Xenonauts 2
XENONAUTS-2 is a vast single player strategy game in which you control a multi-national military organisation defending our planet from alien invasion.
Battle the extraterrestrials in tense, complex turn-based combat across a variety of maps and missions, recovering and researching their technology to unlock new weapons and equipment!
Take a global view with the real-time strategic management layer: you must establish and develop your bases, conduct research, battle for air supremacy and try to keep the panic level in your funding regions under control.
The strategic and tactical layers of the game are directly related, with ground missions affecting the overall balance of the Geoscape and your research efforts on the recovered items unlocking new equipment for your squads and aircraft. Every management decision you make filters down to the troops you control in battle; every shot you fire could change the balance of strategic power.
Can you hold off the invasion long enough to discover a way to defeat the alien forces?
No knowledge of the previous game is required to play – XENONAUTS-2 is a standalone title with its own setting and narrative.Key Features
- Ground Combat: The highly-detailed turn-based combat system gives you fine control over your soldiers as they battle the aliens across multiple different mission types and numerous varied environments. The day / night cycle and destructible battlefields open up endless tactical possibilities to defeat your enemies, and your soldiers will grow stronger as they gain combat experience – provided you can keep them alive!
- Strategic Management: A complex strategic layer allows you to coordinate the defence of our planet. Establish bases to extend your reach and use customisable interceptors to shoot down attacking UFOs, then deploy your soldiers to secure resources. Capturing crash sites can secure alien technology and live specimens for research, whereas protecting regions from alien activity and terror attacks will protect your funding and prevent them surrendering to the aliens.
- In-depth Simulation: The structure of Xenonauts-2 is not linear; no two campaigns unfold in exactly the same way. Every element of this complex interlocking simulation has been designed to create maximum coherence between the strategic and tactical layers: small decisions can have an impact across the entire game.
- Extensive Tech Tree: XENONAUTS-2 contains a vast variety of aircraft, vehicles, weapons, armour, and battlefield equipment for you to experiment with. and a deep research tree with over a hundred projects to unlock. Play the game the way you want to play, devising your own tactics and strategies to defeat the extraterrestrial threat!
Key Improvements from XENONAUTS-1
In addition to the new modular upgrade systems mentioned previously, here is a very small selection of key changes and enhancements:
- Improved visuals across all parts of the game, including full 3D tactical environments with a rotatable camera!
- A more detailed and immersive Geoscape simulation incorporating greater player choice and stronger elements of territory control!
- More environments and maps to fight in – including our new Jungle and Boreal biomes!
- New aliens have been added and many existing ones have been redesigned, all of which will benefit from our new and improved AI system!
- A larger research tree with more lore and an expanded variety of equipment for your soldiers to use in battle!
Game Discussion
Steam User 140
An upgrade to Xenonauts and the original XCOM. If you think beating XCOM is going to prepare you for this game... you're wrong. Why?
The stat system in this game means that the only way you get 'OP' soldiers is through out thinking the AI in the early game and using meat/robot shields to lessen the blow of your inevitable casualties. It's through utilizing the suppression system, using smoke grenades to rush, and using meat shield privates to scout ahead. There are no class skills; only the weapons you give your soldiers. If you think giving all your soldiers rifles is going to be a good idea, good luck scouting ahead and suppressing that Mantid across the desert. All heavies? Good luck pushing ahead when you get an accuracy penalty while using heavy weaponry. Getting your boys through chokepoints in an alien base? You should probably place a shield there and crouch your shotguns in the corners of that ominous, closed door. Xenonauts is a game that rewards creativity and change, so even your squad weapon composition can change subtly depending on your goals for that mission or the terrain.
On a strategic level, depending on your difficulty, you'll also find the game very different than XCOM. Scientists and Engineers are not only few in number, but are expensive both to acquire AND to maintain. This means even if you have a lot of capital in the beginning, over expanding R&D means you might end up firing that personnel anyways to keep the lights running in your bases, or to acquire new equipment. Remember what I said about skillful aggression? Building one super-base in the Middle East and calling it a day won't work when you're leaving the Far East, North America, and South America undefended and subject to surrendering. Nor will overextending yourself and finding yourself without the funds to meaningfully modernize your airforce, bases, or soldiers.
Xenonauts greatest strength is its freedom, but to many people, it's also its greatest flaw because this game doesn't hold your hand. If you feel like you're unsure of getting Xenonauts 2, I'd recommend trying Xenonauts 1 Community Edition. It's a fantastic way of getting into the original XCOM/Xenonauts experience, and getting an idea as to what you're getting into. If you feel it's too easy or empty of mechanics, I'd recommend playing it through the modpack X-Division as I have done for years. That modpack is a good example as to the potential of Xenonauts 2 when the community creator tools get set up.
Overall, Xenonauts 2 is to Xenonauts as XCOM 2 is to XCOM 1. Better graphics, new art, new mission types, but fundamentally the same gameplay. But again, comparing XCOM to Xenonauts 2 is like comparing apples to oranges. Yea they're both strategy games, but be aware Xenonauts is not for everyone and IS harder on the learning curve than XCOM.
With that said, I love this game, it's actively maintained and developed in an era of early access scams, and most of all, offers the truest form of the original XCOM. This game will not be finished fast, it is not perfect, but it is definitely unique in the way it delivers. With immersive art, music, and even research reports, it's a truly unique experience in the turn-based combat genre. Love it or hate it, that is undeniable.
Steam User 51
With the new Milestone 5 update the game is almost complete and there is no reason to go back to Xenonauts 1 or any of the OG XCOMs anymore. This is a great take on the old school XCOM formula with a focus on tough tactical battles and frequent difficult choices where sacrifices need to be made. Compared to the "modern" XCOMs, this is more focused on the tactical decision making in battles, positioning, plan of attack, etc. There are more units and more strategic decisions. It's less of a cinematic action shooter, and obviously there are no grand cinematics like in the AAAs.
The cleaner segment is a great addition to the XCOM formula to ease you into fighting aliens. Mission variety is good and progression feels on point. Their work to add more choices and variety on the world map has been a good direction, it feels more alive to have to fight govt infiltration and worry about some geopolitical activities. The original always felt a bit weird as to why you're the only one bothering to do anything and Xenonauts provides a lot more flavor and background as to what's going on. Simple popups of various army forces and and civilian airliners being destroyed by aliens on the world map also add a fun flavor to the overall setting.
Again this is a TOUGH turn based strategy, so a better fit for those who are looking for a more tactical experience. It won't hold your hand like the mainstream titles. You need to use ALL of your equipment that you bring, deploy smokes everywhere, move around in teams with cover fire, and be happy with 50-60% objective completion in the best of cases.
Over the last decade I'd say Xenonauts 2 is the best tactical combat turn-based strategy game along with Battle Brothers.
Steam User 31
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.
Steam User 50
The only issue with Xenonauts 2 is the name. It's not a sequel. It's more of a second try at Xenonauts. Not that Xenonauts wasn't a good game, but it was lacking in some features from the original X-COM without modding.
The 3D engine is styled to where it almost looks identical at times, but the environments are now fully destructible and you can even move the camera freely, if you enable it. Each of the systems has seemingly been flushed out and polished and overall it feels much more strategic AND tactical than the first.
I'm only 9 hours in, though, and the Devs say only 75% is available in early access, but so far it seems like a much more complete X-COM experience, with some of it's own charms, than the first. It's what you'd imagine Xenonauts 1 to be if it was made in 202X.
Steam User 25
The game is still in need of a lot of work, but the developers truely aren't letting the community down, and new updates (both hotfixes and huge content patches that require campaign restarts) are being pumped out on a monthly basis. The effort in itself requires some kudos.
Can't wait for the final release!
Steam User 34
I played a little bit of Milestone 4 but ever since Milestone 5 with the varies bug fixes needed to bring it to the stable branch the game is pretty good. (I finished the game on veteran difficulty)
PROS
1. Progression feels really good especially early game (they redid the early game as apart of milestone 5)
2. The enemies being very different from each other (especially later on) makes each encounter quite a bit different and you have to figure out how to win with what you brought
3. The strategic part of the game is pretty solid (a lot of waiting but still puts you under a good amount of pressure for pretty much the entire game) (should be said also i was playing on veteran difficulty)
4. Mission variety felt nice especially early on (you get to save civilians, raid some alien ships, and missions related to the cleaners that are unique)
CONS
1. The air combat is pretty boring (i used auto-resolve like 90% of the time) though I heard there is going to be an air rework at some point
2. Overwatch I think works pretty well but it takes a while to get used to (it is tied to reflexes and certain weapons like MGs to tend to have much more random spread than other weapons) The game could use a way to better show how effective over watch will be for a person considering how important it is.
3. The damage variation is a bit much, not to the point that it cant be worked around but its still noticable in certain situations (I have specifically run into this issue with laser weapons)
4. The late game felt a little short, as in I would want to spend more time on the alien planet before beating the game (hopefully this will get expanded in an update)
I got this game on a 35% sale (pretty sure it is discounted that much fairly often) and at $26 it is defiantly worth the money, maybe even worth full price if this is the main genre your interested in.
Steam User 26
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.