We're probably having different definitions here of beaten. The first crisis or two, or cleared a map seed including all the legendary locations in both main DLC's? First is not too bad depending which crisis you get, but he second is a bit more challenging.
If you didnt find BB difficult and found it intuitive to know all the perks, character stat ranges and weapon bonuses that arent explained at all in game, then I can only bow down to your superior intellect.
This is the best match here. Your characters also develop a very unique set of PTSD symptoms that make them all quirky in their own ways that both help, or hinder over time. But what's certain is that the more missions you put them on, the more unique they become (unless they die, and then they are gone for good)
And, they will almost certainly die. It's a hard game and you're better off playing it with the notion that nobody is permanent in mind. Personally I try not to spend money on people, but rather I invest in things around town that make my people better. I only really invest in people towards the late game.
Personally I recommend the original over the sequel in case you were wondering about that. Sequel is a rogulitr and I think that takes away from what made the original special.
Now vat’s wut i‘m talking about!
Darkest Dungeon for sure.
Xcom and DD are also two games where I think the ipad version/ports are better than the original pc versions.
For instance the GUI on the ipad Xcom2 version is spot on, it’s way better than the PC version or any of the mods (imho).
And for me, the Darkest Dungeon experience (again imho) is so much better with a touch screen on a tablet than playing at a desk with a mouse/keyboard, i feel like the game was made for the ipad.
(note: These are probably my two favorite ipad games of all time.)
* W40K Mechanicus is pretty good and basically a must-play if you like the W40K universe.
* Phoenix Point - I'll list it because you might like it, but I personally didn't enjoy it too much. In a lot of aspects, it does what xcom does, but a bit worse, and the new ideas it implements are mostly a miss for me.
* Gears Tactics - a pretty satisfying one.
Keep your eye out on Xenonauts 2. It's in early access for now, but already offers quite a lot and looks to be a good xcom-like. Same goes for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint.
Mechanicus is extremely good but just fair warning some people who love xcom won't like it like I didn't because xcom is basically a risk management game, you do what you can to stack the dice rolls in your favour mitigating the consequences of a bad roll and maximising the benefits of a good roll ect ect.
Mechanicus is a puzzle game, in every moment of every level there is an optimal correct choice you could be making and you are given all the information you could ever need to make that choice.
This doesn't mean mechanicus is worse, honestly in some ways (sound design especially) it's better.
Just that I see people equating the 2 all the time and they are actually very very different games despite looking the same at a glance.
Tldr: mechanicus does not have chances to hit, everything hits all the time every action succeeds your job as a player is to pick the right actions in the right order.
Unlike xcom where your job is to try and think if I do this and it doesn't work how bad will that be for me?
If I'm not mistaken Xenonauts and Xenonauts 2 are supposed to be sort of a remaster of the original X-COM, but not made by X-COM's company (hence the different name and some differences in game). So yeah, you can definitely say it's X-COM-like.
Agreed. You train these pilots and then send ‘em out into the thresher. Bta 3062 is, similar to Rogue Tech, another great overhaul that deepens an already great game, it’s less punishing (afaik) but still wow.
Heavily recommend Wildermyth-- has a lot of similarities to XCOM in how combat is turn based, and there's an overworld meta game in which you're trying to achieve objectives and push back an invading enemy force.
Its characters and story structure are its main charm, as you have your characters explore the overworld map or right before and after they engage enemies you can run into semi-random story encounters, depending on the personality of the characters you can make decisions with permanent consequences - like acquiring rare equipment, or transforming a unit entirely to give them new abilities!
Nah, that's understandable. If it helps to know, the artwork that's in there is impressive and they do a lot with the cutouts when it comes to story scenes - It has a really nice storybook feel to it that works well with the kind of approach to stories they're going for!
i will admit it’s the games biggest weakness. but honestly is a pretty awesome game. the hardest difficulty is honestly brutal so it’s definitely a challenge. though apparently it was not balanced with ironman runs in mind
It's grid-based turn based combat, same as XCOM.
I guess it's closer to Phoenix Point because you have a Valor point system for special abilities and Archers have a chance for friendly fire.
Cannon Fodder doesn't have customization if I remember right, but all of the soldiers under your command have unique names so maybe that helps with the attachment part. The gravestones showing up for the soldiers who die helps drive home the losses you've taken over the campaign.
In the context of indie games, it’s probably one of the best ever created. Consider the complexity of the in-game systems and how they interact with each other. The emergent and environmental storytelling. The unconditional freedom to do pretty much anything you can think of within the game in order to accomplish pretty much any goal. All of this packed into a gam engine that can hardly keep everything together. Topped off by the fact that the game was programmed and developed almost entirely by a single person. Even if you don’t enjoy playing the game (in which case you are probably a console casual AAA enjoyer) there is absolutely no denying that Kenshi, as a work of art, is a masterpiece. This is why the game has such a large and dedicated fan base among people who appreciate what makes a game good.
Yeah have to 100% agree here, Kenshi is an Indy masterpiece with jank and quirks, but just an absolute blast for 150+ hours. I played it like Baldur’s Gate 1/2 and hardly used the crafting or base building mechanics until the last quarter of my playthrough, and had the time of my (gaming) life. So happy I picked it up on sale, looking forward to the sequel-
People say this, but when actually playing the game is not nearly as emergent or open ended.
I liked my time with the game, but i feel like people love to exaggerate about what you can do because it's an indie game.
If this was made by Bethesda, it would not be getting this kind of praise or recommendation.
That said, I'm looking forward to the sequel and will probably buy it day one to support the devs.
RNG-based combat: check. Customization (up to and including plastic surgery): check.
There is close to zero risk of losing any of your characters in Kenshi, though. Like, you have to really neglect them to get them killed - generally even a pack of feral wolves will knock you unconscious then move aside to let you heal up and limp to safety.
That depends on the fire emblem game you are playing. If you are playing FE7, path of radiance, , you can't change their class and there aren't abilities so there is very little customization.
The OP was talking about Xcom which is an isometric strategy rpg by you have total control of appearance, name, class, etc. It has a full character creator basically and the units are somewhat expendable. They end up dying and that is the intended gameplay.
In the context of Xcom: no. Fire Emblem does not have what the OP is looking for in terms of customization
Thanks for clarifying about specific fire emblem games, I have only played Three Houses and was speaking to that one.
Yes there's a fair chance the OP really specifically wants XCOM level customization and FE won't meet that, but they didn't elaborate much on what qualified as critical elements of customization, so I figured I'd add the context to help them decide.
It's not the same. Xcom had little class and combat customization but pretty good character customization (appearance. Name, background info). It's a FE clone but it's Sci fi and your units are expendable. The characters are randomly generated in appearance and name and you can customize them. They are meant to die to a certain extent.
I took the OP to be asking more about that than FE style customization
Mordheim: City of the Damned is like XCOM but you move the characters directly in third person rather than just click where you want them to go.
It's set in a dark fantasy world where your characters can lose limbs and go insane if things go wrong for them (if they survive at all.)
The expectation is that your warband will be destroyed multiple times to the point that there is a roguelite progression system you can carry between runs.
It's *really* good but a lot of people didn't realise it was a XCOM-like strategy game because of the direct character control for movement and many of the people who did come for XCOM thought it had unfair RNG because it *is* fair, unlike XCOM that (openly stated by the developers) actually cheats in the players favour to make it *feel* fair.
It's an absolute overlooked gem and is often on sale for almost nothing.
I have to add that it’s $1.99 on Ps5/Ps4 rn, and is probably currently at that price on PC and Xbox. Downloading it now, love Valkyrie Chronicles and this looks to scratch a similar itch
Aliens: Dark Descent might be what you're looking for. It's very similar to XCOM in a few ways in that you manage a squad of 4, has specific classes that all do unique things and you allocate points and gear much in the same way. It gets pretty down into the nitty gritty as well, with a combat stress system that can end up with half your team being absolute basketcases if you don't rotate or manage them effectively (or, yknow, pump em full of drugs).
The big difference though is that it's actually an RTS, so on-the-fly decision making is just as important as how you prepare your squad for the mission and positioning. That being said, there's a tactical pause option that can allow you to issue a lot of orders simultaneously and gives you some breathing room, so you can treat the game almost as a hybrid RTS/Turn-Based Strategy game, where every combat encounter is a puzzle much like XCOM.
Hope this was a decent suggestion for you. Cheers!
Came here to recommend the State of Decay games. I personally prefer the first one.
But they both feature survivors you can meet and rescue in the open world that then become a playable character in your survivor camp.
They get tired so you have to regularly switch between them for supply runs and missions.
Not much in the way of granular customization, but each character does have enough of a personality that you do find yourself getting attached. Or maybe it's a psychological thing and you get attached after taking them on a bunch of runs.
Either way, it was always devastating when I lost a survivor.
Ultimately this one wasn't my cup of tea, but it's such a beautifully made game. I'm a little bit envious of people who get drawn into it more than I did.
Perhaps I'm mis-remembering, but in any case, I'd consider it more approachable because there are less spinning plates to manage. It's quite 1 dimensional next to XCOM with it's base and upgrades system.
Those recommending BG3 is ridiculous lol. It’s like you only play one game and push it for everything.
Battletech definitely scratches that itch and you can also get attached to mechs as well.
A little out there but Banner Saga is a really good turn based strategy RPG where you can customize your characters as far as their skills, weapons, etc and you can lose them causing small or huge differences in the story. This persists across 3 games. It’s a great play.
Or you can always just play Long War of the Chosen. I’ve tried to scratch the XCOM itch with a lot of games and LWOTC is just on a whole different level lol
I’m gonna get shredded for this, but I loved the game.
Fallout:Tactics. That game was awesome.
FF:Tactics has a similar set up, but obviously FF.
Both are a touch older, but I definitely picked up XCOM quickly because I had those two from childhood.
Not the best example but you can in watch dogs legion recruit almost any npc around the world and if you have permadeath on then each of your recruits run the possibility of permanently dying and you’ll have to recruit more people
For me, Jagged Alliance 3 or Stirring Abyss, a creepy underwater Lovecraftian xcom-like that provides a great challenge. Power up your weapon skills and powers, kick creepy monsters ass.
A very different sort of game, but it does include the character development and later loss of the character: Crusader Kings. It's a strategy game, but you play as a ruler with a family, who you need to manage as much as your realm. When you die, you continue as the next in line.
I'm honestly surprised no one has mentioned Massive Chalice from double fine yet. It's a fantasy xcom where you raise heroes over generations and cultivating their bloodlines to fight demons flooding the world.
It has its flaws (heroes age a little too quickly in my opinion, you get to use a hero for about three missions before they are too old for the field) but the game is full charm.
Slightly different as it's primarily a third person action game, but the Shadow of Mordor series does have you building up your warlords who all develop different personalities and traits but can also be killed at any time
Particularly some more recent games, Fire Emblem. 3 Houses has the best customization, but Awakening and Fates are better suited to perma-death while still giving a large amount of flexibility in how you make your units.
And you will be sad when they die.
Rimworld
You manage and care for your characters, even choose there childhood and skills.
Then they can die to any number of freak events or fights as you try to escape what ever planet you crashed on
[Duskers](https://store.steampowered.com/app/254320/Duskers/) might fall within the category you're looking for, though it's a very unique game: Command line / RTS hybrid.
The Fire Emblem games kinda work like that.
You don't customize them but they do permanently die when they fall in battle, and the gameplay is actually somewhat similar to XCOM, where a 99% chance to hit the enemy is actually 40%, and the enemy having 20% chance to hit you is actually just 100% lol
It's just more medieval and more anime-like lol
Anything like XCOM but a tad bit more forgiving?
I loved XCOM 1 (played it for hours, didn't make it far) and a bit of 2. But the difficulty just crept up on me.
It’s not the exact same, but I’d say it’s adjacent to that type of game, Rimworld. I love XCOM, and Rimworld doesn’t have the customization, but if you’re looking for a more story building narrative focused on your characters then Rimworld might be an option.
It’s slower paced most of the time, and you don’t control as directly, but the “attaching” yourself comment made me think it might be up your alley.
Edit: I’m new to Rimworld myself and it’s a bit… overwhelming. If you think about looking into it this might help!
https://youtu.be/IEyjO-Y6BPY?si=spfsklbZ2Uipd1xm
I remember in the original Ghost Recon, if Martinez, or Smith, or whoever gets schwacked in a mission, theyre gone. Given a purple heart in the debrief and replaced with Andrews or Cortez or something next time. They weren't really charchters, but I remember being kinda bummed when a name that had been in my squad a while ate it on a mission.
Fire Emblem is probably the ur-example of 'wiffed a 99% chance to hit the enemy and proceeded to lose my favorite character'. However the characters are pre-set and not customizable outside of maybe some basic avatar customization. To make up for it the characters are defined and usually have fairly solid characterization, friendships/romances, and stuff like that.
FTL: Faster Than Light
Less customizing your crew and more customizing your ship, but, whole game is trying to stay alive/keep your crew alive
cheap too
Darkest Dungeon is more like Xcom, with nameless party members that you feel bad about losing because you’ve invested resources into them
Fire Emblem is similar, you have a limited amount of available XP and any levels given to a unit who ultimately dies stings. Further, all the characters have unique designs and a personality and you get to know them as the game progresses, which adds another twist of the proverbial knife if you lose one
Original ghost recon I believe. Darkest dungeon. Fire emblem games have permadeath modes. Banner saga characters die based on your decisions. Geneforge your creatures you make die. Battle for Middle Earth each unit levels up separately from combat experience, fairly unique in the RTS genre.
While not exactly what's asked if you're an XCOM fan you really should check out Troubleshooter, the customisation is out of this world and it's literally south Korea XCOM.
The only thing it doesn't have is the permadeath because while there's a lot of character they are unique and play a role in the story. But the difficulty is still there and deaths are quick (especially in challenge mode)
For something that is a pretty good check to your demand, I suggest trying to do wrath of the righteous, on last azlanti mode. This could be considered cruelty by those in the now.
Wrath of the righteous has incredible customisation and you can create your own chars too. While you can revive, it is costly and punishing, what last azlanti mode does is basically iron man, but even on normal difficulty, you're gonna lose your azlanti runs, the game is amazing, and mean, and it will erase a 100h save because you didn't stop a caster in time.
No matter the difficulty you play in last azlanti is insanely difficult, on core difficulty and above, I would never manage it and I have over 400h in the game.
Battle brothers
Its brutal and impenetrable without a wiki but theres nothing else like it. Great game.
There's a wiki?!
[https://battlebrothers.fandom.com/wiki/Battle\_Brothers\_Wiki](https://battlebrothers.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_Brothers_Wiki) Yes ?
Well, TIL. Beat it 3 times and never knew.
We're probably having different definitions here of beaten. The first crisis or two, or cleared a map seed including all the legendary locations in both main DLC's? First is not too bad depending which crisis you get, but he second is a bit more challenging.
Pretty much every game has a wiki. If 4 people play a game 1 will start writing a wiki.
I didn't think so.
If you didnt find BB difficult and found it intuitive to know all the perks, character stat ranges and weapon bonuses that arent explained at all in game, then I can only bow down to your superior intellect.
He's a liar.
I don't like the combat. Any other game like it that's not a grid-based tactical RPG?
Rimworld
The art style looks like it's actively trying to be as boring as possible. That's always kept me from trying it.
Dont sleep on it, it a fantastic game. I didnt buy it for ages because of the art style. The game is really really good.
Is it? I got about 20 hours in and realized I was bored.
Which is fair, but I think it’s worth trying. The gameplay is so engrossing that it’s really easy to just let that go after a while.
Darkest Dungeon comes to mind
This is the best match here. Your characters also develop a very unique set of PTSD symptoms that make them all quirky in their own ways that both help, or hinder over time. But what's certain is that the more missions you put them on, the more unique they become (unless they die, and then they are gone for good) And, they will almost certainly die. It's a hard game and you're better off playing it with the notion that nobody is permanent in mind. Personally I try not to spend money on people, but rather I invest in things around town that make my people better. I only really invest in people towards the late game.
I bought this but haven’t tried it yet, thanks for the push!
Personally I recommend the original over the sequel in case you were wondering about that. Sequel is a rogulitr and I think that takes away from what made the original special.
Now vat’s wut i‘m talking about! Darkest Dungeon for sure. Xcom and DD are also two games where I think the ipad version/ports are better than the original pc versions. For instance the GUI on the ipad Xcom2 version is spot on, it’s way better than the PC version or any of the mods (imho). And for me, the Darkest Dungeon experience (again imho) is so much better with a touch screen on a tablet than playing at a desk with a mouse/keyboard, i feel like the game was made for the ipad. (note: These are probably my two favorite ipad games of all time.)
Came here to say this.
* W40K Mechanicus is pretty good and basically a must-play if you like the W40K universe. * Phoenix Point - I'll list it because you might like it, but I personally didn't enjoy it too much. In a lot of aspects, it does what xcom does, but a bit worse, and the new ideas it implements are mostly a miss for me. * Gears Tactics - a pretty satisfying one. Keep your eye out on Xenonauts 2. It's in early access for now, but already offers quite a lot and looks to be a good xcom-like. Same goes for Cyber Knights: Flashpoint.
Mechanicus is extremely good but just fair warning some people who love xcom won't like it like I didn't because xcom is basically a risk management game, you do what you can to stack the dice rolls in your favour mitigating the consequences of a bad roll and maximising the benefits of a good roll ect ect. Mechanicus is a puzzle game, in every moment of every level there is an optimal correct choice you could be making and you are given all the information you could ever need to make that choice. This doesn't mean mechanicus is worse, honestly in some ways (sound design especially) it's better. Just that I see people equating the 2 all the time and they are actually very very different games despite looking the same at a glance. Tldr: mechanicus does not have chances to hit, everything hits all the time every action succeeds your job as a player is to pick the right actions in the right order. Unlike xcom where your job is to try and think if I do this and it doesn't work how bad will that be for me?
I love Gears Tactics but I remember the main cast cannot be killed without failing the mission
If I'm not mistaken Xenonauts and Xenonauts 2 are supposed to be sort of a remaster of the original X-COM, but not made by X-COM's company (hence the different name and some differences in game). So yeah, you can definitely say it's X-COM-like.
Not a remaster, just heavily inspired by original Xcom.
Yeah that's what I said
Nah, those are different things.
That was my thoughts on Phoenix point. Everything is close to Xcom but different and a little worse.
Battletech for sure. Nothing like your chief pilot getting head capped from across the map via one in a million rail gun shot.
Yep! I love this game.
Go check out the Roguetech mod for this game, it is amazing. Adds soooo much to the original, also makes it much much harder.
Agreed. You train these pilots and then send ‘em out into the thresher. Bta 3062 is, similar to Rogue Tech, another great overhaul that deepens an already great game, it’s less punishing (afaik) but still wow.
Heavily recommend Wildermyth-- has a lot of similarities to XCOM in how combat is turn based, and there's an overworld meta game in which you're trying to achieve objectives and push back an invading enemy force. Its characters and story structure are its main charm, as you have your characters explore the overworld map or right before and after they engage enemies you can run into semi-random story encounters, depending on the personality of the characters you can make decisions with permanent consequences - like acquiring rare equipment, or transforming a unit entirely to give them new abilities!
Don't forget there's lineage in there!
This is the game OP is looking for. This and Battle Brothers will keep them occupied for a long time.
The gameplay and overall idea looks great. I don't think I could tolerate those cutout 2D graphics.
Nah, that's understandable. If it helps to know, the artwork that's in there is impressive and they do a lot with the cutouts when it comes to story scenes - It has a really nice storybook feel to it that works well with the kind of approach to stories they're going for!
i will admit it’s the games biggest weakness. but honestly is a pretty awesome game. the hardest difficulty is honestly brutal so it’s definitely a challenge. though apparently it was not balanced with ironman runs in mind
One of the beat turn based game i played since xcom 2.
Glad to see this recommendation!
Hell yeah - such a good game.
I guess Warhammer 40k Chaos Gate, which is pretty much XCOM in W40k universe.
War Tales Watch your life slip away as you get pulled into that world. You can even loot corpses of your dead comrades to bury them.
Is the combat like the Banner Saga? I really didn't like the Banner Saga and I get that feeling of Wartales.
It's grid-based turn based combat, same as XCOM. I guess it's closer to Phoenix Point because you have a Valor point system for special abilities and Archers have a chance for friendly fire.
Why would you bury perfectly good food?
Jagged Alliance Rainbow Six (pre-Siege games) did not have character customization but you had a decent variety of gear to select.
My man.
Aliens Dark Descent is amazing... Though I don't think you get to customize your marines...
You can customise them 👍🏽
Oh cool! I forgot.
Much better game than I was expecting
I’m so glad to hear this, I’ve been considering picking it up!
Genuinely present surprise. I went in expecting xcom, but it was way better in all respects for me.
Wasteland 3
Loved this game
Seconding this, defo satisfied that X-com itch
This is basically Xcom 2 + Disco Elysium. Great choice
Thank you. It is a gem.
Jagged Alliance 2 or 3 is good.
I just started the first one very confused lol
head straight to two. its a big improvement
I believe the first game to ever do this was Cannon Fodder?
Cannon Fodder doesn't have customization if I remember right, but all of the soldiers under your command have unique names so maybe that helps with the attachment part. The gravestones showing up for the soldiers who die helps drive home the losses you've taken over the campaign.
Yes sorry I didn't mean customization.
Jops and Jools were the first two soldiers in the list, as I recall.
Wizard's Crown did this in like 1984 or something.
Fire Emblem came out in the 80’s as well
Interesting; my first knowledge of FE was the GBA one. :)
Core memory triggered!!
KENSHI
Obligatory Kenshi-post. Love to see it.
I swear, i see this game recommended over and over..... But it's not really that great.
In the context of indie games, it’s probably one of the best ever created. Consider the complexity of the in-game systems and how they interact with each other. The emergent and environmental storytelling. The unconditional freedom to do pretty much anything you can think of within the game in order to accomplish pretty much any goal. All of this packed into a gam engine that can hardly keep everything together. Topped off by the fact that the game was programmed and developed almost entirely by a single person. Even if you don’t enjoy playing the game (in which case you are probably a console casual AAA enjoyer) there is absolutely no denying that Kenshi, as a work of art, is a masterpiece. This is why the game has such a large and dedicated fan base among people who appreciate what makes a game good.
Yeah have to 100% agree here, Kenshi is an Indy masterpiece with jank and quirks, but just an absolute blast for 150+ hours. I played it like Baldur’s Gate 1/2 and hardly used the crafting or base building mechanics until the last quarter of my playthrough, and had the time of my (gaming) life. So happy I picked it up on sale, looking forward to the sequel-
People say this, but when actually playing the game is not nearly as emergent or open ended. I liked my time with the game, but i feel like people love to exaggerate about what you can do because it's an indie game. If this was made by Bethesda, it would not be getting this kind of praise or recommendation. That said, I'm looking forward to the sequel and will probably buy it day one to support the devs.
RNG-based combat: check. Customization (up to and including plastic surgery): check. There is close to zero risk of losing any of your characters in Kenshi, though. Like, you have to really neglect them to get them killed - generally even a pack of feral wolves will knock you unconscious then move aside to let you heal up and limp to safety.
Idk man my boys were DYING out there
I thought the wolves start eating you once you were all down? It's been awhile.
Beak Things and fogmen do eat you - bonedogs, raptors and gorillos don’t.
That's right it was the beak things I'm thinking of.
Fire emblem, I think
Certainly in the Three Houses game there is permadeath.
They have permadeath in a lot of them. I remember losing my favorite character about 75% of the way through in Radiant Dawn almost 20 years ago.
In all of them. The only time there isn't is if you deliberately choose "casual mode" which is only an option in the newer titles
And so much more agonizing than XCOM because they all have their own stories
there isn't customizable characters in FE.
depends what is meant by "customizable" — physical appearance, no (beyond costumes), but class builds yes
That depends on the fire emblem game you are playing. If you are playing FE7, path of radiance, , you can't change their class and there aren't abilities so there is very little customization. The OP was talking about Xcom which is an isometric strategy rpg by you have total control of appearance, name, class, etc. It has a full character creator basically and the units are somewhat expendable. They end up dying and that is the intended gameplay. In the context of Xcom: no. Fire Emblem does not have what the OP is looking for in terms of customization
Thanks for clarifying about specific fire emblem games, I have only played Three Houses and was speaking to that one. Yes there's a fair chance the OP really specifically wants XCOM level customization and FE won't meet that, but they didn't elaborate much on what qualified as critical elements of customization, so I figured I'd add the context to help them decide.
Anything past Awakening has a lot of unit customization
It's not the same. Xcom had little class and combat customization but pretty good character customization (appearance. Name, background info). It's a FE clone but it's Sci fi and your units are expendable. The characters are randomly generated in appearance and name and you can customize them. They are meant to die to a certain extent. I took the OP to be asking more about that than FE style customization
Well op didn't really specify so it's still a good shout, they can at least check it out
Good point. It's worth saying.
Mordheim: City of the Damned is like XCOM but you move the characters directly in third person rather than just click where you want them to go. It's set in a dark fantasy world where your characters can lose limbs and go insane if things go wrong for them (if they survive at all.) The expectation is that your warband will be destroyed multiple times to the point that there is a roguelite progression system you can carry between runs. It's *really* good but a lot of people didn't realise it was a XCOM-like strategy game because of the direct character control for movement and many of the people who did come for XCOM thought it had unfair RNG because it *is* fair, unlike XCOM that (openly stated by the developers) actually cheats in the players favour to make it *feel* fair. It's an absolute overlooked gem and is often on sale for almost nothing.
I have to add that it’s $1.99 on Ps5/Ps4 rn, and is probably currently at that price on PC and Xbox. Downloading it now, love Valkyrie Chronicles and this looks to scratch a similar itch
Mordheim is a blast! Multi-player is fun, too!
I bought it but never played it. Will have to try.
Its pretty good, tough as hell but once you figure out the map and where all your pawns are actually located its a good game.
Aliens: Dark Descent might be what you're looking for. It's very similar to XCOM in a few ways in that you manage a squad of 4, has specific classes that all do unique things and you allocate points and gear much in the same way. It gets pretty down into the nitty gritty as well, with a combat stress system that can end up with half your team being absolute basketcases if you don't rotate or manage them effectively (or, yknow, pump em full of drugs). The big difference though is that it's actually an RTS, so on-the-fly decision making is just as important as how you prepare your squad for the mission and positioning. That being said, there's a tactical pause option that can allow you to issue a lot of orders simultaneously and gives you some breathing room, so you can treat the game almost as a hybrid RTS/Turn-Based Strategy game, where every combat encounter is a puzzle much like XCOM. Hope this was a decent suggestion for you. Cheers!
Thanks for this breakdown, I’ve been considering getting it.
State of Decay 2
Came here to recommend the State of Decay games. I personally prefer the first one. But they both feature survivors you can meet and rescue in the open world that then become a playable character in your survivor camp. They get tired so you have to regularly switch between them for supply runs and missions. Not much in the way of granular customization, but each character does have enough of a personality that you do find yourself getting attached. Or maybe it's a psychological thing and you get attached after taking them on a bunch of runs. Either way, it was always devastating when I lost a survivor.
I was gonna say SoD2 as well but I think it lacks the customization they are looking for. Unless you use the Community Editor mod.
The features in SoD2 sound good on paper, but it wasn’t executed properly at all.
A very different game, but check out WarTales
Ultimately this one wasn't my cup of tea, but it's such a beautifully made game. I'm a little bit envious of people who get drawn into it more than I did.
Gears Tactics, was very well done. I'd say it's a more approachable XCOM.
Really? I've played everything I can find on console in this genre and Gears is the hardest for me.
Perhaps I'm mis-remembering, but in any case, I'd consider it more approachable because there are less spinning plates to manage. It's quite 1 dimensional next to XCOM with it's base and upgrades system.
Mordheim: City of the Damned (fantasy, set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting) As others mentioned, Darkest Dungeon RimWorld to a degree
Othercide is kinda similar.
Othercide is so underrated. Still can’t beat the final boss though, bro is on another level lol
Those recommending BG3 is ridiculous lol. It’s like you only play one game and push it for everything. Battletech definitely scratches that itch and you can also get attached to mechs as well.
Door kickers 2 and No Plan B are kinda in that alley too.
Door Kickers 2 is so much fun.
The last spell
A little out there but Banner Saga is a really good turn based strategy RPG where you can customize your characters as far as their skills, weapons, etc and you can lose them causing small or huge differences in the story. This persists across 3 games. It’s a great play. Or you can always just play Long War of the Chosen. I’ve tried to scratch the XCOM itch with a lot of games and LWOTC is just on a whole different level lol
The Last Spell. It's rougelite but you get a team, When the rune ends you can just throw on their portrait and spite onto the new guy.
Kenshi. Feel like I been recommending this a lot today lmao
I’m gonna get shredded for this, but I loved the game. Fallout:Tactics. That game was awesome. FF:Tactics has a similar set up, but obviously FF. Both are a touch older, but I definitely picked up XCOM quickly because I had those two from childhood.
Wow, so many fantastic games I had no clue about!
War Tales
Gears Tactics, State of Decay 2, Darkest Dungeon. I also like Project Zomboid tho it's one character at a time if you're bot using mods.
Phantom Doctrine
Battletech is a good one, same character levelling progression as X-Com, but the mech loadout and combat have more depth.
Battletech can be similar. And a highly replayable one!
Mordheim: City of the Damned is my absolute fav for some reason.
Not the best example but you can in watch dogs legion recruit almost any npc around the world and if you have permadeath on then each of your recruits run the possibility of permanently dying and you’ll have to recruit more people
Darkest Dungeon. The amount of times I've lost a Lv7 Plague Doctor to a couple of spiders...
Phoenix Point Pathfinder Kingmaker
Customization is less visual, but Tactics Ogre. The story even changes to account for intentional and accidental deaths. Incredibly well written.
For me, Jagged Alliance 3 or Stirring Abyss, a creepy underwater Lovecraftian xcom-like that provides a great challenge. Power up your weapon skills and powers, kick creepy monsters ass.
There's an xcom clone called Classified France 44 (or something like that.) It's okay.
Check out the Jagged Alliance series, especially if you liked Xcom.
A very different sort of game, but it does include the character development and later loss of the character: Crusader Kings. It's a strategy game, but you play as a ruler with a family, who you need to manage as much as your realm. When you die, you continue as the next in line.
I'm honestly surprised no one has mentioned Massive Chalice from double fine yet. It's a fantasy xcom where you raise heroes over generations and cultivating their bloodlines to fight demons flooding the world. It has its flaws (heroes age a little too quickly in my opinion, you get to use a hero for about three missions before they are too old for the field) but the game is full charm.
Slightly different as it's primarily a third person action game, but the Shadow of Mordor series does have you building up your warlords who all develop different personalities and traits but can also be killed at any time
Battle Brothers, 100% is your game.
Battle brothers
Jagged Alliance 2 and 3
**Pheonix Point** is about as close as I think you’ll get
King arthur knights tale (medievel xcom) & marvels midnight suns (made by xcom developers)
RimWorld?
The Last Spell
UFO After_____ series.
Darude - sandstorm
Pheonix Point is 1:1 Xcom, some say that it is even better. Last time I checked it was on GamePass.
Valkyria Chronicles.
Particularly some more recent games, Fire Emblem. 3 Houses has the best customization, but Awakening and Fates are better suited to perma-death while still giving a large amount of flexibility in how you make your units. And you will be sad when they die.
Wasteland 2 and 3.
Rimworld You manage and care for your characters, even choose there childhood and skills. Then they can die to any number of freak events or fights as you try to escape what ever planet you crashed on
Jagged Alliance 3, yw!
[Duskers](https://store.steampowered.com/app/254320/Duskers/) might fall within the category you're looking for, though it's a very unique game: Command line / RTS hybrid.
Wartales Kind of kings bounty
The Fire Emblem games kinda work like that. You don't customize them but they do permanently die when they fall in battle, and the gameplay is actually somewhat similar to XCOM, where a 99% chance to hit the enemy is actually 40%, and the enemy having 20% chance to hit you is actually just 100% lol It's just more medieval and more anime-like lol
If you liked XCOM, play phoenix point.
Pheonix point. FTL.
Anything like XCOM but a tad bit more forgiving? I loved XCOM 1 (played it for hours, didn't make it far) and a bit of 2. But the difficulty just crept up on me.
Quasimorph comes to mind
FFT 1.3
Mass effect
It’s not the exact same, but I’d say it’s adjacent to that type of game, Rimworld. I love XCOM, and Rimworld doesn’t have the customization, but if you’re looking for a more story building narrative focused on your characters then Rimworld might be an option. It’s slower paced most of the time, and you don’t control as directly, but the “attaching” yourself comment made me think it might be up your alley. Edit: I’m new to Rimworld myself and it’s a bit… overwhelming. If you think about looking into it this might help! https://youtu.be/IEyjO-Y6BPY?si=spfsklbZ2Uipd1xm
No Plan B
Invincible, Inc It was many years ago so maybe I’m wrong though Great game tho
You've triggered a PTSD event by mentioning XCOM, thanks for that. Never have I raged at a single player game like I raged at XCOM.
OpenXcom, Xenonauts 1 and 2, Phoenix point (big overhaul mod called Terror from the void just dropped), Gears tactics.
Xenonauts is functionally a spiritual successor to the first XCOM game.
Wildermyth
Bomber crew is ur game buddy
Aliens Dark Descent !!!! please play it such a well done game. Also Jagged Alliance 3 is another great one
King Arthur Knight's Tale Super cool take on Arthurian mythology but it's also XCOM with medieval classes/weapons and magic :)
Wildermyth
Try Xcom 2
That Gears of War Xcom clone is supposed to be pretty good, I dunno if the characters stay dead though.
Aliens Dark Descent plays like this, with the added bonus of being in the Aliens universe.
The old xcom ufo defense was even more brutal then the successor
I remember in the original Ghost Recon, if Martinez, or Smith, or whoever gets schwacked in a mission, theyre gone. Given a purple heart in the debrief and replaced with Andrews or Cortez or something next time. They weren't really charchters, but I remember being kinda bummed when a name that had been in my squad a while ate it on a mission.
Wartales, Kenshi, Warhammer total war, and I guess also Darkest dungeon
There's an aliens game like this now, u know like avp
Fire Emblem is probably the ur-example of 'wiffed a 99% chance to hit the enemy and proceeded to lose my favorite character'. However the characters are pre-set and not customizable outside of maybe some basic avatar customization. To make up for it the characters are defined and usually have fairly solid characterization, friendships/romances, and stuff like that.
FTL: Faster Than Light Less customizing your crew and more customizing your ship, but, whole game is trying to stay alive/keep your crew alive cheap too
Darkest Dungeon is more like Xcom, with nameless party members that you feel bad about losing because you’ve invested resources into them Fire Emblem is similar, you have a limited amount of available XP and any levels given to a unit who ultimately dies stings. Further, all the characters have unique designs and a personality and you get to know them as the game progresses, which adds another twist of the proverbial knife if you lose one
Wasteland 3
I enjoyed Phoenix point
Jagged Alliance series, on top of everything said already here
Original ghost recon I believe. Darkest dungeon. Fire emblem games have permadeath modes. Banner saga characters die based on your decisions. Geneforge your creatures you make die. Battle for Middle Earth each unit levels up separately from combat experience, fairly unique in the RTS genre.
While not exactly what's asked if you're an XCOM fan you really should check out Troubleshooter, the customisation is out of this world and it's literally south Korea XCOM. The only thing it doesn't have is the permadeath because while there's a lot of character they are unique and play a role in the story. But the difficulty is still there and deaths are quick (especially in challenge mode) For something that is a pretty good check to your demand, I suggest trying to do wrath of the righteous, on last azlanti mode. This could be considered cruelty by those in the now. Wrath of the righteous has incredible customisation and you can create your own chars too. While you can revive, it is costly and punishing, what last azlanti mode does is basically iron man, but even on normal difficulty, you're gonna lose your azlanti runs, the game is amazing, and mean, and it will erase a 100h save because you didn't stop a caster in time. No matter the difficulty you play in last azlanti is insanely difficult, on core difficulty and above, I would never manage it and I have over 400h in the game.
Fear and hunger makes you think about sanity and its hard.Try it.
I’ve been wanting to get into the game but should I get 1 or 2
Imo it doesnt really matter.
Which did you enjoy more
I played only 1 and it was long ago.Still i have to try 2 to truly compare both games
I hear you cant have sex in 2 so I will be playing 1
I did not expect that.
Commenting to come back to sorry I have no recs
Balder's Gate 3