An XCOM Side Story--Chimera Squad

Before I write this review, it's best to preface it with a dose of reality--I'm not very good at strategy games.  I really wish that I was some kind of tactical genius, but I'm not.  That doesn't mean that I don't mostly enjoy them--it's just a strange type of enjoyment--let's call it "stress enjoyment."  My lack of skill combined with the general challenge of the games usually makes for oodles of swearing at the screen and also laughing at myself when I make a particularly dumb move (like trying to click a message off the screen and instead moving a squad member to the place where I accidentally clicked).

Chimera Squad is a diverse group of individuals.

So, what exactly is Chimera Squad?  It's best to think of it as an XCOM side story--it's not a full-on prequel/sequel and it focuses on one particular setting--City 31, an urban center that exemplifies the post-alien invasion struggles on Earth.  City 31 is filled with a diverse population of aliens, humans, and hybrids (human/alien genetic amalgamations that were the result of part of the failed invasion plan).  Not everything is peachy in City 31 and not everyone gets along (imagine that, right?).  That's where Chimera Squad comes in--it's part of a special XCOM adjacent program designed to keep the peace.  The squad is made up members that represent the diverse population of City 31--humans, aliens, and hybrids working together for the common good.

Gameplay consists of a couple of different parts--the first part is completing combat missions.  The combat during the missions is largely like the previous games with one notable exception--they take place in smaller, set environments (say...a couple of rooms) as opposed to a larger map layout like in the full games.  Each mission opens with a "breach" sequence that involves analyzing the entrances into the main combat area (sometimes there's only one door and your entire squad enters at one point; other times there are 2 or more points of entry and you can choose where squad members will enter).  There's strategy in choosing how to breach--each option offers a set of buffs and/or debuffs which impact combat during that portion of the mission.  There are various objectives within the missions, sometimes you will need to escort a VIP to an extraction point, or destroy a particular piece of equipment, eliminate waves of resistance, or just simply eliminate the enemy presence.  There are missions which are directly tied to the main story and then others that you can choose to complete.

The other part of gameplay is utilizing the city map in your home "base."  You don't get a snazzy, cool ship like in the other games, but you do get a place where you can outfit your squad, provide training, design new equipment, and keep an eye on the activity in the many zones of the city.  There's even more strategizing in this aspect.

Chimera Squad's main task is to investigate the murder of the mayor of City 31.  There are three different oddball groups active in the city who could possibly be behind the heinous act--Grey Phoenix (a group of mixed mercenaries), the Progeny (a human group of psionics), and Talon Squad (a group of former ADVENT soldiers).  Once you pick a group to pursue, missions appear of the city map and you can choose how and when you want to go after them--the main story missions will appear with a time frame for when they will open up.  Prior to that you have to deal with other missions related to the activities of the group in question.  Each mission offers up a specific set of resource (and sometimes gear) rewards.  One of the challenging parts of choosing missions is something called "unrest."  If you don't complete certain missions (and you have to choose between two every time) the unrest meter rises by a certain amount.  If the meter reaches the highest level it contributes to city "anarchy" and you can lose the game if the "anarchy" meter gets too high.  Basically, it's a balancing act of trying to pick rewards you need and also keep unrest under control (fortunately, you can unlock some tools that help).  It took me about 26 hours to complete the entire campaign.

Pros:

+ Chimera Squad attempts to do something that the regular XCOM games do not--to give the squad some personality and make them more than just movable chess pieces.  There's some banter between squadmates when you return to your base which reveals some of their backstories.  The writing in the game isn't particularly memorable, but I think trying to do this is a step in the right direction for the series.

+ Squad member abilities help give each character their own strengths and makes them more than just the default classes from the original games.  You start off the game with a base squad of four members that make up a balanced squad--there's Godmother who wields a shotgun and is good for up close and personal blasting abilities; Cherub wields a kinetic shield and has an ability to place a shield around himself or any squad member--if the shielded individual takes damage, the shield absorbs it and increases the charge of Cherub's own shield.  Cherub can store charges and then unleash them in a powerful melee attack that can hit in a wide cone.  Terminal fills the medic role and can use her Gremlin to heal a squad member for 4 points of damage every turn.  Verge is a sectoid with psionic abilities who has a couple of different skills which can be very useful--he can stun an enemy for 1-2 turns or he can make them berserk which will force them to attack an allied target.

As you progress through the story you can also unlock 4 additional squad members.  Each time you are given the option of pick new squad members you choose from a selection of three.  This means that you won't be able to pick ALL of the potential options and because of that....

+ There is replayability in the fact that you don't choose some squad members and if you want to see the full menu of options, you'll need to play through the campaign multiple times.

+ Tons of equipment options.  Each squad member is equipped with a different weapon type but also has slots for a weapon mod, an armor mod, a breach item (*items that are used to breach specific doors or walls or special grenades that can be tossed in during a breach), and a utility item.  Completing assembly projects to improve armor and weapons will also unlock additional item slots as well as new items.  Progressing the story and defeating certain factions unlocks special projects to create gear inspired by that faction--for example, defeating the psionically abled Progeny unlocked special psi items like the mind shield and a psi grenade.  Mixing and matching gear for the best results is a lot of fun.  

+ Special "epic" weapons can be purchased on the scavenger market or possibly offered as a reward for certain missions and offer up powerful bonuses.  These bonuses can only be used once per mission, but the weapons themselves are great--I found a shotgun that allowed for automatic reloads at the end of every turn.

Cons:

- There is some variety in the goals on missions, but the gameplay does get repetitive.  It basically follows a pattern of breach, clear, breach...rinse, repeat.  Each faction is made up of certain types of enemies and you'll see them over and over....and over.

- One of the most irritating parts of the breach-style gameplay is that you are forced to maneuver within a very limited area--maybe a couple of rooms at most.  The most irritating thing is that you do not get to pick the initial position of your squad members (*you do get to pick where they breach and in what order).  There's just not a ton of room to work and that limits your tactical options.

- The main story and faction leaders (AKA bosses) aren't memorable.  The faction bosses have a very cartoon villain vibe.  The main story is basically picking one faction, trying to thwart their evil activities, and then picking another and doing the same thing.

Recommendation:

Chimera Squad is an effort to bring more personality to the XCOM series and it somewhat manages to do that.  I got it on sale for $10 and feel like that price was appropriate (it's a definite "buy on sale" type of title).  If you're a fan of XCOM strategy, you will probably enjoy the ability system and variety of gear--just be prepared for some repetition.