Games similar to x com 2. Games similar to X-COM. Turn-based battles, leveling up heroes, powerful skills. Iron Oath - calling on the best warriors

Now it's a separate genre.

According to developer Julian Gollop, XCOM has become a full-fledged genre in gaming industry. The time has come. The combination of turn-based shooter and strategy campaign is so capacious that it should simulate a huge number of scenarios with a wide range of settings. If this approach worked in Mario game+ Rabbids: Kingdom Battle on the Switch platform, then we can take a step forward and do something more interesting in the style of XCOM, right? The X-COM game gave us an invasion from space and an invasion from the sea, but there are games coming out that have their own take on the concept. Let's get a look.

Borrowing the idea from the original X-COM, Phoenix Point is a more advanced game with a complex shooter system than all the X-Com reboots from Firaxis. The shots were worked individually, hitting vulnerable spot may injure an opponent or deprive him of the opportunity to fight. You can change the speed and type of running when meeting an enemy, and they, in turn, can attack you with monsters the size of a multi-story building.

The developers say that the horrors of the famous writer Lovecraft influenced the design of the crab-like monsters that threaten humanity. These creatures evolve to take into account your tactics, developing arms with cannons to counter enemy units and chitinous shields to prevent enemy penetration. We tried it out recently and it worked really well.

It's nice to see how the X-Com theme is used in different projects. All actions in Phantom Doctrine take place during an alternative Cold War, where there is a choice storyline for the KGB or CIA. You control intelligence and can brainwash, interrogate and chemically enhance the potential of your agents to defeat the global conspiracy that provokes the Cold War.

You have the opportunity to choose stealth mode walkthroughs in which all weapons are silenced and the character uses only silent fighting techniques or you can choose normal mode and make noise as expected. You will have a secret hideout at your disposal, where you will not only attach evidence to the investigation board, but also change the identities of agents if they are in danger. To overcome all this, you will need at least a good 60 hours, which in turn proves the seriousness of the combinations of gaming genres. In his detailed preview, Steve Hansen emphasizes that this game is a combination of XCOM and Invisible Inc, which in turn looks suspiciously like the game of our dreams.

We praised the original Xenonauts for its similarity to the X-com concept, and for its extensive customization features. Less than a year later, Xenonauts 2 becomes a decent sequel that has an alpha demo on GOG Galaxy. In a January 2018 update, Goldhawk Interactive indicated that the game is on its way to being fully ready.

"I think we'll do away with the classic Xenonauts and offer something with better graphics, more consistent options, more varied missions, and more Geoscape complexes that give you more strategic freedom."

Again, it sounds like the upcoming game will be a treat for X-Com fans. Goldhawk has a project on Kickstarter and the game is planned for an early access release.

Why not play as aliens for a change? A mission of clumsy little men goes into space to get energy. While trying to extract energy from planet x13, they encounter alien termites. As this extraterrestrial species, you have to hunt and eat expedition members to gain energy. There is no subtle humor in the game associated with eating a human being. It's clearly inferior and looks low-key compared to the world of X-Com, but playing on the alien side gives you new tactical combat options.

You can wander through the ventilation and ambush soldiers, or hide in closets, as aliens like to do in many horror films. You can also install original traps that paralyze soldiers. All you have to do is go down and eat them all in a destructive attack. Unlike other games, Attack of the Earthlings can already be purchased on Steam.

Warhammer 40K fits seamlessly into the X-Com format and it's no longer surprising. We've already seen Space game Hulk and a version of Mordheim based on Warhammer Fantasy Battle. But Warhammer 40,000 Mechanicus will probably be the first game that can be judged without hesitation. This is just the beginning - the game was revealed this week and is scheduled to release later this year. It sounds like something in the spirit of X-com, with a tactical component in addition to resource management and the discovery of new technologies on a new planet.

Adeptus Mechanicus are transhuman builders and worshipers of the mechanical god. They work alongside space marines, build fortifications and control huge Titans, and are, in fact, an interesting fighting force. Their love for improving limbs could become various experimental weapons. interesting feature when playing X-Com style. Were promised alternate endings, important decisions that will affect the ending and story from Warhammer Black Library author, Ben Counter.

XCOM 2 moved to February - but what if you were already making plans expecting to play in November? What to do, how to quench the thirst for alien blood - not to replay the original once again? And it’s somehow... scary to take on a completely original one (the one from 1993), isn’t it?

Don't panic. Covering the topic of tactically competent confrontation with an alien threat is by no means a prerogative Enemy Unknown and its ancient ancestors, and that’s putting it mildly: who hasn’t tried their hand at reincarnating or reimagining X-COM before Firaxis got to work.

And after that, there were also brave souls.

XCOM: Long War

If you just want to add something new to the original, studied to the last sectoid, a modification is at your service Long War. The idea is simple - to make XCOM bigger and more complex. There are more weapons and equipment, more soldiers under your command, more enemies on missions - even the first month will delight you with at least a dozen aliens on the map! More accidents, pleasant and not so pleasant... and more time to complete - it’s not for nothing that this is a “long” war.

Long War goes a little too far in places, but if you want variety - and its modification will more than provide it - why not try it? But attention: you will also need an add-on Enemy Within.

UFO: Extraterrestrials

Created by the small but dedicated Chaos Concept team, UFO: Extraterrestrials was conceived as a remake of “the same one” X-COM: UFO Defense, which marked the beginning of both the series and an entire subgenre. The implementation of the daring ideas turned out, alas, to be mediocre - while retaining the spirit of the original, the developers seriously screwed up the balance, complexity and depth of the gameplay, and they didn’t create the most presentable wrapper - with lanky sprite soldiers and a gloomy, murky environment.

Fortunately, a community quickly formed around the game and began to modify it. Chaos Concept met halfway and subsequently included the most successful modifications in the “golden” edition, where the concept was brought... well, almost to mind.

The gameplay repeats the gameplay of the old X-COM almost exactly the same: the changes are mostly cosmetic and in some places ill-conceived. Instead of the Earth that fell under the onslaught of aliens, there is the Esperanza colony without a clear backstory; You can build bases, but only the main one is fully functional; tactical battles are quite clumsy even with modifications, but also quite recognizable.

It’s uneven, of course, but you can live. If you close your eyes to this, Extraterrestrials may well keep the alien fighter busy for a couple of weeks, because it still retains its spirit and manages to captivate, despite a lot of rough edges.

Xenonauts

And here " Xenonauts", unlike Extraterrestrials, immediately inspire awe, managing not only to recreate with incredible accuracy game process from the mid-nineties, but also preserve that very atmosphere - adding enough to avoid the offensive label of “clone”, and remain extremely faithful to the original, and not seem archaic.

Rest assured if you're a fan UFO Defense found the reincarnation of XCOM too “casual”, Xenonauts you will be pleasantly surprised and pleased by the elaboration of the world and interesting ideas - take only air battles, very reminiscent of space battles from Star Control 2. It also has every chance of impressing followers of the “new school”, since it’s convenient to play, and it will take very little time to master the differences. But in order to win... Let's just say, don't expect any mercy from the game - incorrect base planning and tactical mistakes will invariably give a newcomer a noticeable slap on the wrist.

“Learn, new guy,” the “Xenonauts” mean, displaying a message about defeat for the third or fourth time. Aren't you afraid to get tired and quit? Then take command.

UFO Series: Aftermath, Aftershock and Afterlight

The UFO trilogy from Altar Interactive is traditionally perceived as a very average attempt to make “our own” X-COM. Yes, there are plenty of deviations from the original concept and controversial innovations. But what if we evaluate them without looking back at the ancestor?

Then it turns out that Aftermath, And Aftershock, And Afterlight- the games are original and deep, albeit rather crudely executed. Surprisingly, a lot of attention is paid to the plot and history of the world, where the Reticulan race made the Earth their testing ground, and voluntarily and forcibly moved people to orbital stations and sent them to colonize Mars.

And if Aftermath still trying to seem UFO Defense in a new way, then the second game has already gone its own way, and the third even more so. From defenders, we have become invaders - both on Earth and on Mars, we have to fight for resources and territory, recapturing them from mutants, feral reticulans and Martian aborigines. A lot of it different weapons and equipment are made by engineers and used on the battlefield by soldiers. The battlefield, by the way, lives here in real time - so battles are played completely differently than in the original source.

It’s not worth recommending the UFO trilogy to everyone, but still there is something special in it, a kind of magic, very “Ickscom”, but at the same time... different. Who knows, maybe this is exactly what you need?

GhostControl Inc.

If the alien invaders are already in trouble, you can try your hand at exterminating the otherworldly by heading the company “GhostControl Inc.” We replace the “Skyranger” with a cozy little car, and the contingent of agents with a bunch of yesterday’s parapsychologists, united against a very illusory threat, and let’s get to work!

The strategic layer in the game is extremely simplified, but the battles are intricate in their own way. We do not destroy the ghosts, but, according to the behests of Peter Wenkman and company, we weaken them and drag them into a trap, after which we sell the ectoplasm and live on the proceeds.

They are spent with alarming speed - on maintaining the office, on compensating for material damage to clients, on maintaining the relatively sane minds of hunters, on gasoline, in the end. Little by little, the ghosts become creepier, the hunters become more experienced, and the fees... Well, anything can happen. Sometimes you won't get a pound from a person if you accidentally burn his favorite curtain in the exorcist frenzy.

Massive Chalice

At first glance, what kind of XCOM is this, it’s fantasy! However, no, the very first battle causes an acute attack of deja vu, even though the mechanics have been slightly redesigned to suit the needs of the universe. We even fight, as in the “original source,” with alien life forms, except that their origin is rather infernal.

There is also a breakdown into regions World map, “bases”-fortresses, a technology tree, fighters maturing with experience - only it all looks a little scanty. But excuse me, why did the greatest of heroes suddenly die of old age?!

And this is the main highlight Massive Chalice. As an immortal ruler leading civilization through three centuries of war against invaders, the player willy-nilly devotes himself to eugenics. After all, if there are no descendants of today’s warriors, who will protect the lands from attacks tomorrow? And if the descendants turn out to be “defective” or do not appear at all, it’s a disaster.

So, in the name of the greater good, it remains to unite heroes in pairs, maintaining the gene pool and trying to get the maximum return... This is a tedious task, but who promised that it would be easy?

Invisible Inc.

Invisible Inc. not about aliens, but about spies and corporations, but it has amazingly much in common with XCOM. To understand its charm, it is worth talking, rather, about what is arranged differently in it.

Firstly, it's about secrecy. In an open skirmish, your agents can do almost nothing, and if they can, they pay dearly for it. Therefore, you do not enter into confrontation, but sneak around, hide behind stools, break into cameras, sound detectors and all kinds of safes with goods.

Secondly, similar to what is promised in XCOM 2, here we have to operate from underground. If you play on “expert” (basic difficulty level), the game constantly presents you with difficulties: if there are enough resources, then they are tight, you always have to be torn between completing the mission safely and the desire to rummage through more rooms. Wherein Invisible Inc.. almost always plays fair. There are no accidents here (except for the location of the rooms, which you never know in advance - you need to do reconnaissance), sudden skirmishes are easy to avoid if you move carefully and don’t stomp your feet. A smart agent can handle everything.

Invisible Inc.. not as big and epic as Enemy Unknown with the addition, it is not nearly as free, since in conditions of limited resources and scarcity of information, it is more important not even to develop a plan, but to find, in a series of wrong decisions, the only opportunity that will allow you to win.

But it’s amazing how tightly all the mechanisms in it fit together. Every move, every consumable, every gadget counts, and emerging situations that radically change from game to game force you to replay it again and again.

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This is of course not all similar XCOM games, (there is also, for example, free long-term construction UFO: Alien Invasion), but to pass the time until February, they should be enough. Good luck in the fight against the alien threat!

This collection of games is entirely dedicated to best iOS and Android strategies, proven and popular. The action in them, as you can see, takes place in a variety of locations - in the air, at sea and on land. But one thing remains the same – strategic gameplay, which requires players to think, plan their own actions and predict the enemy’s moves.

This sci-fi strategy game asks gamers to create their own team of metal warriors, then send them into a labyrinth to fight a huge number of alien opponents. Here, the authors from Trese Brothers managed to combine tactical gameplay with role-playing elements, the possibility of customization and a wide range of content.

XCOM: Enemy Within

XCOM needs no introduction. This brainchild of the 2K company delights gamers with the strategic depth of the plot - you will not only have to fight aliens, but also build diplomatic relations, manage your troops and plan operations. The plot of this development is not only deep, but also incredibly exciting, which rightfully turns Enemy Within into one of best strategies on the iOS platform.

Sid Meier's Ace Patrol: Pacific Skies

Sid Meier became famous for always creating high-quality strategies with sidebars and references to the real history of mankind. But his best work on mobile platforms can be considered this game dedicated to air battles. It is similar to the first version of Ace Patrol, but it is implemented much more thoughtfully and deeply, and there are more than enough strategic elements in it.

It will be difficult for you to determine what attracts you more in this game from Stoic - the magnificent, hand-drawn graphics, the atmospheric soundtrack, or the tactical plot with interactive RPG elements. Banner Saga is far from simple, but a really addictive game in the setting of Scandinavian mythology, which looks great both inside and out.

In games like XCOM you save the world, whereas in Plague Inc. from the studio Ndemic Creations - on the contrary, you are trying to stop its existence. Your task is to create a superinfection that would easily defeat all modern medications and hit humanity, putting it on the brink of survival. To win, you need to learn to think through your actions, building strategic combinations, taking risks and experimenting.

Created by the guys from Risky Lab, Warbits will remind you of Advance Wars in some ways - from colorful graphics to game mechanics based on moving tiles. Its tactical gameplay is indeed very close to the famous one of its time, but forgotten game from Nintendo, although it also has its own interesting finds, solutions and elements.

This idiosyncratic game from Fireflame Games is part roguelike, part RPG with elements board game and puzzles. It is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance, but behind its polished appearance There's enough strategic depth hidden to keep players hooked.

Rymdkapsel is an original and stylish RTS, developed by the Grapefrukt studio, in which you will have to collect resources, acquire attacking units and defend against enemy attacks. But most importantly, it's addictive, so don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to play it over and over again.

Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch - Tyranid Invasion

Despite the difficult-to-pronounce name, this development from Rodeo Games cannot fail to attract attention. Its strategic gameplay and gothic-style turn-based combat will appeal not only to fans of the 40K universe, but also to fans of thoughtful, thought-provoking games.

Surely many are familiar with the developers who came up with addition The Long War for XCOM. So, just recently, these guys decided to found their own company, called Long War, and begin developing a brand new turn-based strategy.

Game description

As you might guess, the first game will be similar to the world-famous strategy XCOM. Events will unfold on Earth, and you will have to fight with aliens. According to the team, they do not plan to copy the gameplay, so a completely new, and most importantly global strategy awaits us. The Kickstarter company will launch very soon, which means everyone will be able to contribute.

Terra Invicta is an online strategy 2016, in which players will not only have to fight off aliens, but make every effort to protect the entire Earth. Fortunately, you will have time to prepare before the invasion. Thanks to the latest technology, scientists were able to determine the exact location and time of landing. This important information will change your whole life.

At the very beginning, it will be necessary to gather a council of scientists, officials and military leaders in order to jointly try to unite all nations. The more allies you have, the stronger you will become and will be able to provide a worthy rebuff to the aliens. The technologies that you will be able to learn also depend on this. Since at the beginning it is necessary to take care of defense (build protective turrets, walls, etc.), strategy and tactics will play a key role. Some, for example, will prefer to wait for the aliens and fight on Earth, while others will go out open space and will not allow invasion. Unfortunately, on this moment This is all the information, but very soon the employees of the new company will definitely share with us interesting details regarding the gameplay.

Step by step tactical games are still popular. That's why they keep coming out. Although not as often as all kinds of shooters, action and horror films. On the other hand, they don’t have time to get bored.

One of the most famous games in this genre is, of course, XCOM. Many games try to be like it. Which ones exactly - this will be discussed in this article. What these games have in common is the ability to die anytime and anywhere, strategic elements that involve research, construction, and RPG elements that improve the characters and their equipment. What worthwhile XCOM clones can we expect in the future?

Phoenix Point

Of course, it’s impossible to pass by Phoenix Point, if only because it’s also made by Julian Gollop, the creator of the original XCOM game series back in the 1990s. This is an indie project that raised money on the fig portal and received 765 thousand dollars, which is almost 2.5 times more than the required 500K. The game promises “foot” battles, some kind of military mechanisms, and, of course, turn-based XCOM style. Each group consists of up to 16 people, who during the missions assigned to them could easily die or get sick.

In Phoenix Point, there was someone to counter the new threat - the Pandora virus, which makes mutants out of people. The mutation is very peculiar - people become walking weapons, resembling crabs in appearance. These smart crabs are well protected. This applies not only to any body armor, but also to the complete unknown of what is happening on enemy territory.

The game's release is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2018. By the way, pre-order is already available on the official website.

Xenonauts 2

The sequel to Xenouts, which was a fairly accurate clone of XCOM, it is even closer to a digital tabletop than a tactical RPG. The differences lie in the gameplay. Xenonauts provided more options for planning attacks. I would like to believe that all those positive qualities will be preserved in the sequel. The game's release is scheduled for 2018.

The plot of the second part is classic, Ickscom. Your enemy is alien invaders. You are the only defender of the planet. At the tactical level, you fight enemies face to face, at the strategic level, you research alien technologies, track the movements of enemies, etc. The game takes place during an alternative Cold War. In other words, everything that you learned in the first part of Xenonauts will no longer be available in the sequel.

The game is made on the Unity engine, which is not very good. Because he is very laggy. However, the developers promise to straighten their arms and make all the features from alien animation to turn-based aerial combat as slow as possible. What they do can be seen right now in the free demo, which is available on GOG. The demo didn't make it to Steam...

Fort Triumph

This game is a hybrid of XCom and Divinity: Original Sin. In Divinity, the second part of which was released quite recently, tactical battles were an important, but far from the main component of the gameplay. Still, the plot is quite interesting. Instead of alien technology, there is pure magic here.

Each quest can be solved in two ways - it all depends on the available capabilities. Some can easily avoid a fight, others, on the contrary, can fight their way through crowds of enemies, and the environment and landscape play an important role.

Low poly graphics look original:

The game's release is scheduled for the 4th quarter of 2018.

Zodiac Legion

Zodiac Legion looks very old school. And in general, it is infinitely inferior to previous projects. However, this is a real tactics with turn-based battles, strategic global map and similar goodies that are typical for this kind of game.

A small group of soldiers scouts the area, sometimes carrying out sabotage in enemy territory. The plot is also fantasy. The game is made with sheer enthusiasm, that’s why the graphics are like this. And the development speed is low. The creators of the game are talking about at least 2019 - this project should not be expected earlier. During this time, it is quite possible to go to kickstarter or a similar platform and raise money for graphics updates.

Kingsmen

According to the official website, the Kingsmen game is being made by game development veterans. However, they have been doing this for quite a long time - since 2013. Visually, the game looks good - not top-notch, but not as retro as the previous project.

Kingsmen is set in the Middle Ages. The game revolves around castles that need to be defended from enemies. And defend in a tactical turn-based, in other words, XCOM style. At the same time, you shouldn’t expect any psi energy, like in XCOM, or magic, like in Fort Triumph.

The release is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2018.

Forged of Blood

It's difficult to say what is more in this game - RPG or tactics. On the one hand, you will have to travel through a certain fantasy universe, on the other hand, you will have to fight in a step-by-step mode with all sorts of enemies. Probably, it can also be placed somewhere in the center between XCOM and Divinity: Original Sin 2 - that is, it is a direct competitor to another game that was mentioned above, the Fort Triumph project.

There is magic here too. But at the same time (which distinguishes it from the same Divinity, where once you go through one location, you don’t return to it) you will have to fight everywhere and, possibly, more than once. The developers explain that success (aka victory) in the next location is impossible without the previous ones. This, however, is obvious.

The game's release is scheduled for mid-2018.

Phantom Brigade

This game deserves attention. Because in this tactic it is not people fighting against aliens, but giant robots that have no problem finding a new route through a forest thicket or a city block.

Phantom Brigade also has a strategic part for base management, resource management and tactical combat. But the main feature is, of course, the destruction of everything and everyone. You can no longer hide behind a building somewhere - it will be demolished right away, and then you will get it too.

The game's release is scheduled for the third quarter of 2018.

Iron Oath

This game is also retro. However, it has already passed the Kickstarter campaign. And with the required 45 thousand dollars, she scored 94.5 thousand dollars. In other words, potential gamers were convinced by the words of the developers that their project was not garbage based on vegetable oil. There is no reason not to believe them.

The game has nine large regions and over 50 cities. Each can be visited on a guided tour. Or in order to rebuild something.

The developers say that the game is long-lasting and the characters age and die. This means that new fighters will have to be recruited, trained and trained. Initially, the game promised 12 unique classes. Missions are generated automatically, but are planned and pre-written story quests. You will have to fight both outside and inside the premises. The fights are classic. A grid is displayed on which units move during your turn.

And the creators, not without pride, say that Alex Roe, well known in narrow circles, worked on the musical part. I have no idea who it is, but, as they say, he lit up his remixes of tracks from Dark Souls. Yes, you can check for yourself whether they are good.

The game is expected in 2019. It looks very promising, you must agree.

What XCOM game would you play?