There's a brand new XCOM spin-off coming out next week
Surprise!
Fancy a follow-up game to XCOM 2? Well you're in luck, because there's one coming out next Friday. 2K Games surprised everyone today by announcing a new spin-off, XCOM: Chimera Squad - it's not a proper sequel, but a shorter standalone story set after the events of XCOM 2.
It's bringing a bunch of new and improved features to the series - like letting you select your squad from 11 agents each with their own personalities, and an update to the turn-based combat to make encounters more "intense and unpredictable".
"City 31, the setting for XCOM: Chimera Squad, has become a model of peace in the post-invasion world," says the Steam page. "However, not all of Earth's inhabitants support interspecies alliance. Chimera Squad, an elite force of human and alien agents, must work together to destroy the underground threats driving the city toward chaos."
There are 11 new agents, each with their own individual personalities and abilities. There's a focus on team composition in Chimera Squad, as certain characters will be able to use combos with each other that could be vital to succeeding in your missions.
Breach Mode is a new thing being added, too. It's a new combat phase that lets you "strategically assign your agents to different entry points and coordinate their assault with a range of Breach-specific skills".
I've never been a huge fan of XCOM, but even I'll admit this all sounds pretty good. I'm a sucker for any game that lets me choose which squadmates I wanna hang out with.
Adam Smith said "XCOM 2 is an improvement on its predecessor in every way" in his XCOM 2 review, I wonder if Chimera Squad will meet those same standards.
XCOM: Chimera Squad releases on Steam on April 24th. It's currently on sale for 50%, making it the pretty reasonable price of £8.50/€10/$10 until May 1st.