While X-COM under Firaxis is something that I very much enjoy, those original X-COM games had left a permanent itch that only Xenonauts can scratch.
Xenonauts was, in many ways, the solution to a problem I didn’t even know I had. While X-COM under Firaxis is something that I very much enjoy, those original X-COM games had left a permanent itch that, apparently, would always need to be scratched. UFO: Enemy Unknown started it all in 1994, and I have had a thing for isometric games ever since. The original Xenonauts, released in 2014, would pick up the mantle of the original games. It must be said, it did this incredibly well.
It appears I am not the only one who thinks this, as Xenonauts 2 would begin crowdfunding a day ago, and has already attracted over two thousand backers and over seventy thousand dollars. It only needed fifty-six thousand dollars to succeed. That is, by any stretch of the imagination, a roaring success.
It seems to developers are looking to dig deep for this game, bringing expanded systems and mechanics that even genre veterans will find new and intriguing.
We are building a hugely complex strategy / tactics game that gives you total control of your organisation all the way from the command staff in your base down to the troops on the battlefield. The formula will be familiar to anyone who has played the classic X-Com games from the 90’s (or the modern reboots), but Xenonauts-2 expands those foundations to create something deeper and more distinctive!
For anyone curious about how the game will play, you can download an “alpha combat demo” from GOG, which you can try out if you are thinking of backing the game. According to the Kickstarter blurb, the developers want to bring that increased depth and decision making to every area of the game, from combat to the Geoscape, where players make far-reaching tactical and strategic decisions that impact how the game plays.
Frankly, I am buying all the way into this. I do try my best not the get caught up in Kickstarter campaigns, but Goldhawk Interaction has won my loyalty with Xenonauts, and I eagerly await this next game in the series.
If you wish to read more about the project, you can do so on the Kickstarter page.
