XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Review and Retrospective- Is It Worth It In 2025?

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown Review – A Masterclass of Modern Game Design That Stands The Test of Time

I firmly believe XCOM: Enemy Unknown is one of the greatest strategy games ever made. When it came out in 2012, it breathed new life into turn-based strategy games, attracting a new audience and proving that there was still a strong demand for this type of gameplay. Now, in 2025, the question is: does it still hold up? Simply put, yes. If you’re curious why, continue reading.

  • Genre: Turn-Based Strategy | Turn-Based Tactics | Sci-fi
  • Developer: Firaxis Games, Feral Interactive (Linux)
  • Publisher: 2K, Feral Interactive (Linux)
  • Price: $34.99 | 32,99€ | £25.99
  • Release Date: 12 October, 2012
  • Reviewer: Nuno Marques (PC)
  • Target Audience: Turn-Based Strategy Players, Everyone Who Enjoys Awesome Strategy Games
  • Final Score: 10/10

XCOM Series Retrospective

If you’re reading this review in 2025 or 2026, you likely fall into one of two groups. You might be looking for reassurance that this turn-based strategy game still holds up, confirming what you already believe. Or, more likely, you’re someone who bought the game but was intimidated by how complicated it seemed. Perhaps you picked it up during a sale, and it’s been sitting in your Steam library. If that sounds like you, this review should be helpful. Let me give you some background.

In 1994, Julian Gollop and MicroProse released UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense) for DOS, Amiga, and PlayStation 1. Despite a difficult development process – the game was nearly canceled twice – it was an immediate critical and commercial hit. Reviewers loved it, with IGN giving it a 9.4/10, GameSpot a 9.0, and Computer Gaming World awarding it a perfect 5-star review and calling it the greatest sleeper hit ever in 1996. The PC version alone sold over 600,000 copies. If you’re interested in playing the original XCOM, I highly recommend it, and Open XCOM is the best way to experience it.

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Back when games were developed much faster, the original X-COM game quickly spawned several sequels and spin-offs. In 1995, X-COM: Terror from the Deep moved the alien battle underwater. Though it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as the first game, it still sold over a million copies. The sequels kept coming: X-COM: Apocalypse in 1997, a space combat game called X-COM: Interceptor in 1998, X-COM: First Alien Invasion in 1999, and X-COM: Enforcer, a first-person shooter with a different storyline, in 2001. After that, the series went on a long hiatus, remaining silent for ten years.

In 2005, Take-Two Interactive purchased the rights to the XCOM series from Infogrames (later Atari) and also acquired Firaxis Games. Development of a new XCOM game started in 2008 under the direction of designer Jake Solomon, and it took four years to complete. Originally, the plan was to directly remake the 1994 game, but the team realized that simply updating older gameplay wouldn’t feel right for a modern audience. They shifted their focus to streamlining the mechanics and creating a more approachable strategy game—a trend that was becoming popular at the time. The result was a game that took the best elements of the series and delivered a faster-paced experience without losing the tactical depth. While some longtime fans were initially skeptical, the overall excitement for a new XCOM game outweighed any criticism. Even Julian Gollop, a creator of the original XCOM games, admitted that some aspects of his earlier work were overly complex and praised Firaxis for doing a “terrific job” with the new installment.

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I still remember when XCOM: Enemy Unknown came out in October 2012 – it was a total game changer! It really brought turn-based strategy back to life, and honestly, it sparked a whole wave of awesome games like Xenonauts, Phoenix Point, and even the upcoming Star Wars Zero Company. It wasn’t just about copying the formula either; the whole strategy genre just exploded with new ideas and releases after XCOM’s success. What I loved about it was how it took the classic X-COM feel and made it accessible with a simplified combat system and easier base management, but it still felt incredibly deep and replayable. It really was something special, and it’s amazing to see the legacy it’s created.

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2025-11-11 17:43