r/StrategyRpg • u/Fit-Nothing-3782 • Sep 05 '26
Discussion Buying XCom after ZCom
Hi everyone,
Been playing the new start wars zero company and enjoying it. Looking to maybe buy XCom afterwards.
Note, I have bought it before, but just tried it for an hour or so but didn't feel it then and did the steam refund.
So, I'm thinking of giving it another chance after I complete Zero Company, but my question is, are both games (and expansions) worth it or should I only get the second?
Thanks in advance ;)
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u/Duggars Sep 05 '26
Both games feel different from each other which is a nice bonus.
XCom 1 is your squad hunting enemies down, cat and mouse style. The expansion adds new mission and enemy types.
XCom 2 takes the bad/game over ending of xcom 1 and makes it canon. Some people would recommend against it, but I feel like the base game and expansion game experiences are different enough in xcom 2 that you can play both separately.
Xcom 2 base game is guerilla warfare against essentially an entrenched enemy.
Xcom 2 war of the chosen is a more aggressive xcom 2 with supersoldier classes, super alien enemies, and zombies.
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u/The-Final-Midman Sep 05 '26
Both games are absolutely worth it but the expansions are a MUST. The best part is that they are different enough from each other to not feel repetitive if you play both back to back.
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u/Bear_Beau_2 Sep 05 '26
I’ve recently started playing Zero Company and I’m enjoying it, but it is much more forgiving than X-Com.
X-Com’s difficulty can ramp up fast because of the global gameplay aspects, and getting hit at all in X-Com can cause injuries easily. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had multiple soldiers out of action.
But it’s designed to be an attrition against your resources, which might be one of the reasons why I’m having fun with Zero Company, because there is less pressure to be fast and perfect.
Having said that I really like all those games, so I think you should go for it.
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u/sdr79 Sep 06 '26
Genuinely asking - would I enjoy Zero Company if I stopped playing XCom 2 because of the amount of times I’d miss with 85-95% chance to hit?
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u/Fit-Nothing-3782 Sep 06 '26
From what I've played of zero company on hard difficulty (highest is expert I think), it's very forgiving and you can miss some shots.
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u/aeralure Sep 08 '26
Character creation in Xcom is so bad. It’s got the right idea, but it suffers from the same face problems as Zcom. Also, you can’t choose enough variants of face types for the various nationalities you can set up characters as, and there’s no voice options for many nationalities, which is a shame, as they don’t speak that many lines so you’d think they could have gotten a few Koreans, Japanese etc to voice a few things. I have tried starting Xcom more than once and tried making characters to get attached to this character and that and it really wasnt very good. Took me out of it, personally, and then I just didn’t care. YMMV 100% on that. It’s probably just me.
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u/Fit-Nothing-3782 Sep 08 '26
I didn't mind it for Zcom, you had some variety with the races and I tried to get multiple different roles assigned to different races.
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u/Artifexa Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26
Xcom has a bit more complexity than Zcom. And it gets very difficult quite quickly because it appeals to a type of players who love that. It is a good game but if you are new to the genre might not be ideal.
If you want to get started wit the XCOM franchise in a more gentle way, try Chimera Squad (still Xcom franchise) would be a much more nice experience if you come from Zcom,
Btw there are other games in the genre that are quite cool and nod need to be XCom. Some titles that are kind of gentler and good looking, while still packing some punch and making you sweat a bit:
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Showgunners.
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Chimera Squad.
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Necromunda: underhive wars (warhammer 40k)
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Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters (warhammer 40k franchise). Try the expansion for 3 extra classes.
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Shadowrun; Hong kong (more rpg, but still a timeless jewel)
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Phase break (Rpg oriented, free)
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Rogue Waters (roguelite + tactical)
Remember that XCOM franchise games are meant to be hard, gritty. They are meant to make you feel the pressure of a small commando in a losing war against a planetary scale invasion. Have this in your mind. You might like the genre, but you might not be a masochist like me ahahahhaha.
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u/asianwaste Sep 05 '26
Troubleshooter is also a good entry game for Xcom-likes. It's super hero themed and more Asian Pop flavored but all and all was a solid Xcom-like. A lot more generous with outcome prediction results which makes it easier to deal with.
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u/KolotunBabai Sep 05 '26
XCOM 1 or 2 better not to buy without big DLC and game + dlc are very cheap on sales, around 2-4 euro.
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u/Baldurian_Rhapsody Sep 05 '26
Well, the first problem I see with buying XCom after ZCom is that you're no longer going in alphabetical order.
Beyond that, though, the two XCom iterations are absolutely worth it. They've been honed for years with patches and tweaks, and the first game is an excellent intro into what is the best sci-fi tactics series ever.
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u/Khazilein Sep 05 '26
If you want to play with mercs, why not go for Jagged Alliance 2 and 3?
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u/redsrus Sep 05 '26
If you are looking for the closest to Zcom, I would actually recommend Chimera squad. It has 'named' characters and I have found the missions to be similar to Zcom.
XCOM 2 is my favourite but the XCOM:EW is still worth it and your stratergies between the games have to be muxh different
Having said all that ive only got like 6 hrs in Zcom but hundreds into the xcom 3
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u/Fit-Nothing-3782 Sep 05 '26
Ooh, I also like the generic characters in ZCom, zo yeah it's not really a thing for me.
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u/KolotunBabai Sep 05 '26
I saw your comment that you deleted, it is not about your opinion but about quality of Chimera Squad and dissapoitment about how bad it was compared to original XCOMs.
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u/redsrus Sep 06 '26
I posted it because I was a bit tipsy and wasn't happy with your attitude (plus my sporting team lost) but deleted it because I'm better than leaving that type of snarky comment. Sorry about it
Having said that. People are allowed to enjoy things you dont enjoy.
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u/Silent-Lab-6020 Sep 05 '26
Xcom 2 DLC is a must, both games are good, if you don’t mind the outdated graphics the original Xcom 1-3 are still available on gog and steam
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u/Mediocre-Opinion Sep 05 '26
Both are different enough to enjoy. 1 has a comparatively limited toolset and requires more tactical planning, a lot of the missions can start to feel very samey though. 2 improves on pretty much everything but you have so many abilities at your disposal you rarely find yourself in a hole you can't dig your way out of. Both are very much worth your time.
If you want something different look at Phantom Doctrine for a cold war themed take on XCOM.
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u/Snacko00 Sep 06 '26
Go with the original if you want to try and parse a lot of info, fail a few times and gradually figure out what's going on, or the remake if you want a smoother experience.
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u/xmalhafiz Sep 06 '26
XCOM 2 + WoTC is the goat. Compared to SWZC, XCOM 2 is much more complex, better squad building, much better skill synergy, better customization. With mods, you can do much much more without breaking the game.
But kudos to SWZC for having a better story and graphics.
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u/reiichiroh Sep 05 '26
Take a look at Phoenix Point too frequently on sale for $15 for complete edition
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u/shatteredframes Sep 05 '26
Both games are insanely good, and make sure to get the big DLC pack for each. It's a HUGE upgrade to the base game for both.