Xenonauts 2

---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☐ Good
☑ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS

---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't

---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☑ Very good
☐ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf

---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☑ Teens
☑ Adults
☑ Grandma

---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☑ Potato
☐ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☑ Old Fashioned
☐ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 10% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data

---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☑ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls

---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☑ Isn't necessary to progress
☐ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding

---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life

---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☐ Average
☑ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond

---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☐ Worth the price
☑ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money

---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs

---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10

Great game, can't wait for full release.

How it feels to kill one of your units after they miss a 80% check with a shotgun at point blank

Great game. Xenonauts was good and this one has many little improvements that make it way better then old one. Some of the improvements: you can move camera around to get better view, you can check the line of fire from the place you are going to move to before moving there, much bigger variety of missions ( old game had mostly crash site sweep), grenade launcher instead of rocket allows to shoot over obstacles gives a lot of options, and many other. It's still early access but game is good to play, try it out.

Will update once released, but...

Very much unfinished, but I keep replaying the experimental and beta versions. The core gameplay is definitely working for me.

Great game even if it is not finished yet you can tell they put a lot of time and effort in. There are still bugs but that is normal to have a few in early devolpment

It's Early Access, yes, and I generally discourage you from buying them, but this game entered it when it was at least playable to completion. It's got some unpolished areas to it, yes, but it plays REALLY well and looks just amazing. It'll get better, with time. Promise.

It is an excellent game until you play Xenonauts 1, then you'll notice all the weaknesses. First, Xenonauts 1 has far more vehicles than 2, in 2 you only get 2 jet fighters, 2 transport vehicles and that's it. In 1 you get 5 combat aircraft and 3 dropships. The campaign is incomplete and in the constant state of updates that means what you've advanced in your campaign will be lost next update.

Yet the game is quite the fun time and it has better quality of life features that lack on its predecessor.

Not a continuation, but a reboot of the original game with much smoother game play, better graphics, just everything better overall, without loosing any of the original feel.
A modern successor to the classic x-com.

Xenonauts 2 is THE true spiritual successor to Xcom: UFO Defense from the 90s.

It is a passion project by fans of the original game. It simplifies mechanics that were unnecessary from the original and expands mechanics that were lacking. It is more than just a 'clone' like Xenonauts 1.

I can't wait for the full release.

I bought this as an early game and have been watching its progress over the last couple of years. Much better than I expected. I haven't played it much yet but notably, you get a small remote tank very early in the game, which is good to break down walls and one-shot enemy. I wish the map rotation function would be a bit more gradual. Rather than just 90 degrees each time. Several times it was difficult to select a unit because I couldn't rotate the view to see it properly.

Needs some time to bake but it from what i saw in Xenonauts1 i am more than certain it will reach a quality that puts other games in the genre to shame.

So many QoL features are in by default which is rare in todays day and age where those are normally sold to you or modded in.

Keep an eye on her for she is just getting better and better.

Xenonauts 2 is the game you want to go play where the Alien threat actually feels like the buildup of an actual invasion. Where every loss may hurt, you have the worlds bravest and brightest to call on to fill the ranks in an endless meat grinder of a war. For anyone who was wanting to play another x-com, this game would be the darker more 'realistic' version of this scenario.

Background: I used to play X-division, and was skeptical about the xenonaut 2. Just brought the game in 11-2024 (not sure about the patch no.) and it was a way way better experience than i expected.

At start, i feared it was a mere copy of xeononaut 1 with better graphic, how wrong were i after a day of playing. No, it's an evolved version of the xeon-series.

1) first thing first, the current 3D setup makes the a) environment (great fun to blow up gas tank or reliably destroy cover) and b) firefight (the 3D checks make the rifle or sniper firefight way more reliable; u know what i mean when u had the chessy feeling in xeon-1) much more fun.

2) the introduction of clearer is fun (like the xcom enemy within) and have potentials (i.e. maybe introducing cyber-upgrade research since clearer soldier is heavily modified, who doesn't like a 40K commissoner yarrick with bionic eye and crushing claw in your xeon- team lol).

The game is still under development, and i am really looking forward to the complete product, plus who knows, perhaps a X-division 2 mod sometimes (a long time) in the future.

Disclaimer: I play on easy and does money cheat. Sorry to say i no longer have real time to grind through the economy lol.

If you've played "UFO: Enemy Unknown", as the first X-COM game was originally called in Europe in 1994, or any of the better X-COM games since then, you'll want to play Xenonauts 2! :-)
The team behind this worthy successor to the greatest turn-based tactics and strategy games keeps updating this currently already very solid title at a steady pace, delivering plenty of content while it's currently still in Early Access, receiving the care and polish it deserves. If early access isn't your thing, go play the also excellent Xenonauts 1, while waiting for this to be the gem it is meant to be!

As a veteran of the gendra , this game is very different from xenonauts 1:

-The leaning mechanics are gone, it was frustrating to learn but was too f*cking broken when mastered.

-The new engine on unity is way more better except for the ballistics side: I loved to use the "remove this direction"meme tactic by spraying alliens out of sight with machine gun fire and rockets. Sadly this is no longer possible to do that anymore wich is really sad (now the bullet disappear instead of being forced to hit something).

-I don't like the new aliens design with some that look like baby stroller walker (YEAH YOU CAN'T UNSEE IT NOW YOU ARE CURSED TOO ). I wished that the armor would look more detailed in tactical battle.

-It kinda try to copy too much the xcom franchise with these "story mission" wich is kind of meh... for me.
I really loved the side of xenonauts 1 where you were told: here you go commander, clap some aliens cheeks for us "Im sure youll be fine and good luck" approach while you where getting sh*t on by aliens.

-The aircraft loadout look nice but in gameplay this sh*t is annoying, just give the opportunity to the player to equip whatever he wants instead of: "OH NO you cant equip a machinegun AND a rocket at the same time" like bruh why are you like that?

-The air battle used to be "skilled based"in xenonauts 1 where you could even take out multiple late game aliens spaceships with only one default GIGA CHAD F16 (its was hard but possible). In xenonauts 2 its is no longer possiblle to pull that sh*t out, now we got the slow BETA Angel that cant even turn.

-Night time battles in xenonauts 1 was pure nightmare.
In xenonauts 2 not so much, just like daytime, by the way: NIGHT VISION WHEN PLS its F*CK*NG 2012 ingame.

-SHOTGUN WAS GOOOOD LIKE BOOMSTICK IN X1, IN X2 SHOOTGUN IS NOW A NERF GUN, GIVE BUFF TO SHOTGUN NOW !!!!!! AND GIVE BACK THE F*CK*NG RPG IM SICK OF NERF WICK ASS GRENADE LAUNCHER!!

-Commander difficulty just consist to load a f*ck ton of russian vodka fueled aliens that RUSH B (aka your helicopter).They no longer try to hide, or flank so they are "easier"to manage.

I GIVE THIS GAME A FLASHBANG OUT OF 10

New to this game and never played the Xcom I saw in other reviews. Started a new game with tutorial on the easiest setting since most reviews here say it's a difficult game and honestly I'm glad I did. I'm learning the game mechanics and how getting careless can wipe your whole team.

I'm really enjoying it so far.

--Please keep in mind that this is an updated early access review from 11/28/24 and will be updated when the game comes out. --

If you are disappointed with the direction that the "new" versions of Xcom went, Xenonauts 2 i is a good choice. Xenonauts 2 has a really good atmosphere that makes the game world feel real. The real feeling along with the music gives the game a sense of dread and importance. Graphics in Xenonauts 2 are a huge step up from the original Xenoauts. One of the nice things is graphics effects are not overly done which makes for a more startling feeling when weapons are fired or alien events occur. Things glow or move for a reason, not just to "look cool". In addition Xenonauts 2 provides you with more freedom to make more complex decisions and actions. It is very much like the old 90s Xcom games used to have before the new versions took over and made everything too simple. I am going to list some of the things that Xenonauts 2 allows you to do that the new xcom versions have removed or simplified to oblivion.

Want to do a mission with 1 guy, or fill your drop ship to its brim from 9 to 24 depending on drop ship? -The game says Sure. Do you want light tanks with that at early game? - Yes please. Want to run into the map and just grab equipment and leave when you decide without killing everything? -Sure. Want to just blow everything up? - Sure. Want to overload your guys so you have more equipment at start? -Game says Sure. Want to make some odd knife or grenade only class? -Sure. Want overwatch to make sense? -Yes please. Want cover to actually make sense? -Sure. Want brick walls to not just blow up randomly for no reason just because of a fire? -Yes please. Want to level every building to the ground? -Sure. Want to ignore missions? -Sure. Want to manage your base inventory? -Sure. Want multiple bases? -Sure. Do you want to worry about base attacks more? -Sure. Want to make your own soldier specialty types and decide that weapon they will use? The game says Sure. Want your troops to have actual stats? -Sure. Want to sneak your troops through the map and know how many movement points you have left? - Sure. Do you want to rotate your troops to the direction you want? -Sure. Want to decide how many grenades and other equipment your troops have? - Sure. Want to shoot down UFOs with 1 or 3 aircraft, or just let it wander the map? -Sure. Want to be able to use fallen units equipment on the battlefield? - Yes please. Want a story that is engaging?- Sure. Want to stockpile lots of stuff for no reason? - Sure.

I could go on, but a lot of the more complex options you might miss or want from the "New" Xcom games are here. It's also only going to get better with more because it's still under development. This is the way to go if you want a better tactical game.

Well..

Long battles on ground.
It's actually a good game.

It's disappointing that this game still doesn't have an actual ending yet, despite being out for a year and a half. I know it's still in "early access" or whatever, but come on with that. That being said, it is good to see they're still putting out updates and working on it.

I did like Xenonauts 1's way of dropping you into the game and immediately going "Okay, so you get the basic idea - aliens are attacking and it's up to you to defend Earth. There's notes you can read if you want. Everything's pretty intuitive and we're not going to treat you like an idiot. Here's some starting resources. Now go get 'em!", so I was a little skeptical of the sequel holding your hand for the first few missions and trying for a more story-driven game as opposed to just doing whatever the heck you want. I feel like if you wanted something more story-driven, that's what xcom was for. That being said, the story here isn't half-bad.

I do really like the better feel to resource management in this game as opposed to the original. It feels like there's constantly something game-changing to research and unlock, and there's a lot of cool new items and gear. Also, having idle engineers/scientists gain passive income to offset their costs so you don't feel like you have to use them 24/7 just to justify having them there is also a nice touch. Also, I LOVE that you can passively train soldiers so they can slowly gain skill when they aren't in a mission. It actually justifies having soldiers at more than one base - something I never found myself able to do in Xenonauts 1. Which is great because ships are more aggressive towards bases this time around.

Really looking forward to coming back to this in a few months/years and seeing this game at its full potential. I just really wish companies weren't so comfortable with releasing unfinished games. I would have been fine waiting a year or two to play this game in its full glory.

Extremely promising Xenonauts sequel (or polish,) it looks great and I like where it is going.

However; it still needs time to cook. Some bits and pieces are still wonky, and the whole timed missions thing needs a rethink.

This is gonna be good when it's ready.

I recommend this game. Similar to the old XCOM style. Robust enough to play even now. A couple of problems observed, like research-engineering sequence is broken sometimes (e.g. you have fusion weapon before gauss weapon so make no sense to develop that) or weird equipment operation of soldiers stationed on a base just to defence it (equipment gray out and number of weapon in the store does not reflect the correct number).
But all in all, good game and close to release -I hope :)

Im playing this on Steam Deck and it runs like a dream. The game is a great homage to the XCOM series. I think the research and analyse portions are very well written and have a much more serious tone than XCOM to be sure. The story line is perfect, and that Enemy of The State feel while dealing with The Cleaners is realistic and fits seamlessly into the game.
I prefer the Time Unit system over the simplified XCOM Action Points system. It allows for a much higher degree of strategic planning and a boon to the Fun Factor.
This game can be aggravating at times, the Ai pulls no punches and can ambush your troops in CQB easily, while other times the RNG will make you want to rage quit because your troopers will sometimes have "oops" moments. These oopsies can be as simple as missing a target 5' away, or as frustrating as your grenade launcher misfiring and blowing up in your grenadiers face and killing/wounding half your squad. This randomness is exactly the kind of shenanigans that makes this game so much fun.
A great example of this was when i was doing a recovery mission, a few npcs were fighting the aliens and one alien went to shoot the npc in question when its shot missed and the projectile traveled through the building, through a window, and hit something i couldnt yet see. turns out that alien rolled a critical fail in my opinion because i found the dead body of another alien who had been on the other side of that window.
Now the game does need a little more work on the friendly npc's, because if they are unarmed they just run around and murder poor defenseless windows. I watched as a few npcs broke every window in the operation area, all the while my Zomboid PTSD cringed every time they jumped through a window without removing the glass first...

If you liked the first one, the second one is like that but less frustrating. If you found the first Xenonauts to be too frustrating, but otherwise enjoyable, you'll probably like this one.

Currently needs a bit more variation, the UFOs often show up with only a single enemy type across the entire map, which is unfortunate, but otherwise, in my mind, it's a complete experience at this point.

Love it is fun, Next a TFTD game, and the Humans Invade the Alien Planets :-) Hope you all have as much fun as I Do :-)

Good graphics and a fun game overall. Love the more action oriented and smaller maps. Very nice to have multiple mission types to. Well worth the money.

Fun, bit rough around the edges. Good for people who like turn based tactics games, better if you're a fan of old Xcom - when you extend or disable the turns limit on timed missions.

Looking forward to mods when this is finished and the mod tools are released.

Yeah i do Recommend this game. great game play. nice art work. good story so far. my score is 9.6 out of 10.

Tex with the black pants legion and mandaloregaming got me here. Having played a ton of the 1st one, this is very enjoyable.

Great game, still in development phase. Some things could improve but it provides a lot of fun if you liked x-com, phoenix point and similars.

In a world where communism still thrives thanks to Reploid intervention, you and your crack team of people who failed the air force's physical fitness test must save the world with the starting budget of less than an M1 Abrams tank. Watch as your crack team of conspiracy theorists are paid with exposure and slowly learn how to shoot more than 50 feet with a stocked AR-15. Build a number of bases funded by presumably robbing banks and committing international credit fraud. laugh as this description becomes more realistic than the story.

The game is still fun but the Story has gotten even goofier than before.

After 30 years - finally something that's a worthy successor to the original UFO enemy unknown. Its captures the core flavour but modernises the combat mechanics, with clear choices and mathematics to the action. Its still hard, with your troops battered and bloodied by the end of each mission, and new recruits will be needed. Its got enough flexibility in load-out whilst also having clear jobs. Unlike the Firaxis X-com which was too much of a console game. The plot is fun, music fits well, and UI excellent.

UFO Enemy Unknown - Classic
X-Com Terror from the Deep - Same game, different graphics
X-Com Apocalpyse - Great concept
Phenonix point - too weird
Xenonaughts 1 - too similar to original X-com, might as well play that.
X-Com Firaxis 1 - Too much of a console game
X-Com Firaxis 2 - Nice idea, again, not enough freedom.
Xenonaughts 2 - FInally, something that feels like an update of the original.

The game is niche, only to hardcore players. On normal, early in the game, you will be facing plasma weapon aliens that can 1 shot 2 of your soldiers per turn, can hit from very far, move far more than your soldiers, can do some absurd diagonal cover erasing math calculations and you will have 9 soldiers against 20+ aliens, the balance is very deficient. Unless youre a super hardcored X-Com professional, stay as far as you can from this. This is not a product to enjoy and have fun. Or wait for like 10 years for them to maybe fix these things.

This game is great. It very closely fuses the experiences of the games that inspired it, with writing and gameplay to make it distinct and stand on its own. The new engine is smooth and the models/textures give a player of the first game something very familiar to look at, except with the advantages of a 3d environment.

It's a challenging game, but if you want to abduct aliens and loot their pants for a change, give it a try. In my opinion, this is an even better homage to X-COM than the first game.

Do you enjoy games where the enemy just grinds you down? Where your technological gains are minute such that they're barely noticeable? Where your units are killed over and over and over? Everyone dies so often that you don't bother even looking at names because they'll be dead in 1-2 missions?

If so, this game is for you!

I absolutely love classic X-COM. This is a really good modern version of that same model that I love so much. Does Xenonauts 2 do something new? Not really, at least not yet. I'm still waiting for revamped interceptions, but even then that won't do too much and there aren't any other milestone goals that I know of that will step outside the tried and tested formula. But it doesn't have to for me to love the game to death. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves X-COM UFO DEFENSE or for anyone who wants to see a little bit of what playing the original game was like.

Some things I would like to see improved on:
- Faster load times
- More campaign customization. (Looking for a Long War type experience)
- Base planning or recommendations. Losing in the strategy layer always sucks and it's hard to see where you go wrong, especially for new players. Giving a little bit more information and planning tools could help players make better choices and see where they go wrong.

Xenonauts 2 is an exceptional game that has truly won me over. The developers have crafted a captivating strategy experience that feels both fresh and deeply engaging, retaining the essence of classic tactical gameplay while adding impressive modern enhancements. Every new milestone brings something exciting, and it’s more than enough to draw me back in repeatedly, eager to explore the latest updates and changes.
What I love most about Xenonauts 2 is its replayability. With each milestone, I find myself returning, and the game never feels stale. The tactical depth, the thoughtful tweaks, and the ever-evolving strategies required keep the gameplay engaging. Whether you're an old fan or new to the series, the game captures the thrill of strategic decision-making perfectly.

Xenonauts 2 is truly a gem for anyone who enjoys a well-made, challenging strategy game. It’s one of those rare games that only gets better with each update, and I can’t recommend it highly enough!

The game is another forced woke garbage, probably written by someone who's never seen combat. Wait for mods to come out, or all of your characters will be female. They will probably add troons and pedos later as well. Needs mods to be enjoyable just like bg3 or anything else coming from limp wrists.

Like Xcom enemy within? You will like this. It is not a shallow copy! Plenty of tactical differences to make it a distinguishable game. For instance: units have action points, so they can fire then move. Cover works differently: the only reliable cover are the ones that completly block line of sight. The aerial combat minigame presents an interesting concept, but still a work in progress.

This game is awesome. Keep developing and add more customization please.

Milestone 4 Review:

The original X-COM UFO was one of my favorite games in the 90s and in my opinion, the basic game idea/design is timeless and one of the better ones out there.

Xenonauts 2 remains very true to the original with a few teaks and improvements here and there. I liked especially the Cleaner-Storyline with its related special missions, and I felt a little disappointed that there are no further story-missions in die mid and endgame to add some additional flavor.

I had no technical issues whatsoever and had fun re-visiting one of my favorite games of my youth. The only thing I missed is more creativity when it comes to alien design. All types act and feel pretty much the same. We are talking aliens, so it would have been possible to create a lot of weird and fun stuff for the players! How about some flying specimens? Or swarm-like creatures which come in packs? Alien nests you need to take care of before they hatch reinforcements.

Despite that I’m looking forward to milestone 5.

It's classic XCOM. If you liked that you will like this.

This game hits that Xcom Apocalipse vibe so well, just a fantastic game and log over due.

Excellent game.
+ Nostalgic value (really like the old-school graphics)
+ Destructible environments
+ Not over-complicated, variable challenge options
+ Upgrades / Research

- + Perma-death percentage customization option still too high in my opinion.

Suggestion: Give option to remove perma-death or lower to 2%. Perhaps limited voice lines of characters when you click on them?

So cool! Yet insainly hard. In all seriousness I recommend this game.

I am not sure what to think, but I will recommend as it plays well for an EA game. They really need to overhaul the story driven campaign. They need to focus less on characters and more on making the story creepy. The original X-Com hit just the right note. Everything was super mysterious and had one foot in popular lore and the other in their own story. I was also less liking the story missions, though they had good variety. Keep up the variety, but less of a hand holding plot if you know what I mean.

A little side note from my personal preferences; I want to see a game like this with a more solid foot in realistic modern day military tech. Make the initial equipment upgradeable with cooler and more advanced gadgets. Then slowly work into laser guns and stuff like that. In the age of AI, there is no reason for the soldiers not to have super cool bios.

Great potential. I don't want to play it any further until the game is complete. Mostly so I can enjoy the full experience and not burn myself out before then.

Very fun tactical game. The system is fair and brutal. An improvement from the 1st game too. Varied biomes to play in. A lot of upgrade for you base, you soldier, your vehicules and your air ship.

Can you finish this game already?

I NEED to defeat the aliens!

I tend to play this every few major updates. I get to the part of the game where it tells me I've done everything they have to offer at the moment. It's a little frustrating to have those alien scum on their back on their heels(?) for the umteenth time and get told I cant finish the job.

I'm a X-COM: UFO Defense (1994) player (and on), and I really enjoy how this game reminds me of it. However, this game doesn't pretend to think that I'm an ironman player by making it difficult to reload a save. Yes, I like to go back to a save in tactical mode to try to change the next turn. I think of it as the "Edge of Tomorrow" ability to reset the day (turn). They've also added a lot more content from the other XCOM-type games: more research, aircraft, gear, weapons, etc.

Fun game; please finish.

Early Access review on October 16th. It's still a solid and fun game with quite a lot of more stuff and content than in Xenonauts (CE). Missing basically the last part of the game, "endgame content", which is due soon. Game engine seems to be better than in Xenonauts (CE). I prefer this game to Xenonauts (CE). I'd buy this at a discount. Whether you want to play it straight away, and it is very playable, or wait for the full release is up to you.

True successor of X-Com, much improved over Xenonauts 1.
Still in EA so you can play around 200 days before running out of new content.
Great tactic and strategic gameplay.