XCOM® 2

I've ran 5 seperate campaigns on this game. 3 of them to the end. Just now I finished the 3rd full run on a higher difficulty (and it was the first time without war of the chosen DLC) Just buy it dude. Don't even wait for a special. If you have ever enjoyed any strat game ever or tactical shooter, this is the defacto big boi. Hell even if you only liked sims I'd recommend this. I get there are a few more modern entries in the genre but this one and it's predecesor (XCOM) both set a benchmark that has stood a test of time. It's like skyrim. Every now and then you'll find yourself standing in the hallway yearning to install it and launch a new campaign. Just honestly its a great game. Without the DLC it's actually perfectly tuned. With the chosen DLC it can feel a bit "much" as there is a lot going on, but even then the DLC adds a ton of further atmosphere and intrigue to the world and campaign. In the end I missed the additions of the DLC as it tends to add a layer of difficulty which I needed once I hit lategame with two fully kitted out teams and a fistfull of psi operatives. So for new kids I'd recomend doing a non-DLC campaign first, and once you've done that and yearn for a bigger fight just flip the DLC switch and go again. It adds so much it'll feel like a different game and it'll challenge you in a good way. My only gripe is the mission timers. XCOM 1 doesn't have those (which honestly fits the tone well. I mean you did just shoot a UFO out of the sky... So why would the shadowy gov organization feel rushed to pick the crash apart). But the timers in XCOM 2 can be brutal. 8 Turns to hack something on the other side of the map while I fight my way through an andromedon AND a gatekeeper just because some of my dudes have plasma rifles? That is a hellish experience. Borderline traumatic I can feel my cortisol spiking just remembering it. I get this fits the atmosphere of an outgunned guerilla force fighting desperately to save the world. But F*ck me was that a desperate fight that we ONLY survived by save-spamming. The only fix is to just add 2 turns to the timer calculation and remove the requirement to kill "all" the aliens. That would have been atmospherically perfect if I could sneak my team into the room, hack the terminal, and extract without being detected. In my next playthrough I'll be playing with mods. But again... The game is so awesome that it's only shortcoming is a matter of taste and fixable with mods. This is easily a 9 out of 10 game if not a 10/10. Just buy it you fool.