Xenonauts 2 just hit version 1.0

Goldhawk Interactive's strategy game Xenonauts 2 just hit version 1.0 today on PC. The full release is available across Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store. This launch wraps up nearly three years of early access development.

The game is a turn-based tactical squad simulator layered under a global management system. Players lead a multinational military organization against an extraterrestrial threat. The setting is an alternate 2009 where the Cold War is still active and the Berlin Wall never fell. This geopolitical tension runs alongside the immediate problem of alien spacecraft entering the atmosphere. The governments of the world are too busy pointing nukes at each other to mount a unified defense. Your shadow organization has to handle the problem alone.

Managing the invasion

The strategic layer operates on a global map called the Geoscape.

Players build covert bases, manage radar coverage, and scramble interceptor jets to shoot down UFOs. Funding nations provide the defense budget. Money is always tight. You will inevitably have to choose between keeping your interceptor fleet flying and giving your ground troops armor that can actually stop a plasma bolt.

Research and development dictate your survival. You capture alien technology and reverse-engineer it to bridge the gap between human ballistics and extraterrestrial weapons. This means autopsying alien corpses and dismantling their navigation computers. The game simulates a living world where your decisions matter. Ignoring a region will cause panic to rise. This eventually leads to that nation pulling its funding entirely. You also have to contend with the Cleaners, a pro-alien human faction that actively sabotages your efforts.

Tanks and power armor

Ground combat is turn-based and takes place on fully destructible maps. Missions range from securing crashed UFOs to defending cities from terror attacks. You will also assault alien bases directly to disrupt their operations. Your soldiers gain rank and improve their stats if they survive.

You can deploy specialized equipment like the MARS-1 combat vehicle to break through cover. The tactical layer is highly lethal. Soldiers can die in a single turn if left out in the open.

The tech tree covers everything from basic tactical gear to heavy power armor like the Colossus Battlesuit. You can equip your squads with a mix of rifles, heavy weapons, and explosives based on the mission type.

There is a catch to all this firepower. Using heavy explosives or vehicle cannons will destroy alien artifacts and bodies. This reduces the amount of research material you can recover at the end of a mission. You have to decide if a clean kill is worth losing the salvage. Sometimes you just need to level a building to keep your squad alive, which is the nicest thing I can say about the rocket launcher.

A specific lineage

The original Xenonauts launched in 2014 as a direct mechanical successor to the 1994 classic UFO: Enemy Unknown. This sequel maintains that same hardcore lineage. The transition to a 3D engine allows for better camera control and more complex line-of-sight mechanics compared to the 2D sprites of the first game.

It does not require any knowledge of the first game to play. The alternate timeline setting provides a clean break from the original narrative. If you want a strategy game where losing a veteran sniper to a lucky alien shot is just part of the job, this will accommodate you.