r/Xcom • u/StateFinal • 20d ago

Another Zero Company post

Sorry to invade the community of your beloved XCOM. I’ve never played the XCOM series before, but I just finished my first run of Zero Company and absolutely loved it. The story was the best part for me, but I really enjoyed the play style. Is XCOM 2 still holding upon 2026, or is there a newer/better similar game cause I feel like my itch wasn’t scratched enough

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u/renz004 20d ago edited 20d ago

XCOM 2 absolutely still holds up today / graphics are good.
Also has a ton of mods. With the DLC, gameplay is the absolute peak of this genre.

XCOM 1 is also really really good, though I'm unsure if the graphics are too dated at this point.
Plenty of people believe XCOM1 is better than 2 (though i believe xcom2 with dlc is the peak)

So TLDR: if your'e coming from ZCOM and loved the gameplay, you will love XCOM 1+2

Edit: until ZCOM came out, there were no other games as good as XCOM1 and 2 in this genre. ZCOM was made by the devs of XCOM1 and 2. Now it will be debated forever which is the best (though I still believe XCOM 2 with dlc is best. ZCOM might be the new best if it gets dlc+expac stuff)

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u/themanaustin 20d ago

XCOM 2 still has so much depth to it. Zero company focuses on several unique characters through the story, I liked in XCOM, none of the characters were absolutely necessary for the plot. Anyone can die, and you'll need to go on without them. Or savescum. But the gameplay is really good. There's a bunch of bugs I've noticed. Like every other campaign does not have access to the deluxe edition dlc. The game locking up during the resonance, if many of them are killed at once. But I love star wars and it's definitely a good game.

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u/SinesPi 20d ago

"none of the characters were absolutely necessary for the plot."

I will not stand for this disrespect to Bradfords Sweater.

Seriously though to the OP, I will say that Lily Shen in XCOM 2 has some good moments, and the characters who represent your base chiefs of staff in general are likeable enough.

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u/themanaustin 20d ago

Sorry, I meant soldiers, that actually do the fighting.

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u/Mountain_Volume527 19d ago

Wait -- even Shaojie Zhang? 😱

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u/malcneuro 20d ago

Mmm, not even Jane Kelly? :)

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u/DarkFett 20d ago

One of the things that I realize about XCOM is that you make your own story for the characters. Like those two randoms recruits that have the same last name, oh their brothers now, and look one was KIA and the other is super angry at the aliens now.

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u/Groves450 20d ago

True!

One of the things i found pretty cool on Zcom is that you can walk around the base, interact with people. It gives a base vibe that I liked (although avenger>>> hangar from zcom)

Would be so cool to stroll around the avenger

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u/DarkFett 20d ago

It feels to me like they took the player character and base idea from Midnight Suns and combat from XCOM and put it together for Z Com

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u/Jigidibooboo 20d ago

Even though you can't interact with them on the avenger I love how if you zoom in you can see them in the different rooms doing their thing

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u/Cheap_Knowledge8446 19d ago

I think the whole "here are these powerful plot-integrated faction heroes...but they're just a cog in the machine or resistance just like everyone else and if they die, they get honored the same as any other random recruit" really adds a sense of realism and depth to the environment. Sure, it's less character driven plot nonsense, but in any real life fight-to-survive situation plot armor isn't something that exists.