2024, the year of X-com-likes

The X-com genre hasn’t exactly been dead, so I can’t say 2024 is the year it will make a glorious comeback, but hot damn, there sure are a lot of games coming out in the genre making it somewhat of an event. For X-com aficionados the world over it’s going to be a very busy year with a lot of turn-based tactical combat and the building of bases. Now, I can’t say for certain that all these titles will come out this year, but the prognoses are looking good for many of the games. I will list the games under three categories. Games that are set for a 2024 release (according to Steam), games with a more unclear release, and then games that are out already. Here we go!

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The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham [Book Review]

If you ever wondered what it would be like to live under the alien threat from X-com: Terror From the Deep as a civilian, I have a book for you. Now, things do not line up perfectly, since they are set in different time periods; 1950 in the book, versus 2040 in the game. There are other things as well since The Kraken Wakes (Out of the Deeps in the US) is not an official book based on the X-com brand – but I got to say, it’s comes pretty damn close!

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Starship Troopers: Terran Command [DLC] Raising Hell – The Gehenna Rumble

The bugs are back with a vengeance and this time they are harassing humanity on the volcanic planet of Gehenna. Raising Hell is more of the same, however with the killing now taking place in an extremely hostile environment – for both man and bug. There is more than just the mobile infantry fighting the crawly critters this time around, as private money-seeking mercenaries join in on the fun. With money being their primary concern, these units come with a different flavor. They are as good at destroying bugs as their brothers in the Marines, making the case that the promise of coin can be a potent motivator indeed.

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Aliens: Dark Descent – The Lethe Bug Crisis

In space, nobody can fix your bugs. Besides the fairly buggy nature of Aliens: Dark Descent, it is somewhat of an unexpected sleeper hit of the year. The gameplay, and general mechanics work well, and are clearly thought-out, which together with the visuals and audio creates a very nice Aliens experience. It truly feels like the movie when you slowly skulk the poorly lit and narrow space colonial corridors – then for it to suddenly switch from tension to high-octane action when your badass Marines with their cool outfits and iconic weapons open up on the deadly and terrifying Xenomorphs. It actually resembles Aliens to a fault, as it becomes a little too much familiar in the narrative. Seemingly, there is only one way to write games based on the Alien franchise. 

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XCOM: Chimera Squad – Prepare for Anarchy

Chimera Squad is both a spin-off series of Xcom, and a continuation of the Firaxis Xcom storyline, and overall, I think it’s a great addition to the series, both from a gameplay and story perspective. It’s not without problems, though. While the setting, background lore, and plot of the game are interesting, the characters you play leave much to desire. You see, it suffers from something most modern writing suffers from nowadays – quirky Marvel humor. Yet, it’s tolerable by presenting the story as something serious, it’s just that the tone gets constantly shattered by the quippy and sarcastic characters you are forced to drag along.

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