This Strategy Doesn't Look Great, But It's Hella Fun!

Source: Hooded Horse

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We had a chance to play Xenonauts 2. We shot aliens in a true XCOM style. Here, we reveal what this turn-based strategy has to offer.

What to choose – a heavy machine gun or a grenade launcher? Should we build the third base in China or South America? Do we want to analyze an alien corpse under a microscope, or would we rather study its laser weapon instead? In the turn-based strategy Xenonauts 2, we constantly make important decisions like these. Like the survival of the human race depended on it! Why? Because it does.

Mars through the wall

The basics of gameplay and plot straight from UFO and XCOM have not changed much since 1994, and the idea is simple: aliens invade the Blue Planet. They spawn in the Solar System, near Earth, and our goal is to track them down using the radar in our base, then shoot them down and purge the spot where they crashed in turn-based combat missions.

Unlike XCOM: Enemy Unknown by Firaxis and XCOM 2, Xenonauts 2 functions without fast or dynamic camera work, which often uses a third-person perspective. Also, people don't constantly bother us in the bases with chit-chat. During the fight, we can admire detailed environment, e.g. shelves in office buildings filled with various documents, which turn into a chaotic rubble after our missions. Just because the game doesn't look all that modern doesn't mean stuff can't be destroyed there!

So, we go about smashing the facades of brick buildings with grenade launchers, throw flashbang grenades into server rooms, cut down vegetation, tear down walls, and mow down aliens with heavy machine guns. After developing a special kind of weapon, we wanted to use it to breach the door to the building – meanwhile, we easily toppled the entire wall by driving a mobile rocket launcher into it.

The mobile MARS platform launched a rocket at a group of enemies on the left – in the process, destroying walls, windows and doors..Xenonauts 2, Hooded Horse

Like Hogs of War

Turn-based tactical combat is exciting for three reasons. First, every unit counts. That's because each of them gets more experienced and better over time. In its current form, we won't find special skills to learn in the game, unlike in games by Firaxis, but we can instead increase the character's attributes such as accuracy, vitality and the like – in a manner akin to the Jagged Alliance series.

This allows us to specialize our troops: a soldier fighting on the frontline and wielding a portable shield and pistol doesn't need high accuracy – instead, he will benefit much more from a high level of HP. In the case of a sniper, it is quite the opposite.

Secondly, the issue of accuracy in battles turns out to be more complex and amounts to something much more complicated than simply hitting or missing. Every shot and grenade throw is precisely calculated. This makes ricochets an inseparable part of combat, often leading to accidentally hitting our own people. Or an alien standing behind the one we're shooting at. And thirdly: music! Even when nothing seems to be happening on the screen, the dramatic compositions can make us shiver. The sound of a broken window or a broken door somewhere in the distance suggests that the enemy is rushing towards us – in such moments, it's easy to get a bit stressed.

Hand-to-hand combat in front of a downed UFO scout. Our soldier is towing a shield, the serviceman at the back has scored a good hit with a grenade.Xenonauts 2, Hooded Horse

The deadly door handle

When we are in buildings or even when we're just starting missions, enemies are often much closer than we suspect. In times like these, teamwork is essential. It often happens that the first disembarking soldier is immediately shot at and hit.

Such situations require tactical approach. Everyone, after leaving the vehicle, has to move away immediately, find cover and return fire... if they see the enemy. An injured soldier needs to be quickly transported away, bandaged, meanwhile... maybe the rest of the squad should be sent through the side entrance? Each action point is worth its weight in gold here, so we have to use them as efficiently as possible.

Of course, it's possible to surprise the enemy with an attack from behind – divert their attention with a few soldiers, while leaving the bulk of your force ready for a powerful, frontal strike. And then you can reverse the roles. However, this takes time, and in some operations, time is very precious.

For example, we can be tasked with stealing data from ten computers in an office building. Such a building is full of workers transformed by aliens, so enemy reinforcements arrive every turn.

We split the team into three teams of three to rapidly open doors, secure rooms and – most importantly – extract the information. Time and again, it's tempting to use up the last action point to open the next door, but this is a trap – if there are opponents inside, we'll be helpless.

Xenonauts 2 begins in 2009, initially we equip our guys with conventional weapons such as MGs, grenade launchers and assault rifles.Xenonauts 2, Hooded Horse

The threat is growing – but we're getting stronger

The first base on the world map can be placed at no cost. However, this only slightly increases the range of our radars and doesn't significantly improve the efficiency of transport. We need to quickly build more bases and thus expand our airspace – as much as possible. It's possible to build them anywhere – as long as it's on solid land.

Each subsequent base costs a lot and initially, there's nothing inside except an elevator. In other words: it's useless for a while after construction. Then we start to think strategically and consider whether we need the more, or quarters for soldiers radar – or a hangar for fighters?

When the first UFO scouts are replaced by more powerful ships, you need to invest in combat fighters and, for example, upgrade their armor (based on what the aliens use) or equip them with air-to-air missiles. We fund all this by completing missions and getting paid by the governments whose territories we defend.

Xenonauts 2 will land in Early Access in the second quarter of 2023, while the release of the full version is intended for 2024. During the Steam Next Fest, a demo version was made available, which allowed testing the game for several hours. We're sure that Xenonauts 2 will ultimately be a successful production – the previous part (2014) was the work of the same studio. It was warmly received by fans of tactical games and the XCOM community itself.

We have already caught three agents. Hopefully, with a grenade we can "catch" the fourth.Xenonauts 2, Hooded Horse

Summary

Xenonauts 2 doesn't knock you off your feet with the video setting. There's no spectacular camera work, a dramatic, over-the-shoulder perspective, nor visual bells and whistles. Instead, we get graphics straight from the 90s, which bring to mind the time when we were delighted with the first games in the UFO series. This game is strongly evocative of those times, because clashes are very difficult – especially in buildings, where every ill-considered move or premature door breach can amount to defeat.

That's why I rejoiced with my troops in victory, winced at the sight of every newly discovered alien unit, and was fascinated to look for the best ways to avoid fire – and felt lucky whenever I succeed. I had to skillfully supervise my team to secure larger areas, while being careful not to injure myself. I've found nothing groundbreaking in the strategic layer, but the creators managed to convey the feeling of facing a great, tangible threat. All this fits almost perfectly with the mechanics of research, training, production, and managing bases and soldiers. After the failed remake of Master of Magic, I'm happy to see one of my favorite strategy games back – in a pleasantly old-school style!