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I've been hooked on XCom 2 for a while now. Especially since I started playing Long War of the Chosen (LWOTC). I'm trying to find a game that's similar. Ideally based in a fantasy (e.g. Dungeons and Dragons) setting. That's probably asking for a lot though, just looking for something that's as good as LWOTC.

To give some idea as to why I like LWOTC so much:

Base building. New buildings that give bonuses and the ability to upgrade existing buildings.

A tactical element, with soldiers that gain experience and abilities over time. One great thing about LWOTC is the various different classes that bring something different to the fight. Shinobis, Sharpshooters, Technicals etc...

The ability to research, and having a choice of research. At least a choice of what to research first.


I could write a lot more about why I like LWOTC so much, that's a general idea though.


Some games which I have considered:

Fort Triumph. This game is probably the closest to what I'm looking for of the games I've played. However it's fun for a while, but limited. It's fun for a while but its scope isn't that big.

Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden. I haven't played this game but it looks more or less like what I'm looking for. I'm not sure if the research / base building aspect is there though.

Warhammer 40,000 Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters. This looks promising too, though I haven't seen a big enough sale on Steam yet to justify picking it up. Also as we know GW don't exactly do strict quality control when it comes to slapping their IP on a game.

Other than those three I'm at a bit of a loss. There are plenty of articles on the internet that promote games like XCom 2, none have really jumped out at me as the one to go for though.


Maybe I'm looking for a needle in a haystack. If anyone has suggestions on a game I'd love to hear them.

Wasteland 3; X-com actually derive from the combat mech from Wasteland 2 and 3; its a fun rpg.

El Torro wrote:
Warhammer 40,000 Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters. This looks promising too, though I haven't seen a big enough sale on Steam yet to justify picking it up. Also as we know GW don't exactly do strict quality control when it comes to slapping their IP on a game.

Chaos Gate: Daemonhunters is a solid game. Not perfect, but if you are looking for an X-com-ish fix, it satisfied that itch for me.

Pretty damn challenging at times, but never impossible unless you did something foolish. My only complaint is that for the majority of missions, its only 4 Knights. But there is a decent enough difference between classes that its fresh every time you do a mission.

Edit: Just talking about this game has got me wanting to boot it back up and get my max level Thunderhammer/Stormshield Paladin back to smashing Death Guard.

So one thing you could look at are traditional turnbased strategy games. These would give you fantasy, base building, city expansion and all.
They can be a little less focused on each warrior being a hero, but they all feature at least leader-units that level up and gain experience and gear and such.
Plus for most keeping your regular troops alive is good as they do level up.


Dominions 5. rather retro graphics but lots of building and magical options and races). Possibly the deepest in terms of races, items, spells and soforth, but the most retro in all features. Still being updated and there's likely a 6th in the works

Disciples 2 - old now, but very solid and fun gameplay. The 2nd game is turnbased fighting more like final fantasy than movement around a terrain table; the 3rd game adds that feature, though its a little basic compared to XCom.

The "Age of Wonders" series of games. The earlier ones are older games but with a solid gameplay model, AoW 3 is the newest and there's a 4th being made right now.

Fallen Enchantress (had a very rough start but its polished up well into a solid game)

Endless Legends - which is arguably the most beautiful of them all in terms of the artistic direction they went with. (I am really hoping once they are done with Humankind, we get an Endless Legends 2)

I'm very interested in seeing the other options to Xcom 2: long war of the chosen myself. I just beat a game on commander difficulty on ironman mode for it and it was fairly tough but i managed it.

Currently i'm playing DoW: Soulstorm and wondering what i'll do now that i've beaten the xcom 2 lwotc mod. It's almost a "but at what cost" victory. I've beaten the game but now what do i play?

I haven't played Mutant Year Zero but heard it's really good. I liked Gears Tactics until chapter 3 when it became a slog of the same side missions over and over again.

Anyway i'd love to hear some good other choices.

I think you might enjoy Mechanicus. It doesn’t feature a base building component, but it’s character customization is vast and the gameplay definitely feels good, if slightly clunky to control.

Phoenix Point is a very similar game, I believe it's by the original developer of XCom.

Crispy78 wrote:
Phoenix Point is a very similar game, I believe it's by the original developer of XCom.

Yeah this. It’s incredibly similar to X-com. I was about to recommend it.

Wartales. Fantasy mercenary game where base building is your camp.

Battle brothers. Similar to Wartales but no base building.

I’d suggest just checking the trailers on steam and see if any of these click with you.

Edit: oh and of course I’ll throw in a suggestion for X-com enemy unknown and the original X-com from 1994. I think it’s pretty cheap on steam. Though the recommendation feels a bit redundant haha.

 Overread wrote:


The "Age of Wonders" series of games. The earlier ones are older games but with a solid gameplay model, AoW 3 is the newest and there's a 4th being made right now.

4 is done (base game, anyway). Release is next week.

If you're going retro, then the other UFO series (Aftermath, Aftershock, Afterlight) is well worth a look-see. I sunk a good deal of time into those. They are theoretically real time, but have a prominent pause function to allow you to stop and set orders for your dudes, and its clear on what order actions will be completed in.

Thanks for the suggestions, some of which I've played. Just to comment on some:

Wasteland 3 - I played Wasteland 2 a few years ago but didn't really get into it. Part 3 does seem superior though (if you ignore the bugs) and even has a base building element, so am now seriously considering that.

I'm no stranger to 4X games, having played them since the first Civilization (Civ 6 pretty much killed that franchise for me though). I have installed, played a bit then uninstalled, Endless Legend various times. Not sure why I can't get into it, might be the interface that puts me off. Another game I'm eternally addicted to (as well as LWOTC) is Stellaris. Real time with pause just seems a better fit for 4X games these days, at least for me. I'll have a look at the other games mentioned though.

I've played a lot of the XCom games, and I mean a lot. Ever since the release of Enemy Unknown / UFO Defence. Some are better than others but XCom 2 is arguably the best of the bunch.

I have played Mechanicus for a few hours. Another game I didn't really get into. I think it was the aesthetics more than anything else.

Phantom Doctrine is the game I'd most compare with XCom 2, though I don't think it's what you're looking for. It's a Cold War "stale beer and cigarettes" conspiracy game with tactical missions that are a lot like XCom 2's (but using shooting mechanics similar to those of the new Chaos Gate), except that it's completely possible to complete the majority of your missions without getting into a firefight if you're careful (XCom 2 has secret mechanics that make it very difficult to not get caught on sneaky type missions).

But it's real world, so it doesn't sound like something you're interested in. Well, aside from the ability to capture enemy agents, brainwash them into working for you, and turn them into super agents via experimental drug regimens...