XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is the 2016 sequel to Enemy Unknown, built on the premise that humanity lost the first war. The aliens rule Earth through a puppet government called ADVENT, and you command a resistance from the Avenger, a captured alien ship that moves across the map. The aliens are working towards a final project, and the campaign is a race to stop it.

Missions often start with the squad hidden, letting you set up an ambush before the shooting starts, and many carry a turn limit that forces the squad forward. Soldier classes were redesigned, maps are generated from pieces, and the game was built to be modded from launch. The War of the Chosen expansion in 2017 added three powerful alien hunters, resistance factions with their own soldiers, and fatigue and bonds between soldiers.

With War of the Chosen it is usually named as the best modern game of its kind. The resistance premise gives the campaign a clear story, concealment adds a stealth opening to each fight, and the Chosen give the enemy faces. Its modding community is enormous, and the Long War 2 mod rebuilt the campaign entirely.

Mission timers are the most common complaint, because they push players to take risks they would rather not. The launch version also ran poorly on many machines.

XCOM 2 keeps X-COM's two layers but turns the war around: you are the insurgents, not the defenders. The strategic layer is a map of resistance contacts rather than a globe of interceptions. It is further from the original than Enemy Unknown was, and most players think it is better for it.