XCOM 2 Collection

Despite some serious technical compromises this is still XCOM 2 and playing it on Switch in handheld mode is just as engrossing as any other version.

76%Game Brain Score

graphics, story

stability, music

76% User Score Based on 983 reviews

Critic Score 77%Based on 18 reviews

Platforms

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About

XCOM 2 Collection is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Firaxis Games and was released on February 21, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

XCOM 2 Collection is a strategy game that offers beautiful game mechanics and pretty visuals, but is sometimes hindered by bugs. As the commander of the resistance, you must lead XCOM in turn-based tactical battles to reclaim Earth from alien occupation. This collection includes XCOM 2 and its War of the Chosen and Reinforcement packages, providing an engaging and challenging experience for players.

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76%

Audience ScoreBased on 983 reviews

graphics33 positive mentions

stability41 negative mentions

The game is a fantastic port of the original XCOM 2, bringing all the DLCs and maintaining the core gameplay experience.
The touch controls are well-optimized for mobile, making it easy to navigate and play.
The game offers deep strategy and customization, keeping players engaged for hours.

The game frequently crashes, especially during missions, leading to frustration and loss of progress.
Graphics are often blurry and not optimized for high-end devices, detracting from the overall experience.
The requirement for an internet connection to validate the license makes it unplayable in offline situations.

graphics
194 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
75%
8%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many users noting that they are significantly downgraded compared to the original PC version, often appearing blurry and low-resolution. While some players appreciate the smooth performance on mobile devices, others report numerous graphical glitches and a lack of customizable settings, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the consensus is that while the gameplay is enjoyable, the graphics need substantial improvement to meet player expectations.
- “All the things fans love from the original with graphics and updates of today.”
- “Graphics are smooth, controls are intuitive and true to the original.”
- “Graphics are great, AI is clever, research trees, progression and difficulty are bang on.”
- “There are countless sound and graphical issues and worse, the longer you play the game, the more likely it will crash.”
- “The graphics are very bad and terrible.”
- “Graphics are much worse than the screenshots.”
story
98 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
84%
3%
The story of the game is praised for its engaging narrative and the depth it adds to the gameplay, with players enjoying the unique character development and emergent storytelling that arises from tactical decisions. However, many users report significant technical issues, including frequent crashes and bugs that hinder progress, particularly during critical story missions. Overall, while the story is compelling and enhances the gaming experience, the technical problems detract from its execution.
- “Very fun with a surprisingly good story.”
- “Exceptional quality and story!”
- “The tactical depth, high stakes, and emergent storytelling make XCOM 2 an exceptional strategy game.”
- “And in my opinion, the story makes no sense.”
- “I love the game on console and PC and was incredibly excited at the prospect of having it in a portable form, but I'm severely disappointed that every time I attempt to start the first mission, my game just crashes and I'm unable to do anything about it.”
- “It's a nice game, but there is a bug where after the Advent radio station mission, I can't move to North Africa anymore, and if I want to, the game crashes and it freezes. So I can't finish the storyline.”
stability
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
4%
82%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes, particularly during missions and cutscenes. While some players have experienced minimal issues and found the game playable, others have faced significant problems, including freezing and unresponsive features, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, despite its engaging gameplay, the game is often described as a "buggy mess," with ongoing stability concerns that detract from its enjoyment.
- “Runs great on my device - OnePlus 12 with a very fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.”
- “No glitches on Mi 10T - in mid campaign already.”
- “Drains my battery on my Galaxy S23 but still runs great, better than console, and was ported mostly perfectly.”
- “It's no secret that XCOM 2 is a very buggy game and sometimes unplayable.”
- “The game is amazing, but even years after release, this thing is a buggy mess.”
- “The game freezes every time; I guess I spent my money wrongly and am using an S21 Ultra.”
optimization
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
46%
12%
Overall, the game's optimization varies significantly across devices, with some users reporting smooth performance and impressive load times, while others experience lag, stuttering, and overheating, particularly on mid-range and entry-level phones. Many players appreciate the ability to toggle between performance and graphics settings, but there are widespread calls for further optimization, especially for lower-end devices and specific models like the Pixel 5 and Galaxy S20 FE. While some users find the game well-optimized, others highlight issues with graphics quality and performance consistency, indicating that additional patches may be needed for a smoother experience.
- “On my device (Poco F3), and with graphics set to performance, the game runs at an impressive and consistent 30 fps.”
- “As of 2023, the game is perfectly optimized; it's perfect.”
- “Great controls and very well optimized graphics.”
- “Needs more optimization on mid-range devices.”
- “Not optimized for entry-level gaming phones.”
- “Full of bugs, not optimized, not working as it should.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
48%
8%
The gameplay of the game is generally praised for its addictive mechanics, smooth performance, and engaging strategic elements, particularly for fans of the XCOM series. However, players have reported issues such as crashes, black screens upon interruption, and complex mechanics that may overwhelm newcomers. While the port retains much of the original's charm, some users noted graphical limitations and occasional gameplay glitches that detract from the overall experience.
- “Very addictive gameplay, including some fun and powerful skills if you can keep your soldiers alive long enough to acquire them.”
- “Fantastic port, the UI is way better than the XCOM 1 port, gameplay is smooth on my S21+.”
- “New faction classes and skill trees add even more variety to gameplay.”
- “Gameplay works fine enough, but minimizing or interrupting the game (e.g. by taking a call) means a black screen when you return to it, with no way to recover, and needs a restart.”
- “I run into a crash every 2-3 hours of gameplay (Samsung S22), which can be annoying.”
- “The game seems good, but for Galaxy Note 20, the screen is constantly flashing during gameplay.”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The monetization model of the game is highly praised, with users appreciating the absence of microtransactions, in-app purchases, and advertisements. Players feel they receive a complete experience for a fair price, often highlighting the value of the game and its downloadable content without any hidden fees. Overall, the game's approach to monetization sets a positive precedent for future releases.
- “Other than that, it's a great port with no microtransactions, and I hope it sets a precedent for similar ports by other publishers in the future.”
- “You will get hours of quality gaming on par with the PC, no in-app purchases, and no advertisements.”
- “Full game, all DLCs with no ads for £11... take my money .”
- “I also recommend all other feral games as they're free of in-app purchases and freemium business practices.”
- “No microtransactions!”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The music in the game receives mixed feedback; while some players praise the soundtrack, dialogue, and sound effects as excellent, others criticize the compressed sound quality and issues with music playback during gameplay, such as music disappearing during mid-fight loading. There is a desire for options to access higher quality audio.
- “Good graphics, music, sound acting, and controls.”
- “Soundtrack, dialogue, voices, and sound effects are excellent.”
- “I wish there were achievements, the gamma needs to be turned up due to very dark maps, and the sound quality of the music is very compressed.”
- “I totally understand the need to compress for such a large game, just wish there was an option to download high quality music/sfx.”
- “The music would be gone if I loaded the game mid-fight, and when preparing soldiers to fight, there would be static sound instead of music.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Players consistently highlight the game's high replayability, noting its rewarding challenges and depth, particularly due to generated missions. Despite some graphical limitations compared to console versions, the absence of ads and hidden fees enhances the overall experience, making it a worthwhile investment for repeated play.
- “Great game, not an initially easy one but very rewarding and has a lot of replayability.”
- “Although graphics can't be compared with the console version, you do get what you buy: an AAA game, no ads, no hidden fees, and long replayability.”
- “Although the graphics can't be compared with the console version, you do get what you buy: an AAA game, no ads, no hidden fees, and long replayability.”
- “The depth and challenge of XCOM combined with replayability due to generated missions makes this an easy buy for me.”
- “This game has deep replayability as well.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game excels in combining turn-based strategy with strong character development, making it particularly appealing to fans of both genres.
- “Outstanding game, especially for those who like turn-based strategy mixed with character development.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the game to be a good time killer, highlighting its humor as a standout feature that adds to the overall enjoyment during gameplay. However, there is a desire for more content and modding options to enhance the experience further.
- “The game is a good time killer and is hilarious at certain points in gameplay.”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, making every moment enjoyable.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the clever jokes and funny scenarios throughout the game.”