XCOM: Chimera Squad thoughts
overall it has a very different feel due to how they changed the turn system, weapons, and the characters.
For the characters, instead of having custom dudes you get pre-made guys, each with their own unique perks and abilities. this makes things more narrative driven since they can give each characters their own voice and personality. I really enjoy this change, but I don’t think it would fit in a mainline game.
another major change is the weapons you use. They got rid of the tech advancement other the other games. Instead of going from ballistic, to laser, then to plasma, you stay ballistic the whole time and just upgrade those weapons overall. the plasma and other weapons are saved for ‘exotic’ weapons that let you put what used to be minor skills onto any character that can use that weapon. this really ads more mechanically diverse classes since you can trade out an ability you don’t like on a character for something that synergies really well with them, or you can instead just give them a more general and powerful ability with little synergy.
And finally, the biggest change is the turn system and combat loop. Instead of your team going at once, and then the enemy team goes all at once; you have a DnD initiative system. This means that the enemies act while you act and allow for shorter engagements, and more meaningful mechanics. So, instead of slowly planing and setting up attacks, you sort of do a DnD style roundabout of everyone doing their own thing but sort of together. this also means that the character you have go first really matters as it is better to have a character go early that either gives battlefield control, or defensive buffs. And, it is better to have someone go last who heals so they can heal after someone has taken damage. This also allows the game to be faster since if a fight is only one round, it is still meaningful. I think this mechanic could fit in a mainline game, and I would be hesitant, but interested in what could be done with it. I still really like the old, all at once style, but I could always replay 1 or 2.
Overall, I think it is really neat and worth a try if you haven’t played it. its still XCOM so it’s still good.
