When comparing XCOM 2 vs Total War: Warhammer, the Slant community recommends XCOM 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” XCOM 2 is ranked 25th while Total War: Warhammer is ranked 140th. The most important reason people chose XCOM 2 is:
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.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
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.
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.
Pro Excellent suspense
Throughout the campaign you'll always be running against the clock. You have a limited window of time to save humanity before the aliens take over completely. Successful missions only set them back slightly. Unsuccessful missions set you back significantly. It always feels like you're in an uphill struggle and failing means the end. It always feels like you're not gaining an advantage and the aliens have something else in store. This is reinforced in the missions. You never know what type of aliens there will be or what their reinforcements will bring. Encountering new species makes you fear for the well-being of your squad. It's rare for a game to keep you feeling like this.
Pro Gives players the ability to customize their generals and heroes
TW:W gives players the chance to customize the abilities of their chosen legendary lord, generals and even heroes through a detailed skill tree. Skills vary from individual character skills usable in battles (such as spells) to passive skills which influence army movement in the campaign map.
Pro Great setting
Being based around the Warhammer tabletop fantasy world allows for an in depth game with tons lore behind it. Fighting off vampires and zombies are just some of the things to be found in the game.
Pro Tons of replayability
Thanks to the different factions available in the game, the player has a lot of choice as to how they would like to play, which gives a lot of replayability. There are five different campaigns available (four in the game and one as DLC) that each has its own faction to control and set story, which will take quite a bit of time to each be experience to their complete endings.
Cons
Con Demanding on hardware
Will not run on low-end graphics cards like the GeForce GT 740M or the HD Graphics 4600 / 5600.
Con Complaints about the new launcher
Sadly the Steam rating has dropped because of the new launcher, problems can be solved however: XCOM 2 How to Bypass the 2k Launcher without External Files or Configuration Guide.
Con Steep learning curve
XCOM 2 is not just about managing a squad of soldiers, you also have to manage your base and operations on a global scale. This includes managing your resources, identifying which missions you should prioritize, and allocating research for new technologies. It might take a while to learn everything needed to fully enjoy this game, especially on higher difficulties.
Con Only four factions are available in the base game
There are only four factions are available without DLCs (The Empire, Vampire Counts, Greenskins and Dwarfes). Other playable races and factions are currently being released periodically as DLCs.
Con Maps can feel constrained
Due to the compartmentalizing of factions and which land they can take over means that the games maps can feel smaller than they appear since only certain sections can be played on.