XCOM 2 Collection: Switch sci-fi strategy swaps spectacle for service
In the XCOM 2 Collection, I’m saving the world with lesbians.
It’s all by chance, of course – XCOM 2’s alien-fighting soldiers are typically randomised, but in playing through Firaxis’ excellent sci-fi strategy opus, almost every character thrown my way has been a highly-skilled, heavily armed woman warrior. In my personal headcanon, they’re futuristic Amazons, and like Wonder Woman’s Themiscyran sistren, committed to more than just the cause.
That these ET-blasting heroes are brilliantly diverse is another feather in XCOM 2 Collection’s cap. In keeping with the game’s storyline of a global underground movement rising up against the seemingly benevolent alien overlords who have taken over Earth, squad members come from around the globe, rather than relying on the tired cliché of straight white American male characters. The first few members of the resistance that joined up in my playthrough included women from Germany, Ireland, South Korea, Kenya, UK, US, and the Netherlands, with a pleasing mix of ethnicities and body types. The first male character the game generated was another American – a brown-skinned, bearded man called Tariq. You love to see it.
While playable squad members are randomly generated if you just want to plough through the game, you can also customise your own soldiers, thanks to a robust creation suite. Whether personalised or left to chance though, it’s surprising how attached you’re likely to get to them. Survive a mission or two and you’ll be able to promote them, unlocking new roles in combat and making them increasingly indispensable in the field. Send the same soldiers out together enough, and you’ll be able to build bonds between them, delivering more bonuses in battle and further fostering the idea that there’s more going on between teammates (Ireland’s Jane Kelly and Netherlands’ Iris Peters are very close). Losing any one of them in battle becomes a heartfelt loss, not just because you’re left to train up a new soldier, but because you get used to relying on them.
Of course, if you’ve already encountered XCOM 2 since it first launched on PC back in 2016, much of that will be familiar. This Switch port, part of a trio of big name titles publisher 2K has brought to Nintendo’s home/handheld hybrid (along with Borderlands and BioShock) attempts to make up for its late arrival by packing in the full base game, DLC, and the War of the Chosen expansion. But it proves to be something of a trade-off.
Mechanically, it’s a near-perfect fit. Turn-based strategy games work so well on the Switch, it’s tempting to think Nintendo engineered the console specifically with the genre in mind. The portability of the console and its excellent suspend function make even longer missions playable in fits and starts, and XCOM 2 joins the likes of Mario + Rabbids, Fire Emblem, and the Disgaea series in feeling tailor-made for the platform. As battles become increasingly complex, escalating from simple shoot-outs to complex tactical mind-games where you have to account for a host of alien abilities and extravagant tech, the ability to take a break and instantly resume is a welcome one.
The structure of the encounters is a nice evolution from the 2012 XCOM reboot. With the XCOM organization reduced to effectively a guerrilla movement in the wake of the previous game’s events, there’s more emphasis on stealth. Most missions will start with you cloaked in shadow, and you’re encouraged to out-flank and out-maneuver enemies, rather than run in guns blazing. More than ever, this is a thinking player’s game. You’ll need to think on your feet, as most missions have a countdown of playable turns to complete your objective in. It’s another layer of stress, but a strangely welcome one, ratcheting up the tension of even turn-based combat.
However, picking up the XCOM 2 Collection for Nintendo’s portable wonder does mean making the ‘Switch Sacrifice’ – compromising on performance for better accessibility. In short, the lower power of the Switch means speed and presentation take a beating. The port, handled by Virtuos Games, suffers some shockingly low frame rates at times, while visual acuity drops right down. Even then, it’s not uncommon to encounter significant pixelation in backgrounds (note the sky whenever XCOM’s mobile base of operations, the Avenger, takes off), major clipping, or characters briefly disappearing into objects.
Despite these setbacks, it’s a far more stable experience on Switch than the messy, buggy PS4 and Xbox One ports that followed the original PC release back in 2016. Surprisingly, matters are actually slightly improved when playing in handheld mode, rather than docked – clipping in particular is less noticeable, perhaps a result of the screen maxing out at 720p rather than full HD.
Part of the selling point here is that the collection contains the main XCOM 2 experience and the War of the Chosen version – which adds in new playable factions, new environments, and powerful distinct enemies; the eponymous Chosen. However, it’s hard not to wonder if less would have been more. Could only including the more fully-featured War of the Chosen have freed things up for higher resolutions or better performance? A moot question, perhaps – regardless of the sacrifices necessary, it’s a remarkable achievement that a game as complex and demanding as XCOM 2 exists on Switch at all.
If you’re comfortable with the aesthetic and performance reductions, this is another great entry in the platforms strategy gaming library. If portability isn’t a priority though, the PC version remains the best option.
The Verdict: 3.5/5
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