#Chimera squad upgrade
#Chimera squad free

The game kicks off with the murder of a mayor, and you’re tasked with finding out the culprit. Set five years after the Advent and human conflict of XCOM 2, you lead the Chimera Squad, a ragtag SWAT team, as they clean up the streets of City 31. And the structure of the game only heightens this power imbalance. By the halfway point, you’ll likely have your favourite squad of four and they’ll all be fully kitted out with unique weapons, all their upgrades, and the best kit. And since characters can’t die, they only ever grow in strength. If you fail a mission, simply try it again until you win. It’s basically inconsequential, but clearly exists to force you to stop using Axiom all the time, even though he’s the absolute boy.Ī consequence of this change is that Chimera Squad is too easy. However, you can heal scars in the strategy layer between missions by placing soldiers into training, putting them out of action for a handful of missions. These battle wounds happen when they’re downed, or occasionally when they drop below half health, and scars lower their stats. Instead of deaths, there’s now a new system where your soldiers can develop scars. It hammers home the costs of your operations. The soldiers who died are highlighted by the vehicle’s empty seats as your surviving squadmates sit in silence. One of my favourite things about XCOM 2 is how it shows your squad after you evacuate from a mission, all of them sitting in the back of the armoured carrier. It feels like the developers at Firaxis were too in love with their characters to let them die. If they bleed out, they don’t expire - you just have to start the mission again. If one of your squadmates gets downed, you must stabilise them by reaching them or sending your medic’s drone. But Chimera Squad makes a huge error and misses one of the things that makes XCOM so special - there’s no permadeath.

That means those soldier deaths are permanent. Here the game automatically overwrites a single save slot, and so you have to live with your mistakes.

#Chimera squad free

He also occasionally gets a free hit if he gets mad enough, like a boxer throwing a right hook after the bell - he’s great.Īs I always do with XCOM games, I played on Ironman mode. He’s a shotgun-wielding tank who rushes in, soaks up damage, and smashes people up with devastating ground pounds. My top boy is Axiom, a muton with a gigantic head and an even bigger temper. They have their own voice lines and personalities, they banter between missions, and you quickly start to earmark your favourites.

#Chimera squad upgrade

Instead of randomly generated soldiers, here you recruit a squad of actual characters, both alien and human, each with their own unique abilities and upgrade paths. XCOM: Chimera Squad is an attempt to double down on this. At least until the dreaded day inevitably comes and a gelatinous alien swats them into a wall. Keep them advancing through the ranks and they might become the backbone of your team. Randomly-generated grunts join your squad, you rename them, you tint their armour, and you send them out on the game’s tactical, turn-based missions like you’re sending your kid to school on their first day. One of the best things about XCOM is how it makes you feel a kinship with your soldiers.