The original Xenonauts is one of my most-played games on Steam. The second game has been on my wishlist for more than a year. Glad to see this game get some coverage.
Will add one of my favorite parts of the first game was how the technology changed the game. As I get better tech the aliens started to develop more dangerous tactics and better equipment. The game just seemed to escalate. I hope the same is true here.
Arguably the best spiritual successor to original XCOM. Although, there are some things that I wish the devs give attention to, like the lack of personality with its units & the lack of impactful actions. for example, the shooting animations & sounds still sucks imo. Graphics is definitely not a problem & I am certain there are plenty of ways to do it. This is also problematic with similar XCOM-like game "Rebel Cops," very slow pacing, no game speed setting, & underwhelming actions. If there is one thing that Firaxis XCOM did it superior to every other XCOM-like games (including Phoenix Point), is how satisfying & impactful every actions player takes in every turn. They truly applied the "one more turn" vibe from the famous Civ game series slogan.
I never played much Xenonauts, but I have a little story to share. In my first mission one of my troopers was injured and fell to the ground. I rushed another troop over, who had a medipack. I didn't know how to use the medipack, and the UI was unhelpful, so eventually I thought of pressing "m", you know, for "medipack." Well, it turned out that "m" was actually for "melee" and my second troop executed his fallen comrade with a buttstroke from his rifle. That memory has stayed with me.
Enjoyed the first game, basically sticking to the OG x-com formula. Definitely going to pick up this game at some point although will probably wait for full release, too many competing games coming out in July through September.
As always, congratulations on the free game. I hope this becomes a mainstay. The thoroughness of your reviews will reveal the merits of a game, so publishers giving you a copy tells me that they stand by their product. Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.
Actually didnt realize the upcoming "release" was early access, it feels like this has been in development for a long time. I have high hopes, I always felt like xenonauts 1 was very close to really getting that original XCOM Ufo Defense charm, but the maps were just too big and the missions felt repetitive to me with the same clearing process to go through on each one. Its a hard balance to strike to make missions "feel" different, but also randomly generate them so that there are plenty for people to dig in. But I'm really happy with both this and Mars Tactics coming fairly soon I'll have my pick of old school style TurnBased Tactical options.
This will be great on the steam deck. I love long form games like this but I don’t have that much consecutive free time and the sleep function is great. Play a few turns and then set it down for whatever. I now buy games based on if they have a satisfying game loop of about 20 minutes or if I can get it on a handheld.
working through my massive steam backlog and i’m literally playing the first one right now. i’m around 50 hours into it and i love it, i’ve spent a lot of time playing all the old x-com games (including the bad ones) and this is such a great “remake” in everything but the name
I’m a disappointed that this looks extremely similar graphically to xenonaughts 1. I’m all for the old school mechanics, but I had hoped they would update the graphics/sound/UI to be more modern
Xcom2 is my most played game ever and I'm still looking for another trpg to scratch that. A big thing for me was the Unit Variety once I found the world of polished mods for the game. Now I need to go look for your review on the first game! Looking forward to more coverage on this.
Hey mort, there's this game called The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales. It released on 22 June and it is narrative CRPG with perspective shifts to first person in some sections. You might wanna check it out.
welcome to modern gaming - both AAA and indie takes a lot of time to develop at least there's a chance it won't be like UFO ExtraTerrestials 2 which also had long developement, but ended up in mediocre state not justifying all that waiting....
Can't wait for this game!!! I hope the Dev team makes also the Xcom terror from the deep which is the next one in the old school series and is mostly under water battles in the seas and oceans.
Yep. This goes straight down amnesia lane. Thanks for sharing. I first saw this on Splattercat's channel. It looked a lot rougher there than here. But still promising. I can't get any games right now though. My hard drive is on death's door.
As someone that loves X-COM, XCOM and Xenonauts. I’m really looking forward to this. The demo has been really solid too. Though it really should have been a 1.0 release because this was Kickstarted and now 5 years later it’s coming to Early Access. I’m hoping by it coming to Early Access and having a Publisher, the development will gain some major traction.
Love the Xenonauts.. It also has a good mod community. I play the community edition currently.. even though I do have all the X-com version.. I find myself playing Xenonauts a lot more.. but when I play x-com I always choose the long war (mod). I consider my taste a a 'niche' though.. Hehe..
My favorite in the old x-com series was Apocalypse. Limiting it to one city was more believable. Battling/raiding other human factions made sense. I played Xenonauts One and liked it but the idea of 20 guys defending the whole planet did not make sense. And little things broke the immersion: A squad just helicoptered in to a UFO crash site, yet somehow they don't start the battle knowing where the UFO is on the map??? WTF??? And the battle maps were so static. No vehicles moved. Few civilians. And this just becomes a puzzle game. I think these whole genre should switch to a 'WEGO' system of movement. I will probably get this sequel just because of the original fond memories of apocalypse.
I have to admit i actually liked the Real Time mode of Apocalypse. Or just going nuts and stopping the aliens from destroying the city by doing it first. I think i actually managed to get into the cults good graces once.
I liked the first game a lot. And I vastly prefer the more grounded and less bonkers art-style they got going. Feels more real than the almost comic-book like aesthetics of modern day X-COM. It's not Jagged Alliance 2, which is still the best tactical turn based game in existence in my opinion. But I like how they approach the alien invasion setting.
It looks great, def an improvement over 1st game. But I'm still confused why they decided to essentially remake the 1st. They could've made Xenonauts 2 remake X-com:Terror from the Deep
Oh, I bought the first one a long time ago. Curious, it did kind of setup a sequel, since what you blew up at the end of that was established to not be the primary ship/base of the aliens, but merely one of many. Still, will be curious to see how they do a bag of spilling, since I'd developed quite the toy box by the end, but given my...government backed nature, I probably had to give everything away to the various backers after it was all over I suppose.
iv heard they have some broken timer mission iv no issues with timer missions so long as there well put together and not pointlessly annoying. plus a bunch of other horrible things that hopefully will be patched out like cover being useless and enemys having infinite range
The 1st one passed me by but I may have to check this one out. Also you got a public discord Mortismal? If not I think theres enough of us that chit chat about this stuff that would appreciate it. As always keep up the great work am always looking forward to your next video!
I didn't know it wasn't going to be a full release but rather just EA, pretty dissapointing to be honest. Another TRPG releasing into Early Access this month is Crimson Tactics: The Rise of The White Banner which looks pretty good.
Speaking about TRPG, did you ever play The Banner Saga series ? I'd be curious to have your opinion on them. The first one is soon going to turn 10 years if I recall correctly. It might be worth giving the series a try, seeing as they're relatively short.
@@MortismalGaming thanks for the answer. And again thanks for covering the Xenonauts series, it definitely deserves some attention, as it keeps the OG XCOM/UFO defense mechanics up to date.
I followed the first game since it was in early access but ended up rather disappointed with the end result - it became a bit grindy and got boring quickly and seemed to had been overengineered in places. I hope the sequel fixes some of those problems.
I played the first one and i was pretty good and have total air control, then suddenly a prompt appeared that some countries surrendered and it was game over, 😣🤬
Even though XCOMs are one of my favourite games (old and new), I've never touched Xenonauts. Biggest reason is the little that I've seen of the levels, they seem so boring and flat. Maybe the game is so good that it doesn't really matter, but it has stopped me from buying the game. And now it seems that Xenonauts 2 is following the same level design.
The original Xenonauts is one of my most-played games on Steam. The second game has been on my wishlist for more than a year. Glad to see this game get some coverage.
Will add one of my favorite parts of the first game was how the technology changed the game. As I get better tech the aliens started to develop more dangerous tactics and better equipment. The game just seemed to escalate. I hope the same is true here.
Arguably the best spiritual successor to original XCOM. Although, there are some things that I wish the devs give attention to, like the lack of personality with its units & the lack of impactful actions. for example, the shooting animations & sounds still sucks imo. Graphics is definitely not a problem & I am certain there are plenty of ways to do it. This is also problematic with similar XCOM-like game "Rebel Cops," very slow pacing, no game speed setting, & underwhelming actions.
If there is one thing that Firaxis XCOM did it superior to every other XCOM-like games (including Phoenix Point), is how satisfying & impactful every actions player takes in every turn. They truly applied the "one more turn" vibe from the famous Civ game series slogan.
I never played much Xenonauts, but I have a little story to share. In my first mission one of my troopers was injured and fell to the ground. I rushed another troop over, who had a medipack. I didn't know how to use the medipack, and the UI was unhelpful, so eventually I thought of pressing "m", you know, for "medipack." Well, it turned out that "m" was actually for "melee" and my second troop executed his fallen comrade with a buttstroke from his rifle. That memory has stayed with me.
Man. Just got the first Pathfinder game and the first Pillars game. You and this channel have gotten me hooked on CRPGs
Enjoyed the first game, basically sticking to the OG x-com formula. Definitely going to pick up this game at some point although will probably wait for full release, too many competing games coming out in July through September.
As always, congratulations on the free game. I hope this becomes a mainstay. The thoroughness of your reviews will reveal the merits of a game, so publishers giving you a copy tells me that they stand by their product. Onward to 200k. All glory to the algorithm.
Actually didnt realize the upcoming "release" was early access, it feels like this has been in development for a long time. I have high hopes, I always felt like xenonauts 1 was very close to really getting that original XCOM Ufo Defense charm, but the maps were just too big and the missions felt repetitive to me with the same clearing process to go through on each one. Its a hard balance to strike to make missions "feel" different, but also randomly generate them so that there are plenty for people to dig in. But I'm really happy with both this and Mars Tactics coming fairly soon I'll have my pick of old school style TurnBased Tactical options.
This will be great on the steam deck. I love long form games like this but I don’t have that much consecutive free time and the sleep function is great. Play a few turns and then set it down for whatever. I now buy games based on if they have a satisfying game loop of about 20 minutes or if I can get it on a handheld.
working through my massive steam backlog and i’m literally playing the first one right now. i’m around 50 hours into it and i love it, i’ve spent a lot of time playing all the old x-com games (including the bad ones) and this is such a great “remake” in everything but the name
I’m a disappointed that this looks extremely similar graphically to xenonaughts 1. I’m all for the old school mechanics, but I had hoped they would update the graphics/sound/UI to be more modern
This goes on the wishlist! Good show sir
Yes finally I have been waiting so long for this game :D
Xcom2 is my most played game ever and I'm still looking for another trpg to scratch that. A big thing for me was the Unit Variety once I found the world of polished mods for the game. Now I need to go look for your review on the first game!
Looking forward to more coverage on this.
midnight suns by the xcom guys is fantastic. Xenonauts is great. 40k mechanicus is good fun, great audio.
Wish this was multiplayer, one person is the alien the other human. remember playing a mod of enemy unknown that had it, was fun.
Loved the first one all those years ago.
after a video i didn't want to watch for spoiler reasons, i needed my morim fix! good job as always!
Hey mort, there's this game called The Bookwalker: Thief of Tales. It released on 22 June and it is narrative CRPG with perspective shifts to first person in some sections. You might wanna check it out.
Thanks for checking this game out, it looks just about different enough from the first one.
July 2023 is a great month for TRPG; Baldur's Gate 3, Jagged Alliance 3, and Xenonauts 2.
Jeez, I only have so many hours in the day.
What?! it is finally almost out? I waited a million years
Full release won't be till 2024
This thing has been in development for YEARS, and only now it gets an early access release. WTH!
welcome to modern gaming - both AAA and indie takes a lot of time to develop
at least there's a chance it won't be like UFO ExtraTerrestials 2 which also had long developement, but ended up in mediocre state not justifying all that waiting....
Can't wait for this game!!! I hope the Dev team makes also the Xcom terror from the deep which is the next one in the old school series and is mostly under water battles in the seas and oceans.
A spiritual successor to the OG Xcom? Ok I’ll bite and add it to my wishlist
Played the first game. Was pretty good. Like original Xcom but more modern.
Hope the second game will be moddable again too.
Yep. This goes straight down amnesia lane. Thanks for sharing. I first saw this on Splattercat's channel. It looked a lot rougher there than here. But still promising. I can't get any games right now though. My hard drive is on death's door.
The first Xenonauts was amazing, I have high hopes for this.
Jesus way to make me feel old since I always considered the 90's games as the only XCom games and I didn't even know it had been rebooted.
As someone that loves X-COM, XCOM and Xenonauts. I’m really looking forward to this. The demo has been really solid too. Though it really should have been a 1.0 release because this was Kickstarted and now 5 years later it’s coming to Early Access. I’m hoping by it coming to Early Access and having a Publisher, the development will gain some major traction.
VERY Xcom1 Enemy Unknown by the look of it, I played that so much! and its follow up Terror From The Deep
Love the Xenonauts.. It also has a good mod community.
I play the community edition currently.. even though I do have all the X-com version..
I find myself playing Xenonauts a lot more.. but when I play x-com I always choose the long war (mod).
I consider my taste a a 'niche' though.. Hehe..
My favorite in the old x-com series was Apocalypse. Limiting it to one city was more believable. Battling/raiding other human factions made sense. I played Xenonauts One and liked it but the idea of 20 guys defending the whole planet did not make sense. And little things broke the immersion: A squad just helicoptered in to a UFO crash site, yet somehow they don't start the battle knowing where the UFO is on the map??? WTF??? And the battle maps were so static. No vehicles moved. Few civilians. And this just becomes a puzzle game. I think these whole genre should switch to a 'WEGO' system of movement.
I will probably get this sequel just because of the original fond memories of apocalypse.
I have to admit i actually liked the Real Time mode of Apocalypse. Or just going nuts and stopping the aliens from destroying the city by doing it first.
I think i actually managed to get into the cults good graces once.
This looks really cool.
I liked the first game a lot. And I vastly prefer the more grounded and less bonkers art-style they got going. Feels more real than the almost comic-book like aesthetics of modern day X-COM. It's not Jagged Alliance 2, which is still the best tactical turn based game in existence in my opinion. But I like how they approach the alien invasion setting.
looks amazing
god enemy unknown was good, remember playing it on the playstation.
It looks great, def an improvement over 1st game. But I'm still confused why they decided to essentially remake the 1st.
They could've made Xenonauts 2 remake X-com:Terror from the Deep
I've been waiting so long for this game 😂 glad they're finally releasing it.
Oh, I bought the first one a long time ago. Curious, it did kind of setup a sequel, since what you blew up at the end of that was established to not be the primary ship/base of the aliens, but merely one of many. Still, will be curious to see how they do a bag of spilling, since I'd developed quite the toy box by the end, but given my...government backed nature, I probably had to give everything away to the various backers after it was all over I suppose.
Xenonauts is very good at kicking players' ass. Hard to master.
This looks very fun
oh i plan on it, this game is going to carry me straight into starfield.
Looks great
iv heard they have some broken timer mission iv no issues with timer missions so long as there well put together and not pointlessly annoying. plus a bunch of other horrible things that hopefully will be patched out like cover being useless and enemys having infinite range
The 1st one passed me by but I may have to check this one out. Also you got a public discord Mortismal? If not I think theres enough of us that chit chat about this stuff that would appreciate it. As always keep up the great work am always looking forward to your next video!
Thank you! Not currently on the Discord
I hope they use scalable UI because the text in the first one was so damn small that I played it with the magnifier on.
🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
could you make comparison between 1 and 2 As much as i like it. It seems like slight remake of the first Xenonauts.
I didn't know it wasn't going to be a full release but rather just EA, pretty dissapointing to be honest.
Another TRPG releasing into Early Access this month is Crimson Tactics: The Rise of The White Banner which looks pretty good.
I backed this game in 2018 on KS and played a little bit of the beta. It is a nice game, but the RNG was driving me crazy sometimes. 🙂
Looks okay, I feel like it needs to be more .. 'visually/narratively attractive'?!
XCOM isn't really my wheelhouse.
The only game of this nature I've played is UFO extraterrestrials
cant wait 1 was awesome and i like it better then the firaxis games
Phoenix point my favorite
Speaking about TRPG, did you ever play The Banner Saga series ? I'd be curious to have your opinion on them. The first one is soon going to turn 10 years if I recall correctly. It might be worth giving the series a try, seeing as they're relatively short.
Not yet, probably will eventually
@@MortismalGaming thanks for the answer. And again thanks for covering the Xenonauts series, it definitely deserves some attention, as it keeps the OG XCOM/UFO defense mechanics up to date.
Still have to play Xenonauts sitting in my Steam library for a while.
But X-PirateZ is stealing all my time for X-COM likes....
would you like a free comment? i don't care if you don't.
Just wish they werent dragging their feet massively with early access, dont really like picking games up till they are finished
Sounds very similar to Xenonauts 1. What's new?
I was trying to play the first one of these but couldn't figure out how to how to activate an encounter
Wait, they're announcing the _early access_ now? Hasn't this game been in development for eons? lol
I followed the first game since it was in early access but ended up rather disappointed with the end result - it became a bit grindy and got boring quickly and seemed to had been overengineered in places. I hope the sequel fixes some of those problems.
I played the first one and i was pretty good and have total air control, then suddenly a prompt appeared that some countries surrendered and it was game over, 😣🤬
nice.
I love how graphically aesthetic this game looks.
How is Xenonauts an rpg? o.O
Even though XCOMs are one of my favourite games (old and new), I've never touched Xenonauts. Biggest reason is the little that I've seen of the levels, they seem so boring and flat. Maybe the game is so good that it doesn't really matter, but it has stopped me from buying the game. And now it seems that Xenonauts 2 is following the same level design.
This is literally the exact same game as the first one… what’s the point?