XCOM Chimera Squad: The Aliens Are Good Now
XCOM Chimera Squad is a turn-based tactical video game released in April, 2020 by Firaxis. The game is a sequel to XCOM 2 and takes place 5 years after the ending. You take control of an XCOM group known as Chimera Squad which is made up of not just humans but also aliens and hybrids. Your goal is to protect City 31 from 3 terrorist organizations and discover who is funding them.
Similarly to the other XCOM games, Chimera Squad is made up of two core parts, a battlescape and a cityscape. However these two aspects differ greatly from past entries. The cityscape is much more simpler as it lacks any aspect of base building. Instead you simply can select which mission to do along with having your idle agents work on speeding up research for new gear or gathering currency.
In the battlescape, missions are made up of 1 to 3 encounters which are usually a decently sized area with around 6–8 enemies typically. Before each encounter begins, one must decide how they will breach the room. The options given to the player differ every time and each one can provide a variety of benefits or detriments. Once breeching is completed, the game’s unique take on the combat is shown. Rather than being able to have every member of your squad act before the enemy’s side acts, Every unit has its own space on the timeline which restricts your freedom while also giving you new ways of tackling the enemies.
The game has 11 agents to use, all with their own special gear. These range from a shotgun wielding assault to a defensive shield user. One of the more interesting parts of these agents are that a few have the same abilities as enemies in XCOM 2 such as Torque who is a viper and has their trademark ability of pulling units from out of cover and binding them. Not only do the agents all have unique skills but they also have different personalities unlike in previous games where the units are blank slates that the player themself personifies. One of my favorite agents is Cherub, an ex-ADVENT hybrid who has so much optimism that you cannot help but love him. I found a lot of the agents to be fun characters and the occasional banter between them really enhances the experience.
Along with the banter between agents, one of my favorite parts of the game was how the world building was done. While the game clearly tells the player that humans, aliens, and hybrids now live as one, the core story does not go very in depth on how society and day to day life has changed. This is stead shown with not just agents occasionally banter but also radio ads that play while just being in the cityscape. These ads are comical and do give the player insight on the world and how it changed to accommodate each species. For example, one ad is about NotDogs, which are a new form of hot dog made specifically so that any species can eat it with the beautiful jingle that is “Whether you’re from earth or outer space, You can jam a NotDog in your face!”. I could honestly go on all day talking about how much I love these little pieces of dialog.
Another part of world building I liked were some of the details on the maps. This is especially true on the city and road maps where I enjoyed seeing the various decals on the cars such as a sectoid head with flames or a secoid centaur. While these touches are small, they do end up contributing greatly to the world and makes it feel more real and alive.
Chimera Squad does not have any overly big flaws to it and most complaints I could think of stem from the deviations made from the gameplay in XCOM 2. Though the changes themselves are welcome and I would like to see them incorporated into the next game. The reason I do not find myself bothered by them is because Chimera Squad does not claim to be XCOM 3, it presents itself as a side game for not only to allow the team to play with new ideas but also to bide time before 3 is made.
