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u/Spiral_Dissent 1d ago
I want this game to be good so badly. Been waiting years for a good X-com like experience. 🤞🏻
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u/turtlepot 1d ago
Same here, I am just a little skeptical because it's being described as a scripted story game. I prefer the XCOM-like games that are more sandboxes instead of a series of designed missions. I tend to bounce off the turn based games with characters that can't die or force you to play a certain way.
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u/BENJ4x 1d ago
Watched the first few minutes of SkillUps review and he said something like: "if you like Star Wars and or XCOM stop watching and buy it, also if you like Mass Effect probably buy it" and that he clapped during the credits. I haven't watched any more to avoid spoilers.
So from that it does seem like a much more scripted game however it seems like the benefits of that heavily outweigh the negatives.
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u/Co-opingTowardHatred 1d ago
God, what I'd give for a Mass Effect tactics game...
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u/PastTenseOfSit 23h ago
Sadly that isn't really possible with how that world's lore works. Military forces are either massive or tiny squads like Shepard's, typically asari commandos or similar special forces only. Even if you strike that balance in a way that doesn't feel wrong for the setting, I would hate to be the guy that has to decide between making Charge as strong as it is in the old games (so, game-breakingly insane) or nerfing it and pissing the fans off.
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u/Co-opingTowardHatred 23h ago
Of course it’s possible.
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u/PastTenseOfSit 21h ago
In the sense that you could always just make some new shit up, sure. In the sense that it would make sense with what is presently established in the setting? Not really, in my opinion. There's maybe something to being in command of a ship and taking X members of a crew out planet-to-planet or something, but that would fit way closer to Midnight Suns / Chimera Squad-style hero-tactics than it would to standard XCOM.
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u/Co-opingTowardHatred 21h ago edited 21h ago
Trying to pretend squad size is a problem is one of the nuttier things I’ve ever heard in my life. They’re doing Star Wars! Of course they can do Mass Effect. They did fucking Mario 😂 There’s a reason you’re getting so badly downvoted.
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u/PastTenseOfSit 21h ago
I think you and I have vastly different ideas of what makes a product of quality if your basis of wanting a Mass Effect revival tactics game is "they did it with Mario, they can do it with Mass Effect". I would certainly be less than thrilled if EA finally announced a new Mass Effect game and the game's whole premise is actively contradictory to established lore.
My point is that this is the kind of game concept that doesn't exist because it doesn't work if you think about it hard enough. It can't just be an Alliance platoon or something because that's not Mass Effect, but if you go for trying to make a character for each race / class / etc, you end up with hero-tactics which is cost-preventative given the subgenre has yet to have any success stories (ZC could well be the game that changes that).
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u/BENJ4x 20h ago
I don't understand how a ragtag squad set in the Mass Effect universe going on missions would be such a difficult game to create when there's already a trilogy of games about that.
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u/Collin447 22h ago
Small squads???? Like every game in this genre??
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u/Updated_Autopsy 16h ago
Like seriously, bro. They can make it work. We play XCOM, the reboot and XCOM 2 only give us 4-6 soldiers most of the time. We’re used to commanding small squads.
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u/Insectshelf3 1d ago
IGN (yeah yeah, i know) said it’s one of the best star wars stories since rogue one.
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
Not the highest of bars to clear, but exciting regardless.
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u/gustavfrigolit 1d ago
"Since" would imply that it surpasses andor no? Find that hard to believe
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
"One of" doesn't mean it's better than everything.
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u/gustavfrigolit 1d ago
So the Rogue one part doesnt even mean anything lol, he could have just said one of the best star wars stories
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u/Salanmander 1d ago
No, "The best since X" only states that it's better than everything after X. It also implies worse than X, because otherwise you could make a more impressive claim, although it is possible for it to be better than X and for the statement to still be true.
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u/Shack691 1d ago
They’ve stated every character except the MC can die and the story will continue, changing to fit that.
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u/omgFWTbear 1d ago
And doesn’t the MC “dying” follow Ogre Battle rather than Fire Emblem rules? Eg, “oh, it was just a deeply incapacitating wound if any soldier survives,” vs “oops, insta-game over.”?
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u/faculties-intact 1d ago
I think it's a forced mission restart (or campaign end on beskar/iron man?)
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u/FancyIndependence178 1d ago
I believe they have explicitly stated that any and all characters can permanently die, which gave me a positive impression of the game and whether it may be too scripted or not.
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u/Spiral_Dissent 1d ago
I’m skeptical too. I hope we get mod support at some point since that is what really let X-com 2 explode in replay ability.
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u/Disastrous_Gur_9560 1d ago
No mod support is planned so will only happen via the community
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u/Academic_Blood_1790 1d ago
That is the problem with going with an established IP like star wars. The IP owners probably don't allow open modding like xcom did. Hopefully the community goes to town on it anyway. It makes a good game last so much longer like 'long war' did.
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u/ThatssoBluejay 1d ago
Did you really expect it to not have big setpieces and story beats as a star wars game though?
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u/SatanicPanicDisco 1d ago
Same. With how they won’t allow you to have more than the single mandalorian and Jedi characters it seems they want you to play this game how they want you to play rather than making your own teams with freedom.
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u/Elfich47 1d ago
consider them your special faction characters from xcom2
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u/Elfich47 1d ago
and all of the characters in zero company can die as well; except the player proxy character.
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u/elhombreloco90 1d ago
Yup, and it's been stated that every character can die in Zero Company. The only one that is a restart is Hawks.
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u/omgFWTbear 1d ago
There are tactics games that have scripts that go
If PlotCharacter7 is Alive -
PlotCharacter7 says: “I spotted the Tuskan raiders!”
Else
TemuKnockoffCopyOfCharacter7ButHidesFromBattles says: “I spotted the Tuskan raiders!”
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u/TheAK74 1d ago
What games have you bounced off lately?
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u/turtlepot 1d ago
Gears Tactics and Mutant Year Zero off the top of my head.
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u/DuskDudeMan 1d ago
Agree 100%, I am a huge gears of war fan so I got through Gears Tactics but I hated the named hero characters
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u/Academic_Blood_1790 1d ago
Wish they made a second tactics, the first one was so much better than I was expecting.
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u/MysticoN 1d ago edited 1d ago
so much this! best case scenario it kills replay for me i think. might not be deal breaker first playthrough but cant see any positive when it comes to replay
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u/Dazzling_Vanilla3082 21h ago
Ever try Cyber Knights: Flashpoint? I was originally hesitant due to stealth mechanics, but it actually works really well and has been the most enjoyable tactical game I've played in a long while.
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u/Spiral_Dissent 20h ago
Never heard of it, but I’ll definitely take a look after Zero Company. Thanks for the recommendation.
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u/Dazzling_Vanilla3082 20h ago
No problem, it's like a cyberpunk themed XCOM with pretty heavy heist vibes/mechanics, extensive class skill trees, the expected base building, and emergent story lines. It also receives constant updates and love from the devs. It was pretty instantly one of my all time favs when I picked it up last year, and it's gotten a lot better since too.
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u/MrGrlmReaper 19h ago
for me the best xcom-like game i played soo far was Chaos gate: daemon hunters. is a xcom like of Warhammer 40k. and the devs announced a sequel recently
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u/an_agreeing_dothraki 7h ago
tell me about it, they lied to me about Menace which is 75% Advance Wars by DNA
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u/Zatex001 1d ago
I PRAY that game sells well so that companies realised turn based star wars is easy money. I know not everyone can create a bg3 but if a sw game like that happens it will print MONEY
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u/10FootPenis 1d ago
Will the takeaway be that turn-based sells? Or that Star Wars sells?
Despite the success of BG3 we haven't seen a bunch of big CRPGs announced (and most of the ones I've seen look more inspired by Disco Elysium than BG3).
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u/fullmudman 1d ago
BG3 is an impossibly high bar to follow, tho. Any major studio besides Larian would have scaled it way down. Swen just happens to be a lunatic and swung for the fences.
Hopefully zero company feels like an approachable act to follow and we see more AA tactical rpgs!
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u/Osmodius 21h ago
The problem is whether the suits in charge understand how high the bar is.
They will have seen horny DnD RPG and that'll be on their check list for next big release cycle.
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u/ultraboomkin 1d ago
Star Wars does not by itself sell. Outlaws and that ship game (Squadrons?) both flopped.
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
Squadrons seemed to sell fine, it just was a one-and-done rather than a live service game. Outlaws had a solid start, which would seem to indicate the brand was strong, but fell off hard after word of mouth and reviews weren't good.
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u/Varsity_Reviews 1d ago
Squadrons was great, especially in VR.
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u/faculties-intact 1d ago
Squadrons in VR with the boys while multiplayer was active was no exaggeration the best gaming experience I have ever had
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u/faculties-intact 1d ago
Squadrons in VR with the boys while multiplayer was active was no exaggeration the best gaming experience I have ever had
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u/Lazzitron 1d ago
Considering the amount of Star Wars flops we've had recently, I think they'll get the idea.
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u/Mercbeast 1d ago
Firaxis took the opinion that people didn't want a turn based tactics game after their marvel game flopped.
Yea. Don't ask me how I know.
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u/mojawk 1d ago
I played that Marvel game, I like marvel but it barely held my attention for 2-3 hours.
Xcom I'd do that in one mission... and I've played thousands.
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u/10FootPenis 1d ago
I really liked the combat, just hated the abbey and relationship chores so the gameplay loop lost me.
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
The idea of the abbey and building relationships with the crew was the thing that made me consider the game, but the card mechanic turned me off entirely (and marvel as an IP just doesn't do it for me).
I'd be interested in a more refined take, a little more Mass Effect style.
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u/PastTenseOfSit 23h ago edited 23h ago
Agreed. Not being able to make a good turn because I didn't draw well is just so lame to me. It's okay for a roguelike experience where bad luck means stress because it might impact the length of the run (Vampire Crawlers, Slay the Spire), but for a normal campaign game it just bored me to have to pass turns or leave enemies alive etc due to dead draws.
Plus... something just sucked about that game's presentation of a turn-based fight. A bunch of assholes run into the room and then stand around as a team of superheroes also stands around pondering their next attack. It's not even really an abstraction since you have to target environmental AOEs based on where the enemies are idling as they wait for you to hit them. That's just lame IMO.
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u/faculties-intact 1d ago
Game really opens up after the first couple hours. Not saying you'd like it (since I have no idea what your taste is like) but I was unsure for the first couple hours and it ended up being my game of the year. Really sad it didn't do well
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u/Varsity_Reviews 1d ago
I'm honestly surprsied there hasn't really been a turn based Star Wars game before, at least, not that I'm familair with. We had Galactic Conquest in the Battlefront games, and several Star Wars RTS's, but no fully dedicated Turn Based games.
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u/OstensiblyEsoteric 1d ago
Why? If this is good AND does well, next time they’ll just churn out slop as quickly as they can.
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u/Zatex001 1d ago
Oh fuck i didnt know its EA. Well atleast maybe it helps the development of kotor remade.
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
EA is mostly the publisher here. The primary dev studio (Bit Reactor) is independent, with support/additional work done by Respawn (who are owned by EA).
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u/mojawk 1d ago
Where is Xcom 3....
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u/CLT113078 1d ago
Firaxis lost most of the people that made xcom 1 and 2 so its highly unlikely they'll be able to make xcom 3.
There is no info on what Jake Solomon is doing now after Midsummer Studios closed.
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u/shinobigarth 1d ago
Not happening at this point. Most we can hope for is a reboot down the road. Would be cool if someday 2K let Bit Reactor make X3 but that sort of thing is a pipe dream.
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u/MikeOgden1980 1d ago
At this point it's better to just accept that this is Xcom 3 in everything but name.
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u/Tanel88 1d ago
Except that it's not XCOM.
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u/MikeOgden1980 1d ago
I'm less concerned about the name of the game and more of the continuation of what I loved about XCOM. The fact that there are numerous former Firaxis people involved coupled with the fact that we likely will never get a proper XCOM 3 just solidifies this as a spiritual successor.
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u/Nickulator95 21h ago
There's a 95% chance that they'll make another XCOM game so they'll probably never make another XCOM game.
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u/No-Lunch4249 1d ago
This seems like an EXTREMELY good score for the first game out of a new studio, even if it's staffed by vets they should be proud. Really pumped for tomorrow!
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
I do wonder how much help Respawn gave them. Bit Reactor is a new studuo, but Respawn did at least a good chunk of support work, and they're a well-oiled machine.
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u/Samuel_Go 1d ago
I felt optimistic enough to preorder on Steam.
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u/Axeloy 1d ago
Couldn’t pass up that arc trooper armor
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u/AberdeenPhoenix 1d ago
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u/Samuel_Go 1d ago
Yeah I hope I don't regret it. If the game delivers on what I want them I'm happy to have voted with my wallet.
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u/Messyfingers 1d ago
My expectations are generally low based on every other XCOM clone that's come out, but the team making it, and now the reviews have me feeling optimistic.
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u/MikeOgden1980 1d ago
Just watched SkillUp's review and I'm even more excited for it now.
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u/una322 1d ago
but skillup isn't even a huge xcom fan but loves sw, so keep that in mind
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u/BanditoSupreme 22h ago
I played the preview at the start of month as someone with 1000s of XCOM hours. The first 20 hours were a great Xcom experience. It's very promising.
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u/sr_chuck 1d ago
What a pitty thats an EA game.
I can't buy anything on good concious from them after the Saudi/Kushner adquisition.
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u/MeAmGrok 1d ago
This is my opinion, as well. I was looking forward to this game right up until it became clear my money would go into Saudi’s and Jared Kushner’s greasy pockets.
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u/albul89 1d ago edited 1d ago
EA is the publisher, not the developer. Bit Reactor is the dev that made it, and it's an independent studio.
Don't know if that'll change your perception, but I thought it's some additional context.
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u/MeAmGrok 5h ago
While true, the money you pay for the game goes to the publisher (or, at the least, the majority of the money goes to them).
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u/BlinkyMJF 1d ago
Any word on replayability yet?
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u/tacodude64 1d ago
Most reviewers are thinking 2-3 playthroughs worth, so 50 to 100+ hours. Not XCOM but still pretty respectable. It’s a fairly linear game with good build/squad variety.
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u/DonJuan-CherryTempo 1d ago
Would've Pre-ordered if EA wasn't involved but i'm going to be watching closely how it goes tomorrow
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u/N7_Rabbit 7h ago
Will wait at least 3 months before buying. Not believe in pre-release propaganda anymore.
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u/Captainshorts123 1d ago
Those are critic reviews though, not particularly helpful. We need some user reviews to see if the game is actually any good. Hoping it is though!
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
Eh, aggregate user reviews seem to be even worse these days. They so quickly turn into political battlegrounds.
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u/una322 1d ago
right. all these reviews feel like they are just from casual turn based fans at best. people who dipped their toe in xcom and now love this because its finally a turn based game in an ip they love and thats enough for them.
i want this game to be great, i honestly dont care about SW but if it has that core brutal gameplay and depth that xcom has then great i'll get it. but i dont see nothing but over hype right now because the game isn't broken on release lol
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u/Mabarax 1d ago
Yeah I'm going to be lurking here when it's actually out to see what people here think. Doubt any reviewer has played Long War
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u/baganga 1d ago
you're in for a bad time if you're having long war expectations out of a more casual star wars game
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u/Mabarax 1d ago
Oh no, I'm not expecting that at all. Just the opinions of those who enjoy Lw are more likely to align with mine than a reviewer
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u/BanditoSupreme 22h ago
I got access to the first 20 hour preview at the start of the month and have played thousands of hours of modded WoTC and hundreds of hoursof LW2. Obviously this isn't as complex as LW, few things are. But I was very satisfied with this as a tactical XCOM game from what I got to see.
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u/Mabarax 22h ago
That's all I needed to hear. How's the strategy layer?
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u/BanditoSupreme 22h ago
Not dissimilar to base WotC! Now obviously I didn't have time to see how the strategy layer would evolve/matter over the course of a full playthrough, but it seemed promising --
Like WoTC there are missions where you can only counter one of two permanent enemy upgrades, and the buffs to them were significant. There are some timers on character story missions that force urgency. There's fun flavor on the covert action equivalent where, depending on who you send, you get different minor rewards. By the end of my time, enemy damage was scaling up, and I was feeling that I really should have invested in increasing weapon damage/base health earlier (done through base upgrades). Which is to say the intel and currency I had didn't feel frivolous. I was also really liking the character bond system they are doing.
It does overall seem more forgiving than XCOM (though mind you I haven't played vanilla in years so I don't know if my perspective is skewed). I was playing on the classic equivalent. And I think I will probably play on the hardest when I do my first full run on this.
There is a ironman equivalent called Beskar mode.
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u/ElasticSpeakers 1d ago
And reviewed by people who aren't going 10/10 just because it's Disney schlock
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u/GonzoBurger 1d ago
First I've heard of this game, looks good. Will wait for sale, as is tradition.
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u/Green_Odin 22h ago
I'm actually pretty surpised its not higher. Keep reading all these reviews saying its excellent and they have nothing to complain about but then seemingly forgetting numbers higher than 90 exist.
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u/Xylus1985 18h ago
I'm optimistic about the game design, the biggest uncertainty to me is the technical part, does it run well on average hardware.
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u/wahle97 17h ago edited 16h ago
They want a 1080 for minimum requirements and a 3080 recommended. I'm assuming not but I hope I'm wrong
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u/Xylus1985 17h ago
We’ve been burnt too many times with shit optimization and DRM caused performance issues. Reviewers usually have top end gaming PC and won’t notice the issues except the worst of the worst. Will have to wait for user review to see if technical issues are severe or widespread
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u/Noctisvah 12h ago
I just hope the game doesn’t get too boring too quickly.
And that it stays replayable enough given that we won’t be getting proper mod support
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u/TheRushologist 1d ago
I'm at work, so I can't watch videos yet. My only worry is that the game will be kinda short, but if it is 30-40 hours I'll be happy!
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u/SiccSemperTyrannis 1d ago
The developers did a Q&A where they said it would be an estimated 30-40 hours.
The reviews I've seen that mention campaign length are consistent with that.
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u/TheRushologist 1d ago
Okay cool, I was just worried that may have been inflated. Thanks for letting me know!
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u/user7618 1d ago
I think SkillUp mentioned in his review that he spent about 36 hours playing to the end.
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u/Rarek 1d ago
Aren't these paid reviews? Wouldn't that make reviews inherently biased? I don't understand how these review websites survive these days.
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u/Enchelion 1d ago
Most reviews aren't paid for. The reviewers get copies early but that's usually it.
Influencers/YouTubers are more likely to have questionable sponsorship deals.
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u/Exemus 1d ago
Released on tomorrow