XCOM: Chimera Squad
I don’t care how many detractors there are of XCOM: Chimera Squad, but I’ll always be here, defending it. Ready to die on a hill nobody cares to even attempt to take! In fact, XCOM: Chimera Squad came and went from the public discourse like a whisper in the wind. Still, despite all adversities, as the champion of Chimera Squad, I want you all to give this one a go! It’s a distilled version of XCOM, with faster-paced combat, a linear narrative instead of the open-ended dynamic campaign, and almost no squad management, making it a perfect fit for those who have grown tired of dealing with all the extra elements of XCOM but still want to continue enjoying the combat. The breach mechanic, where the player can designate targets and actions, is a lot of fun, and some of the missions can be quite action-packed, and things can get frantic very fast. The game often goes on sale for pennies on the dollar, so you’ll be losing almost nothing to try it. Ignore the naysayers and give it a go; I’m sure you won’t regret it.
World of Horror
I have never been one to enjoy horror games a whole lot, maybe one here and there, always in a social setting where my friends and I might laugh at one another, but I’m the furthest thing from a horror buff. At least in video game format, I love reading horror books! How does one’s brain react to having a horror game, which technically I shouldn’t enjoy, in one of my favorite genres? Well, the final result is… interesting! I’m not going to tell you that this is such an excellent gem waiting to be found and played, but I’ll say that if you’re looking for an out-of-the-box experience, you shouldn’t discount World of Horror.
It’s a very eclectic mix of exploration, text-based RPG, horror, and turn-based combat that works surprisingly well, mainly because of its 1-bit, Uzumaki-inspired art style that’s doing a hell of a lot of its heavy lifting and carrying the game through. I would add to the discussion that after you play the game’s stories a couple of times, the game really stops being mysterious and scary and loses most of its charm, but I suppose that’s the curse of the horror genre.
Panzer Corps Gold
If you’re not a wargamer, chances are you look at Panzer Corps and think “oh, it’s one of those hex-based games for people that know the difference between a tank that has slightly wider tracks than another, and I don’t, so what’s the point?”. The point is the fact that Panzer Corps is the perfect bridge between the hardcore wargames in the vein of War in the East 2, and the traditional Company of Heroes style of World War 2 RTS. The game’s rules are straightforward to learn, as it plays like a traditional TBS title, with units moving and attacking, and no hidden mechanics.
The complexity comes from mastering how combined-arms operations are the key to pulling out a victory in a hard situation. The game is always incredibly cheap; the game’s Gold Edition offers an absurd amount of content, with the Grand Campaign letting players carry a persistent force across interconnected scenarios from 1939 to 1945, essentially playing the entirety of the conflict. There are no hidden supply mechanics, no complicated army organization to deal with, or any sort of weird, convoluted mechanics most wargames tend to engage. It’s simple, straightforward action. The perfect entry for a wargamer in the making!
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