use said medpack, nor if you click it does it give you a prompt to use it, I only found out through just brute forcing methods that the medpack is a "weapon" you equip and "fire" on yourself / your soldiers to heal, and that you can expend more time units to heal more health. Awesome! But I really don't want to have to figure this stuff out through sheer trial and error whilst also trying to figure out how to kill the aliens around me.

And the overwatch part I never figured out, I read the manual for that section, and I didn't get it, I believe it requires you to hold onto enough time units to automatically shoot back when fired upon, but that's not really reliable as it relies on other hidden mechanics like initiatives.

So. My conclusion is, if you are a fan of the original UFO defence but want something a bit more 'modern', have played the original game and want to see what spiritual successors have, or know the interface and the mechanics to it very well, you might find this game extremely enjoyable!

But, if you're coming from the Firaxis/2K XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 series of games, and have a very limited understanding of the original 1994 game, unless you are willing to dedicate time to read the manuals, and trial and error through parts of the game, there is probably a good chance you'll struggle to enjoy the game, or may have to dedicate several hours just figuring out the mechanics and UI.

Its a shame because I was quite interested in the game just from the images and the video, although i was a bit skeptical, I pushed through hoping I could get something gritty, unfair, but rewarding and fun, something that challenges me to have squads of soldiers instead of just a special forces with high ranked soldiers that cripple my game if anyone dies. Instead, I just found myself bored and annoyed that the 'difficulty' i was experiencing was not even the gameplay, but the small, crappy, small yet somehow clunky UI, and lack of information from the game itself, I have to consider if I really want to put up with that in the long term, for tens of hours and the answer is: No.

This may be a lot of yap yap yapping and nonsense for only 59 minutes of game time and a refund, for what will ultimately come down to someone commenting that I have a skill issue and need to read the manual to understand the game, but I am going to stand firm, a manual is fine, but it should be complementary, if you're going to make the manual the way to learn the game, fine, but make it exciting and flashy to look at like they did back then, include images at the very minimum. Games don't have manuals now, they sure as well were long on their way out back in 2014, and even say back in 2011 when they first made their manual and released it on their forums game manuals were still on their way out. You can even find people asking such questions back in 2011 where game manuals are.

This game is awesome. I like it more then xcom cause there is much more control.|


make sure to use community edition under beta in the games steam properties..... for the community enhances editio

thank you for another steam reviewer for making me aware of the community enhances edition

Best modern X-COM game! It really feels the atmosphere of the original X-COM of the 90s: it has the same level of squad-based freedom tactics that are good and solid. It's very realistic in terms of tactics and assault. You can can plan your actions as you like and there's no limits or simplifications like in other late X-COM parodies where you can either run or gun, and if you perform shooting action then you can't move anymore. Here you can move then shoot then move again: just use your action points wisely the way you want. The game is really thrilling and is a gem for X-COM lovers. I still think that the best X-COM games are those made by MicroProse in 90s and the Xenonauts, but not the parodies of 2K that have the same name but with much simplified battle gameplay.
Get this game and you will have 100% satisfaction!

Hard as hell! Easy to die from one shots! High chances to be completely wiped! High guarantee the aliens are going to come with crazy weapons! Aliens have pretty good accuracy! Frustrating and saddening! Pilots die in droves! What are we waiting for?!

What you would except if this was made by the Xcom developers. Very good game. My hat is off to this team for making an amazing game!

epic game make sure to use community edition under betas tho

If you love X-Com this is the game for you!

i want to be an x-com game,but i can barely follow the trail . unfortunatly not as good as i hoped for :(

Not as polished as XCOM, but still very fun. Use community edition, and 120degree vision mod for QoL

Old School XCom style game

Don't buy this crap even on sale. The microscopic message and menu font size makes it unplayable on any resolution.

very jank. multiple times i had things get stuck like the hunter car was stuck on a wall. my rocket guy got stuck where he couldnt reload anymore. the game tries to emulate x com difficulty but it somehow comes off even cheaper with the ways you will fail. game does not work well enough for all the crap they put you through and it sucks because i really want to love it but after my last glitch ruined another good game im done.

enjoyable, simple to play

Amazing game. A must have to the ones that like the original XCOM games.

This game is from 2014. It plays out similarly to X-COM [as advertised].
There are multiple base-buildings and management [including crew].
As with most TBTs, combat uses an RNG.
The game has several difficulty settings.
Overall [for an 11-year-old game], I enjoyed it a lot.

There are some documented bugs still:
When enemies are in the air [global scene], don't accelerate the turns faster than 2 [of 4]. The game might crash.
If the game runs for a long time, the land combat maps might all turn white and jagged. Reloading, restarting, or rebooting the game should fix that graphics bug.
If you think something might be invulnerable, it needs more damage to kill/destroy it.
In Operation Endgame, the [redacted] needs some of your heaviest damages and only explodes at the end of the turn.

If needed, there's plenty of internet/chatbot help.

Plays fine on a Dell Inspiron 16 notebook with AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processor (no dedicated graphics card), I would have liked an option to enlarge the font size, but thats a minor complaint.

I'd recommend Xenonauts with the understanding that you know what it's trying to be. It is not trying to be modern XCOM; instead, it's trying to be an update of X-COM/UFO from the 90's. In that, it more-or-less succeeds. It could do with some further QUOL updates, which it looks like are coming in Xenonauts 2, but until that game leaves Early Access, this is a fun bit of retro-flavoured strategy gaming.

its great

Good game.

The thinking person's xcom. Way more realistic and serious in tone. Superior in all the ways that matter.

Really fun, played a couple invasions, both were really fun.

its good! its like someone remade x-com warts and all.

I understand what they are trying to do. Unfortunately they don't get it right. Too complicated. Too difficult. The graphics are awfull. Hope they get it right the next time.

"Xenonauts" is more than just a strategy game; it’s a powerful tale of humanity’s resilience and the indomitable human spirit that surface when faced with existential threats. The game expertly mixes turn-based combat and resource management, showcasing the determination of your soldiers and the sacrifices they make to defend Earth. The gameplay is tense and strategic, with every mission carrying real stakes. The graphics may be basic, but the isometric style creates an engaging and immersive atmosphere.

The older you get the better it gets.

Why instant negative?
The game does not provide larger fonts in 4k resolution, I cannot read any description texts.

Brings back fond memories of the original X-Com and the horrors of low % grenade throws and being 1 TU off.

Like a modern version of Xcom Ufo enemy unknown-ish

WINMAG

very challenging but fun

fun game, if not a little lacking in the polish department, never got around to beating it but gave it a fair shot. I just see no reason to play it over the firaxis xcom games though, as in my opinion they both have so so much more to offer

Not the UFO Defense remake we deserved, but the one we needed.

Kill the ayy lamos.

Game is fun, good lore, cool animations, gives good nostalgia vibes of an old game, but can sometimes be unbearably unfair even on easy difficulty.

Tex sent me. Download all the Beeple stuff. Add in more fights. Make Jackal Profitable. Profit.

Join now to the Defense of earth!
Meet new exotic and exciting aliens! Kill and capture them for the good of earth!
Capture their technology and reverse engineer it for your own use!
This is a game where you can shoot, beat, gas and interrogate the filthy invaders!
Xenophobia has never been this fun!

Solid 7.5/10
some rough edges but nothing a little digital sand-paper can't fix


Particularly rough features and systems:

Psionics are nutty overpowered, and you do not get to have them. Recommend setting their AP cost to >1000 so they can't be used. If there were a way to consistently defend against them, it'd be fine. But, there isn't. (psionicpowers_gc.xml)

Morale values are incredibly punishing. If you don't enjoy watching Pvt. Signedup Forthis ditch his gun and move 12 spaces away, I recommend reducing the chance for Flee (and Berserk if the idea of someone losing their cool, turning 180° and doming his best friend sucks to you) to 0 or 10 (and bump up Panic to fill the gap). As it stands this system alone is a mission-ender, chain morale failures are 100% going to happen, no matter what (moraleconfig_gc.xml)

Reapers. Reapers. Go get Reaper Rebalance. Just...do it. Some things are not worth emulating and OG Chrysalids are 100% something to avoid making, even if they're nowhere near as tanky. Unfun mechanics top to bottom.

Heavily recommend grabbing "Jackal Armor Profit" from the workshop, because I'll be frank, it's insane to consider that no one wants to fund the organization keeping them safe for some reason. That your operating costs can eclipse income by a factor of 5 in short order, is nonsense.

To that effect, I also recommend snagging "More Alien Materials From Downed UFO" which makes shooting down UFOs that don't leave a crash-site actually give a usable quantity of materials, to supplement income from crashes, landing sites, and bases.

Otherwise, it's a good game, a shame it was abandoned so fast for the sequel once this was a "finished" product
Ironically it is also somewhat more fair than X-COM, as despite the aliens hitting like trucks while you're armed with a pool noodle cannon to start out with, aim percentages aren't lies and seeds aren't static (so far as I can tell)

Incredibly fun and addictive to replay, especially modded!

Fun homage to the classic X-COM UFO defense games, feels very similar including the difficulty, though you can adjust it for your own sake. With mods from the community it is even better and can make it a truly amazing time.
Very much worth it.

Grug see alien. Grug hit alien with big rock. Take alien rock. Alien rock bigger. See bigger alien. Hit bigger alien with bigger rock. Life good.

I hate Aliens. :(

Absolute garbage in comparison to xcom defender, the grenades are woefully restricted.. there's 3 spaces in your craft transport that cannot be used when you take a vehical when there's clearly 3 spaces for 3 units. The alien craft doors remain open only during the aliens turn so your always garanteed to get shot dead if you used up all your time units and there's only two kinds of aliens for the first 3-4 months much less than the varied xcom defender.

The research yields very little that you can manufacture in the first 3 months one of which is the Mig Foxtrot aircraft that only has missiles which doesn't work against the starter scout craft that can sidestep evade missiles and you'll never know the craft your against untill you first engage it, far too late by then.. you can research their guns but not use them unlike defender.

The game also randomly crashes after you finish a ground assault. Frustrating to say the least, it only makes xcom defender truly outshine this even compared to the newer limited games that over simplify and only let you have 1 base globally.

Legitimately Amazing, if you enjoyed XCOM: Enemy Within and want something more complex, and very diffrent, i would highly recomend!
the interceptions far more interactive, and incredibly fun to play. the missions are incredbly fun aswell, the game gives you a very cool feeling, like you truly are saving humanity from an alien invasion. the way the science team acts is very humorus, the ideas the game comes up with, and the justification for the techinology, is very intriguing, once you get ahold of the combat it becomes much easier to beat missions, main advice for new players to either this genre or just this game, is to play on an easier difficutly, i had experience with XCOM: EW and still got my ass handed to me in the begging of the war, its hard to figure out how much expansion you need first time playing.

Very good game, you should buy it for sure!

Would recomend playing the community edition, which is officially in the game, you just need to go to the betas to activate it.
would Highly recomend reading the Iceland Incedent, you should be able to acesses it from the launcher.


PROTECT HUMANITY TODAY..... or whats left of it.

Sorry, the game is just boring. And looks quite ugly. Looks like paper figures and. The music sucks too.
Back to OpenXCom

Fantastic game, much more difficult than xcom EU/Ew xcom 2. With mods this game is a blast! BPL Armory is highly recommended. Its the 70s baby! Elephant rifles and RPGs, Aliens have a bad day!