What videogames are you playing in 2026?

[Paul Farquhar]

No argument there. Just a couple more mission types would have really helped. I also think it’s just the sheer volume of missions - in the new XCOMs you’re forced to make an artificial choice, but in Phoenix Point you can, in theory at least, do every single mission, and it’s just too much.

A little bit of automation has been added to base defence, but it really needs a late game "send minions to auto-resolve this trivial mission" button.

I hear this complaint a lot and I don’t quite understand it. Even without the DLCs, the late-game Phoenix virophage, NJ piercing and explosive, and Synedrion paralysis and laser weapons are pretty much straight upgrades on the earlier tech. Even the midgame side-grades are usually better than the earlier tech, as long as you know how to use it properly.

They are all inferior to the Weapons of the Ancients, which, thanks to the rebalance, have gone from not worth the effort to easy to equip everyone with by the midgame. And armor doesn't progress past the midgame, which means your troopers actually feel squishier by the end. And the mutant/psionic tech tree doesn't lead to anything worth having, and the "advanced classes" are worse than the basic classes. What's the good of a stealth class when the game doesn't really have stealth missions?

 

[Pale Violet Light]

They are all inferior to the Weapons of the Ancients, which, thanks to the rebalance, have gone from not worth the effort to easy to equip everyone with by the midgame.

I hate DLC 2 and never install it - for precisely this reason. It’s badly designed and sits poorly alongside the regular tech tree.

And armor doesn't progress past the midgame, which means your troopers actually feel squishier by the end.

A better tier of armour would have been really nice - I think the mutations and cybernetics are supposed to fulfill this role but the former aren’t good enough and the latter are so damn expensive.

And the mutant/psionic tech tree doesn't lead to anything worth having, and the "advanced classes" are worse than the basic classes.

The advanced classes are all fantastic, except perhaps the berzerker. The Priest’s mind control and frenzy are shockingly powerful, the technician’s turrets are devastating and the limb repair irreplaceable, and the infiltrator’s spider drones are a life saver, even if you don’t use them for anything else. I don’t really understand this complaint.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

so damn expensive

I found I could easily afford them by endgame (post patch) but cybernetics also offered insufficient protection, and too many useless gimmicks.

Priest’s mind control and frenzy

Terrible at low level though, and dead is still the most reliable control.

the technician’s turrets are devastating and the limb repair irreplaceable

Turrets are meh, because there really aren’t any scenarios when you are expected to defend a position, and a guy with a gun is better anyway. Never really needed to use limb repair. Always go into battle with a one handed backup weapon.

spider drones are a life saver, even if you don’t use them for anything else. I don’t really understand this complaint

They occasionally work as a distraction, but they don’t do enough damage to actually contribute to winning a mission. Again, lack of upgrades.

Overall, brute force offence works for everything, so there is no point building around subtle tactics. If there were stealth missions, point defence missions, missions with ranged weapons disabled, missions to mind control a target, etc, they might be useful.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

Clearly you’ve found one good way to skin a cat (with bullets) but my experience has been very different.

 

[Reynard]

I started Tainted Grail last night because I need a Skyrim-like (and Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning felt way to MMOlike). It's significantly weirder from the jump than I was expecting -- in a good way. Originally when I heard it was "Arthurian" I was expecting something more grounded and less dark. I'm curious to see how it feels now that I am out of the prologue.

 

[Thomas Shey]

PP is faster moving early on, but the late game still drags. It needed more mission variety, and late-game gear that's actually worth having.

Well, honestly, that describes most turn based strategy or 4X games in my experience (the late game drag that is, though at least the neoXCOM suffered from the second one too).

 

[Thomas Shey]

No argument there. Just a couple more mission types would have really helped. I also think it’s just the sheer volume of missions - in the new XCOMs you’re forced to make an artificial choice, but in Phoenix Point you can, in theory at least, do every single mission, and it’s just too much.

That was a disease the original XCOM was incredibly vulnerable to, too. When I get around to playing Xenonauts 2 I'll be interested to see if its avoided it.

I hear this complaint a lot and I don’t quite understand it. Even without the DLCs, the late-game Phoenix virophage, NJ piercing and explosive, and Synedrion paralysis and laser weapons are pretty much straight upgrades on the earlier tech. Even the midgame side-grades are usually better than the earlier tech, as long as you know how to use it properly. I vastly prefer it to XCOM-style linear upgrades.

The big problem is knowing when to bring what, and being able to afford having everything you want. At least that's my current experience.

 

[Pale Violet Light]

That was a disease the original XCOM was incredibly vulnerable to, too. When I get around to playing Xenonauts 2 I'll be interested to see if its avoided it.

How is the first Xenonauts? If I’m feeling old-school I’ll usually just fire up OpenXCOM - never felt the need to try a clone.

The big problem is knowing when to bring what, and being able to afford having everything you want. At least that's my current experience.

Assaults always carry a range of grenades - they’re not too expensive and very useful, especially the incendiary ones. Snipers or berserkers might carry a spare acid pistol for the big boys, or a paralysis pistol if i need to capture something, again not too expensive. The high end guns are indeed pricey but I never have that much trouble, except for some of the shoulder mounted weapons, which are punishingly expensive.

Honestly I find armor my major cost the whole way through - you can’t find it lying around and it doesn’t drop if your soldier dies, which is incredibly annoying. A full suit for a heavy costs damn near as much as a plane, which seems pretty silly.

 

[Gradine]

Well, it's that time of year again for the Final Fantasy V Four Job Fiesta! If you like FFV and want to try playing it in a weird way? This is the best way to do it! My current run has me assigned: White Mage, Knight, Samurai, Dragoon. I will never die.

I've always wanted to eventually get around to playing the newer X-Com games. Everytime I see the X-Com 2 collection on riduclous sale for like 4 bucks I always think about getting it but never pull the trigger. I really loved Valkyria Profile and I'm also getting very excited for the Star Wars: X-Com Edition game coming out soon.

 

[Thomas Shey]

How is the first Xenonauts? If I’m feeling old-school I’ll usually just fire up OpenXCOM - never felt the need to try a clone.

I was lukewarm about it at best, but the newer one seems like it at least tried to address some of the issues with it. I haven't actually played it (I backed the Kickstarter, but I don't try to get into computer games still in early access).

Assaults always carry a range of grenades - they’re not too expensive and very useful, especially the incendiary ones. Snipers or berserkers might carry a spare acid pistol for the big boys, or a paralysis pistol if i need to capture something, again not too expensive. The high end guns are indeed pricey but I never have that much trouble, except for some of the shoulder mounted weapons, which are punishingly expensive.

Honestly I find armor my major cost the whole way through - you can’t find it lying around and it doesn’t drop if your soldier dies, which is incredibly annoying. A full suit for a heavy costs damn near as much as a plane, which seems pretty silly.

The problem is that can leave you with a secondary weapon that isn't what you want unless you know pretty certainly what you're getting into. There are a few things generally useful enough I never mind having them with me (at least one Piercing weapon for example), but there are times I find a paralysis pistole really substandard (honestly, I almost always do; if I want a paralysis weapon I want something with more punch).