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What are the best turn-based, tactical shooters on PC?

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XCOM: Enemy Unknown vs Invisible, Inc vs XCOM 2

Specs

Platforms

Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, XBox, Playstation

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

-

Available on Steam

-

Platforms

PlayStation 4, Windows, iOS, Linux, macOS

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Turn-Based Tactics, Stealth, Roguelike

Available on Steam

-

Platforms

Windows, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Android

Steam Rating

Very Positive

Genre

Turn-based Tactical RPG

Available on Steam

Yes

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Assortment of add-on content available 

There are quite a few add-ons available for XCOM, including the Enemy Within expansion pack.
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Pro
 Effective resource management mechanics 

Resource management feels like a juggling act, in the best way possible. Users have to make hard decisions on what options to give priority to, as they all will effect gameplay in some manner.
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Pro
 Death is permanent 

Death is very permanent in XCOM, meaning if a player looses a high level player mid game that they may have a pretty tough time advancing past that point.
Comment

Con
 Proper choices not obvious until after the fact 

Choices that effect the game are not obvious when they are happening and once realized is too late.
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Pro
 Excellent difficulty progression

As you take longer time during missions, the general difficulty level increases gradually. Time and mission profits must be balanced wisely.
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Con
 Very static story

While the gameplay is randomized and meant to be played repeatedly due to the randomization, the story is still static, so after every mission there will be cut scenes that are always the same. After a while this becomes annoying due to familiarity, while they can be skipped, it would be nice to turn them off completely in order to save time.
Comment

Pro
 It's fun to upgrade and manage your squad

As you progress through the game you can train and promote your soldiers to make them more effective in combat, unlock new abilities and upgrade their weapons armor. The interesting part of it is if a member gets injured (which is really easy to happen on the harder difficulties) they are not available for the following missions until they heal. So if you only upgrade one solider and he/she gets injured, you're in a really tough spot. The weapons, abilities, items and armor you can unlock are varied and interesting enough to make it really fun to progress through the game and build a custom squad based around how you like to go about your missions.
Comment

Pro
 Makes you feel more for your characters than most character driven games

One of the more fun parts about this game is managing your squad. You can customize the looks, voices, and even names of your soldiers. As you take your soldiers on missions you'll get attached to them. This will create a lot of tense moments when your soldiers are about to die and you desperately try to save them. If you decide to input the names of your friends or family, multiply the tension by ten.
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Pro
 It's fun to manage your squad

One of the main aspects of XCOM 2 is preparing your squad for each mission. You need to consider the terrain, objective, and enemy types. Based on these you'll select the appropriate soldiers, weapons, and gadgets. A lot of the missions have some leeway, so you'll be able to form a squad that fits your playstyle. It can either be a group of stealthy rangers, running in with machetes to surprise the enemy. Or it can be a group sharpshooters, allowing you to systematically clear the area from afar with sniper rifles. After each successful mission/kill your soldiers will earn experience. With enough experience you'll be able to promote them and earn learn new skills. You can also research new weapons and build them. A lot of it comes down to looting alien technology and reverse engineering it back at the base. All these things add up and it's really exciting watching your soldiers grow into unstoppable killing machines.
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Pro
 Excellent suspense

You're always against the clock in one way or another. Globally your enemies are moving forward with their plans and unless you actively work towards countering them, they will win. You'll be short on cash, manpower, and will have to work with inferior tech. On the field most missions have turn limits forcing you to act aggressively. This scrambling for resources, making with what you can, racing against the clock creates great suspense that makes it all the more satisfying to win an important mission.
Comment

Con
 Performance could be better

Even when using well above the recommended hardware the game does show some performance issues as it is difficult to hold 60fps. While not the biggest problem thanks to this being a turn based game it would have been nice to see better performance and a constant 60fps when using what the developers recommended for best performance.
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