9 Best Xcom Like Games That You Should Know Update 04/2024

Best Xcom Like Games

Fans of XCOM: Enemy Unknown didn’t know where the story would go after the aliens were defeated. Surprisingly, the humans lost, and now the Commander and the rest of the crew are fighting the aliens as small groups. This unexpected change of history worked, and it made it feel amazing to take down Advent in XCOM 2.

With the DLC War of the Chosen, interest in the game grew again, and it felt like a whole new game with new classes, new challenges, and cameos from many actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When it comes to turn-based strategy games, fans looking for games like the XCOM series have a lot of choices. They can choose to play more alien-smashing 4X games, games that bring back memories like Final Fantasy Tactics, or hybrid games like Wasteland 3 that mix turn-based strategy with isometric RPG elements.

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Are you looking for a strategy game with a lighter touch? If so, you should look into Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle right away. This game is basically XCOM meets Nintendo, plus Rabbids, if you think about it that way. Even though the game looks simple and cartoony at first glance, don’t be fooled. It’s a hard game.

In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, you can play as Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and a bunch of crazy Rabbids. Each character has their own unique weapons, skills, and abilities, and your goal is to explore the colourful lands while making progress in battles that require a lot of planning.

Fae Tactics

Fae Tactics is another bright and colourful strategy game that both newcomers and old hands will enjoy. Fae Tactics looks like it was inspired by games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle 64 because it is played from an isometric point of view. In Fae Tactics, you play as Peony, a young witch who uses spells and magic to go on adventures across a fantasy kingdom.

One of the things that makes Fae Tactics stand out is that it doesn’t have menus that are hard to use. Fae Tactics is different from most strategy games because it doesn’t give you menus to choose your moves. Instead, it gives you more control over how you move and fight.

XCOM: Chimera Squad

XCOM Chimera Squad

XCOM: Chimera Squad might seem a bit obvious for a list like this, but people who haven’t played it before will be surprised. First, the turn system is different than in other games in the XCOM series. There’s a new way to “breach” that’s fun and different.

Each character also has skills and ways to grow that are completely unique. Fans can’t even get all of the playable characters in one playthrough. So, it makes the game more fun to play again and again to see everything it has to offer.

Wasteland 3

Wasteland 3 builds on the success of its predecessor, Wasteland 2, by combining isometric role-playing game (RPG) gameplay with turn-based strategy combat.

In the 22nd century, the game takes place in a frozen, radioactive Colorado that is run by a cult. The player characters are from Arizona and are Desert Rangers, which gives the game a touch of the Wild West and gunslingers. The best part of the game is that the player has to make very tough trade-off decisions and then deal with the consequences of each choice. This is a great mix for people who like both hard-core turn-based strategy games and isometric role-playing games.

Valkyria Chronicles

Valkyria Chronicles

This game came out in 2014, while Valkyria Chronicles 4, the most recent game in the series, came out in 2018. But if you’ve never played a game in the series before, the best way to get a feel for its beautiful art style, interesting story, and sometimes brutal combat is to start with the first game.

In Valkyria Chronicles, players can move individual units around the map by controlling them from a third-person view. One has to line up headshots, take on tanks with rifles, and think about all the possible outcomes of every choice.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem is still a classic and well-known series, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses is the latest game in the series. The semi-academy setting gives the game a lighter feel, and the player character can join forces with one of the three characters and the houses they come from. In the game, the player is also a teacher.

Players can change classes on the fly, and once they can take their team into battle, they’ll combine traditional attacks with Combat Arts, opportunities to flank, and other strategic moves to make their attacks more powerful and effective.

There are also some things that only players who choose to play online can do. Some combat tiles will have glowing lights over them that show where other players died. If the player goes to those spots, they can get weapons for certain characters.

Gears Tactics

Gears Tactics

Fans of the Gears of War series might be used to fighting from the third-person view, but Gears Tactics still has chainsaw guns and lots of alien mobs to kill, all in a turn-based style like XCOM.

Even though it starts off a little slowly, the game has the classic Gears chaos, beautiful graphics, and epic kills. This is where fans of XCOM should start if they want a game that is a lot like XCOM.

Wargroove

Wargroove is a tribute to Advance Wars, and it has a lot of nostalgia, content, and cute little dogs to top it off. Developer Chucklefish, behind Starbound and Eastward, opted for a pixel-art style with lots of color for a vibrant, lively experience.

With their own commander, players can move around the map and fight enemies. The player can also call in other units during the battle. It’s a great game for the Nintendo Switch, and the Arcade mode gives you a different way to play it that takes less time.

Civilization 6

Civilization 6

Since its first game came out in September 1991, the Civilization series has been an important part of the turn-based strategy genre. Civilization 6 is the latest game in the series. It builds on Civilization 5, which is widely considered to be one of the best turn-based strategy games ever made.

The 4X series is very different from XCOM, but Civilization 6 is hard to beat if you want to play a great turn-based strategy game.