 I was excited when I heard XCOM Chimera Squad was going to be a thing, I've been with the XCOM franchise since Pharaxes' first venture, and the second game made a believer out of me, disappointing then that this small installment, made by some of the veteran developers working on XCOM 2, failed to grab me. Before I get into the meat of it, I'll share in a few words about the narrative. And it's a straightforward one, setting up a small-scale conflict in comparison to the worldwide stakes that play in the last two games of the same name. You're in charge of Chimera Squad, a mixed human-alien XCOM unit tasked with bringing City 31 to order. This city is the first of its kind, a source of hybrid plays that sees humans and aliens living and coexisting together. But problems are on the horizon and different powers on the rise. This is where you step in. The story is told in short sequences, such as this one. The comic book panel cuts scenes due to the job well enough, unlike the style. It's clean and fulfills the requirements of communicating important information well enough and stating the latest objectives of the Squad in a concise, simple way that doesn't bog you down at any point. Chimera Squad comes with pre-made characters with concrete backgrounds, classes and set characteristics. In narrative terms you've got some enjoyable banter between the characters, and I really felt a camaraderie between all of them. There's a feeling that these are all folks who have gone through hell. And even though Restoring the World, after the invasion, is no easy feat, is very much a task everyone is enthusiastic about. But enough about the narrative device is used. The most interesting idea Chimera Squad enacts is that of different breach points, different avenues of attack through which the Squad members can gain a variety of advantages. Make an entrance through the main entryway to a room you might have your pick of enemies to gun down. But the odds are some of them will be alert and ready to take post shots towards you. Make an entrance through the main entryway to a room you might have your pick of enemies to gun down. But the odds are some of them will be alert and ready to take post shots at you. Crawl through a vent in every foe you shoot is stunned by your fire. Break through the windows of an office building and you might have extra movement during your first turn. Enter through the backway and you will have extra defences to begin with. There are other permutations too. And these do make a difference. They give a certain freedom of approach which is key to the XCOM formula. The issue with this breach system is your inability to then pick where your characters take cover. In the opening few missions of the game, this is a mild annoyance at best. Whereas the enemies mount and their damage output and health bars grow, this oversight becomes increasingly frustrating. Until about 12 hours in, I grew beyond annoyed with it. You see unlike XCOM 2 where enemies grew tougher but at the pace that challenges you and forces you to adapt, use new strategies. Here enemies grow bullet spongy while the tools your squad has at its disposal do not grow at that same pace. Plenty of the oldest XCOM 2 foes make their return. And it's good to see the meaty lads but when you have so much less to cut them down with, this inevitably reaches a tipping point that bypasses challenging and ends up at irritating. The second biggest weakness of this installment in the franchise is perhaps the removal of permanent agent death. If your agent dies during a mission, you automatically fail the mission. Which is needless to say, a Natima to the formula and the very creed of XCOM. The reason they have done this is because the developer has decided to imbue these agents with personalities, making them react to the developing story. And while these craft a unique identity for Chimera Squad, the issue is they do take away from the pleasure that comes with creating your own characters and enjoying the emergent storytelling. And of course owning up to your mistakes. When you lose a character you care about, well, nothing stings quite like it. I still remember my XCOM 2 ranger class, a woman in her 30s I named Vassia through a high school friend who killed two of the chosen who by the time the closing credits of the game rolled, had put down well over a hundred aliens and does not mention the hordes of lost sheet cut down. I cannot, if I don't look them up right now, remember a single name in my squad. I have a mild recollection of their backgrounds and backstories, I remember their models, even some of the lines and so on and so forth. But I do not have an impression of them that will stay with me for years to come. Something that is, I think, part of the unique DNA that makes XCOM and XCOM likes so excellent. The premade characters also come with fewer customization options both in terms of cosmetics and in terms of skill choice. The first, I guess, you've defined the way your characters will look, that's frustrating but okay, it's the second choice, the narrow down customization part in terms of abilities which bothers me because it translates to less replayability. Also, it makes levelling up unexciting. I can't remember a time I wasn't excited to get that little level up sign at the end of the mission in XCOM 2 because I knew every new ability unlocked offered me tactical possibilities that might spell the difference between success and failure the next time my agents go out on a mission. Wow, that was a long sentence, not so hater. Too many of the abilities I unlocked were not impactful enough. Some, true, hit the mark, but enough didn't, that I lost that excitement about developing my characters, which again, due to the scarcity of the options, was not all that great in the first place. It's strange because this game, for most of my playtime, was a whole lot easier than any of the other Firaxis releases, not to mention any of the XCOM likes out there, games like Xenonauts and Phoenix Point, which are even more difficult. It was at a level of difficulty this game that eventually frustrates you. I've mentioned this before, but I really, really need to hammer it in. But then, once you reach that point during which you enter the middle game, and maybe because I didn't press on with the cutting edge in terms of weaponry, I had an unpleasant time with those spongy enemies that flooded my missions. Speaking of the science, that was another example of the game I was thoroughly dissatisfied with. It was bland and stale and streamlined to an extent that I was inclined to pick research projects almost at random, at one point or another. I resisted the urge, but when a strategy game in which research plays an important role, awakes something like that in a player, it's not a brilliant outcome for anyone involved. Would I recommend this game? No. Not unless you're looking for a mediocre experience at best. Compare it to most other XCOM likes, and you'll find this doesn't do an awful lot that's interesting or new. Short admissions, a more compact story, a far less exciting strategic layer. These don't go too far in winning me over. Compare it to XCOM 2 and this is your classical example of one step forward, two steps back. The price in the box, especially on account of how often this goes for 10 euro apiece, or your regional equivalent, works in its favour. So does the performance. This one works without a hitch on a purely graphical level, which I have to highlight here. I don't think the game dropped below 60 FPS more than once or twice for me. And my gaming notebook is middle of the line. Most of the time it was well above 60. Still price to no price, I don't think there is enough here to excuse the time investment. By hour 10 I was bought. By hour 13 I gave up. I think this is perhaps the first game I have not finished that I'm writing a review of. But by Jove I want to share my thoughts about it, and also I want to use by Jove. Because I've been reading the elite. Speaking of the elite, nope, can't make this work in anyway. If you enjoyed this video, like it, just press that like button, share, share with your friends, all over social media, and subscribe, the first. Write a comment down below, and if you're a friend of mine, leave a comment down below. Don't do that thing where you leave a comment in our messenger chats when it could have perfectly well served to be part of the video. It helps. It really helps. I need this channel to grow. Grows is the ultimate purpose of all life. Anyway, see you next time, bye!