Currently, the Strategy Festival is running on Steam, where you can find many different games from the strategy and tactics genres. One of them is XCOM 2 by Firaxis Games. Although MeinMMO author Niko Hernes sees himself as a Tactics Noob, the game has kept him engaged for over 100 hours.
What kind of game is XCOM 2? XCOM 2 is a strategy game focused on turn-based tactics. In combat, you control soldiers across various randomly generated maps and must complete missions there. You fight against aliens with various abilities and must try as best as you can to survive with your troops and finish the mission.
If a soldier dies in the field, you lose him forever. Whether he was a new recruit or an important pillar of your team doesn’t matter, but it certainly increases frustration, which is why rushing in and shooting isn’t always the right way to go.
In your base outside of missions, you can improve your units, research and develop new weapons to make your team better and refine your strategy. The main game offers you 5 classes that you can specialize in their skill trees.
XCOM 2 even made it onto our strategy top list this year: The 12 best strategy games for PC with multiplayer 2023. You can watch a trailer here:
It broke me, yet I love it
I personally am a strategy and tactics noob, but I still dared to tackle XCOM 2. After a few initial missions, I thought I was doing okay, and my units were getting better. This made me more confident in missions, but also more reckless.
Then I rushed into a mission with my best squad to casually save some civilians. But suddenly, the nice hostages turned into drooling aliens and wiped out my entire squad.
My beloved soldiers, whom I had grown attached to over hours, were suddenly gone, and I was practically back to square one. That may sound frustrating at first, but I was still hooked and fascinated because, after all, it was partly my fault.
That’s the allure of XCOM. You can become very strong, but if you make mistakes and are also unlucky with shooting, you lose powerful units. Anyone who has low frustration tolerance should be careful with this game. But for those who thrive on this challenge, XCOM 2 offers a tactics masterpiece.
If the main game isn’t enough for you, there is also a comprehensive add-on in the form of “War of the Chosen” and an active modding community that can probably offer hundreds more hours of fun.
How much does XCOM 2 cost currently? On Steam, you can get the main game for €4.99 until September 4, 2023. If you want to start with all the content right away, you can get the XCOM 2 Collection with all DLCs for €11.76. For the playtime you get, both offers are a real bargain.
Many games today also rely on a turn-based tactic system, including Cantata:
Steam: “A fun and extraordinary game” – New secret tip offers turn-based tactics and base building
