XCOM style tactical RPG in aliens universe but real time with tactical pausing. RTS nature is handled by a novel system that moves the entire squad as one. Set pieces and atmosphere are amazing, and a good balance is struck between spooky aliens that are deadly when you rush in or make a mistake, but also giving you the option to fight back very effectively. The difference between getting utterly molested in a dark corner and completing an entire mission in one run is completely up to player skill, which I think is a symptom of a well-designed and balanced tactical RPG. I genuinely don't understand how people are failing due to the "doomsday clock" (although honestly I do agree its implementation had no use whatsoever). However, the story is lame, and both tech tree and weapon upgrades are linear and shallow. Also, some un-skippable cutscenes in-mission which annoyingly reorient and rotate the camera. The tutorial is also super long and utterly irrelevant. If the focus is not on the story, it needs to be easy to get out of the way.
That being said, these shortfalls are mitigated noticeably by the core gameplay loop being very satisfying and novel. However, the issue is this: a tactical RPG that relies on a core set of slick mechanics needs to be extremely precise and give you perfect control over those mechanics. Otherwise, the inherent challenge/difficulty of tactics can become frustrating and unfair.
For example, the real time control scheme is genuinely very interesting and usually efficient, but not being able to change what order your men go through a door or who is where in a line-up is very disruptive when timing and positioning is important, i.e. snipers and lines of sight. This is compounded by the extremely tight and close-quarters maps you are put in, which are otherwise well-designed and adds to the atmosphere and requirement for fore-planning. Later on, as the game puts you in harder and harder situations with more and more aliens in tighter and tighter gunfights. Acid damage from killing nearby aliens, another feature, becomes frankly quite obnoxious at this point.
The game started off at a solid 4 or even 4.5, as I don't think a story is super important for this type of game (look at XCOM). However, the flaws described really undermine what IS important for this genre of game, and they get worse as the game gets harder (by its own rules), which is a bad sign. I'd be very eager to see more experimentation with the format, though.
That being said, these shortfalls are mitigated noticeably by the core gameplay loop being very satisfying and novel. However, the issue is this: a tactical RPG that relies on a core set of slick mechanics needs to be extremely precise and give you perfect control over those mechanics. Otherwise, the inherent challenge/difficulty of tactics can become frustrating and unfair.
For example, the real time control scheme is genuinely very interesting and usually efficient, but not being able to change what order your men go through a door or who is where in a line-up is very disruptive when timing and positioning is important, i.e. snipers and lines of sight. This is compounded by the extremely tight and close-quarters maps you are put in, which are otherwise well-designed and adds to the atmosphere and requirement for fore-planning. Later on, as the game puts you in harder and harder situations with more and more aliens in tighter and tighter gunfights. Acid damage from killing nearby aliens, another feature, becomes frankly quite obnoxious at this point.
The game started off at a solid 4 or even 4.5, as I don't think a story is super important for this type of game (look at XCOM). However, the flaws described really undermine what IS important for this genre of game, and they get worse as the game gets harder (by its own rules), which is a bad sign. I'd be very eager to see more experimentation with the format, though.