The newest entry in the XCOM franchise is faster and focused on a much smaller portion of the world, but that doesn't mean it's any less strategic.

The new combat elements are where the game truly shines with the implementation of special units with specific and unique abilities, which needs to continue in the series going forward. While the game takes place in the official XCOM timeline, it still sits as a side story and its own entity. The political undertone rather than the alien war isn’t preferred, but there’s kudos there for trying something new and not throwing it into XCOM 3. The voice acting is abysmal and there’s no multiplayer option, but it’s hard to complain given the price point. A welcome surprise, XCOM: Chimera Squad plays like a real-time board game and the strategy element pays off.

This is a series that never overtly focused on story or character. It’s trying something new, and it is very, very good. Chimera Squad is a great game in its own right, and it has me over the moon to imagine what a proper XCOM 3 is going to play like.

If you enjoyed the series then this is a good addition to your collection. It’s a decent price normally but during a sale it’s a great value option to get some more turn based combat gaming in… just make sure you save often and watch out for that one enemy who’s just waiting to flank you.

An interesting XCOM spin-off with a few new ideas and great value for money. The writing and a few bugs let the game down a bit but as a whole it is a great appetizer for the eventual XCOM 3.

It’s a fantastic, albeit rushed, XCOM for beginners. And a whole lot of freshness in the franchise. [07/2020, p.43]

The care of XCOM: Chimera Squad is total despite being a much less ambitious work than XCOM 2 and the only thing that tarnishes its good intentions are a few errors and crashes that can easily be solved in the first days of the title's life.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is yet another fantastic addition to the 25-year-old franchise’s quality lineup of titles, delivering a new suite of mechanics that bring a whole new dimension of strategy to its already addictive combat.

XCOM: Chimera Squad brings together a huge list of fresh new ways to play. Each change introduces a new layer of strategy, and the new turn system completely upends what you know about XCOM. This is a daring new take on this venerable series, and having just completed it, I can’t wait to run it again.

Chimera Squad experiments with smaller encounters, more unique characters, and a change in the combat order with remarkable success. Although still weighed down by the traditional issues of the series, Chimera Squad excels in what it set out to achieve and is an incredibly satisfying tactical game.

Chimera Squad gives XCOM something it needed a lot more of: direction. The stakes are lower, but the execution is smoother.

At a $20 price point (or $10 for early access), XCOM: Chimera Squad is a mostly successful experiment. Firaxis Games has cherry-picked many of the best elements of the XCOM series and put them in a more fast-paced, action-oriented title. Tactical superiority still reigns supreme, especially with the intelligently designed breach mode. However, I think some players will miss the more hardcore elements of XCOM despite their exclusion not necessarily fitting the pace of this title. In no way does Chimera Squad feel like a budget title, outside of its somewhat clumsy menus and presentation. But this graphic novel-style, pulpy tactical adventure seems to be the tipping off point for something equally exciting and grander in the future.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a solid attempt at a stand-alone, quick-play XCOM 2 campaign. The trimmed-down mechanics make it a lot easier to go through the campaign relatively quickly instead of having to dedicate yourself to it. It's undeniably simpler than the game it's based on, and the massive shift in tone might be too much for some XCOM fans. For those who don't mind or newcomers looking to get a taste of XCOM, Chimera Squad is difficult to pass up.

Firaxis takes some risks, yes. But probably to bring a little variety to the XCOM series and maybe build a bridge to a real successor. The new features are all well thought out and offer enough differences to XCOM 2 to justify the purchase, but you shouldn't expect a revolution.

A surprisingly good game that avoids feeling like DLC. Firaxis succeeds in making a more story driven and different XCOM.

Firaxis does not disappoint. It is clear that Chimera Squad is a smaller project than the previous two XCOMs, but it works, despite its limitations.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a worthwhile and rewarding experience that takes the essential elements of the series and puts them under a microscope. In doing so, Firaxis has put a fresh new spin on a genre they were already responsible for revolutionizing.

XCOM Chimera Squad is not such a revolution in the franchise, but it's still a good game: fine performance, a nice story and, one more time, fun gameplay (now with more superpowers than ever).

A small tactical game that plays well and looks good. If you like XCOM and you don´t have a problem with more stereotypical missions and sometimes a bigger role of RNG, you will probably like it. [Issue#304]

XCOM Chimera Squad is a brillant spin-off which introduces a huge list of fresh new ways to play. AI and difficulty level are not perfectly balanced, but fun is guaranteed.

With this completely independent release you can afford to try out all sorts of bold ideas without anyone bothering too much. Some of these ideas are refreshing and could be a good addition to the main series. Other ideas run the risk of over-simplifying campaigns and player strategies, in pursuit of a faster pace.

An attempt to simplify and streamline XCOM sounds like a disaster in the making but the original’s tense turn-based combat is still highly entertaining even in this reduced form.

The XCOM series is well-known for its intricate turn-based action. Chimera Squad augments those systems with a few clever ideas, but some of the new systems don't play well with XCOM's existing foundation. The interwoven turn order and removal of permadeath are fun experiments, but they ultimately weaken XCOM's delicately balanced action. Chimera Squad is a neat standalone project, but it doesn’t stand as tall as the rest of the series.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a great game, all told. It's a cheap, fairly lengthy campaign that manages to be both familiar for fans of the series and offer something new and fresh to the XCOM universe.

Firaxis lets its hair down for a fun but flawed twist on XCOM's proven recipe of tactics and tension.

Chimera Squad is a remarkable strategy game that adds very interesting gameplay mechanics to the XCOM formula, keeping all the good (and some bad) things of the series.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a thoroughly enjoyable twist on the franchise, bringing some fresh ideas to the fore while still retaining the roots of the original game it draws from. There’s certainly fun to be had here if you’re able to overlook the occasional bug.

When XCOM: Chimera Squad was announced somewhat out of the blue, and then with a budget price I was hesitant. But XCOM: Chimera Squad is a fully fleshed out game that brings loads of replayability thanks to the multitude of missions and variables within each, as well as squad combinations. Sure, the combat phases are less expansive than one would expect from an XCOM title, but the shorter missions still require some tactical nose if you want your squad to come through relatively unscathed. With nice cartoon style visuals, great voice acting and the ability to play as some cool alien characters, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a worthy entrant into the XCOM franchise.

Smaller but first of all different, XCOM: Chimera Squad is clearly an interlude in anticipation of the big, epic XCOM 3. Especially at this price point. It is definitely an interlude that new and old fans should not miss.

Neither a full-fledged sequel nor a cheap cash grab, XCOM: Chimera Squad is a solid spin-off with a smaller scale approach to the XCOM formula.

Chimera Squad is a small spin-off without particular ambitions, which at the same time, however, boasts one of the most original and interesting narrative plays of the series.

While not all of the wild departures fire on all cylinders, XCOM: Chimera Squad's open-ended difficulty settings allow everyone to bend the strong combat groundwork to their will.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a well made spin-off, with some innovation and a new setting.

Xcom: Chimera Squad feels like a "my first XCom" in a way, where some important choices have been removed and you have to make do with characters the creators came up with. Invading spaces with your team combines chaos with choices, but takes away a lot of control.

More than anything, Firaxis appear to be testing the waters with XCOM: Chimera Squad, and as a field test it's mostly successful. However, it ditches far too much of what makes XCOM so fantastic in the first place.

Tactically interesting and tense spin-off, that doesn’t reach the main series’ quality, also because of a few bugs and control issues.

Pleasant to play, but still endowed with the same technical defects (camera bugs, aging 3D engine), Chimera Squad remains a good episode, both for lovers of the saga, but also for newcomers, who will discover a deep, but very affordable tactical game.

XCOM: Chimera Squad feels a lot like a small budget spin-off of the main IP, and after a few hours it felt quite harsh, but in the end, Firaxis's awesome gameplay saves it all.

Regardless of the difficulty level, Chimera Squad doesn't let your soldiers die. Too bad, because the game could hugely benefit from this single change. Despite that, this new, mini-XCOM is worth the time. It won't be as thrilling as XCOM 2, but it's still a bargain.

A fine superhero SWAT team tactics game smothered by a little too much admin.

XCOM: Chimera Squad plays with some interesting new ideas, but doesn't bring them together into a particularly graceful whole.

Chimera Squad is XCOM, despite the colorful shell and slightly less permanent mechanics. The turn-based structure changes for the better with the introduction of individual turns and smaller maps, leading to less overwatch shuffling around maps. However, it loses steam when it comes to mission variety and it literally fails at one of its core areas by way of bugs. Does this stop me from recommending this game, especially at its seemingly budget price point? No, not really. But I can tell you that I am going to wait for a few updates before diving back in, to see which team members I missed and whether or not I can actually hit that 90% shot this time.

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a good surprise with some interesting good news mechanics.However, it gives the impression of a quick release for stand up Gears Tactics.

Smaller, shorter, more straightforward. Chimera Squad builds on the brilliant foundations laid by XCOM 2 but fails to completely replicate its magic, let down by an awful camera, many bugs and several strange design decisions.

We will also have Gears Tactics, and Streets of Rage next week and I’ll try to get those to you as soon as I receive the scores from my writers.

Chimera Squad is a kind of XCOM-in-a-box: lighter, simpler, cheaper, and less interesting. Good if you are looking for some quick tactical fun, especially at this price point, but inferior to War of the Chosen in almost every way.

XCOM: Chimera Squad retains much of what makes XCOM such a special tactics series, in the process adding in some genuine improvements to its already excellent formula. But these improvements are undermined by some strange art choices, as well as a general reluctance to maximize some of its bolder changes. All in all, an interesting experiment, but one that still has a ways to go before reaching its full potential.

I do not regret the time I spent playing Chimera Squad, but it’s a definite downgrade compared to the excellent XCOM 2: War of the Chosen.

We suspect Chimera Squad might not be to the taste of genre purists, having sacrificed perhaps a little too much of the player's control over strategic outcomes in favour of reactive encounters. In some ways, it's XCOM for those who prefer action games - a hybrid that isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers, even if the resulting beast loses a little of its identity. [Issue#346, p.94]

A lore-breaking spinoff that removes most of what makes the new XCOM special and replaces it with short bouts of repetitive tactical combat and bad writing.