Opening doors also requires fumbling with the cursor to find the sweet spot. Movement also has its hiccups by not discerning the optimal way to move from point A to point B in order to avoid a hazard or revealing the soldier to the enemy. Problematic camera controls continue to plague the sequel, getting stuck behind walls or finding a poor angle during a cinematic strike. It’s a nice strategic feature, however it comes with an increased number of hit-and-run missions that require completion within a certain number of turns. XCOM 2 introduces the concealment phase on most missions, where your party can set up an ambush without being detected. A complete understanding of the cover system, overwatch, hit percentages, and team composition is a feat of knowledge that beckons you to study for maximum efficiency. You may have to escort a VIP to safety, save civilians, hack a terminal, or simply clear out all the aliens, and it always feels fresh and challenging, especially for those brave enough to attempt the single-save Ironman mode on Legendary difficulty. With random map elements and enemy makeups depending on your campaign choices, XCOM 2 is devoid of any semblance of redundancy. This requires taking to the battlefield, where the turn-based tactical combat remains second to none. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.
Impressions were based on final “retail” Switch download code provided by Take-Two Interactive. It is also available on PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. XCOM 2 Collection was released June 1 on Nintendo Switch. This collection is fine for forgiving XCOM fans, but easily skippable for everyone else. The flip side is that there’s already a handful of brilliant turn-based strategy games on the Switch ( Into the Breach, Fire Emblem: Three Houses) that all look and run great.
It’s a fantastic tactical strategy game, and you could probably adjust to the shortcomings if you’re a die-hard fan who absolutely needs a portable version of XCOM 2.
Is the Nintendo Switch version worth your time?Įven with the visual and performance issues mentioned above, XCOM 2 is still pretty playable on Switch. It’s passable, and with better performance it would even be forgivable, but the combination is hard to stomach in a game that was first released in 2016. On top of these performance dips, the developers still had to drop the graphical resolution to get XCOM 2 to function on Nintendo Switch, giving the entire game a hazy, blurry look. But scrolling through the menus and the interface is unpleasant, and it negatively impacts the experience of playing the game.
These issues don’t technically impact gameplay, as the XCOM series doesn’t require quick reaction times. The same goes for selecting and giving orders during a mission.
Scrolling through your home base to recruit and upgrade potential units, for instance, often feels sluggish. This happens during busy scenes, as well as during calmer moments, when there shouldn’t be as much of a load on the system’s hardware. The game frequently hitches and slows during play, despite the target frame rate of 30 frames per second. The key drawbacks of the Switch version are performance and resolution, and neither is handled very well. There are notable differences between this and the previous releases, though. All of the missions, character classes, weapons, and features make the jump to the Switch version, so you’re really not missing out on anything on that front. The core gameplay of XCOM 2 is exactly the same, no matter the platform.