XenoShyft

Whooof tah. Normally I don't write bad reviews for games but this one deserved it. Starting with needing to make an account to play online is the first red flag. Made one and still couldn't play. Tried the tutorial and that attempts to steer you in the right direction but I couldn't follow it. I tried to refund the game but I had it for too long and now I'm stuck with it. There is a game somewhere inside of this, but it feels like they did everything in their power to prevent you from playing it.

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Honestly this game would benefit from being able to play as the Hive instead of just the Humans. I can see the issues people have, it certainly needs a UI update, but the longer I play, the more entertaining it becomes. The DLCs certainly make a difference, and playing without them is a genuine challenge.

As a single player experience, this game is excellent. The card game mechanics are very well designed and balanced, and the art and music give it a cool Starship Troopers vibe. You can set up a skirmish with one division that can be finished in less than 45 minutes, or an epic battle with four divisions that could take several hours to complete. This is one of those games where mastery of the various mechanics and the ability to do simple arithmetic in your head makes a big difference: "Is there any way I can scrape together enough damage points to destroy this enemy before it attacks and kills my base? Let's see ... if I use a grenade for three points ... plus a special attack from my storm troopers for two points ... plus an artillery strike for another four points ... YES!!!" The game is filled with interesting and meaningful decisions both in the deckbuilding/planning phase and in the combat phase. I managed to beat it with all eight divisions, and while some of them are a little stronger than others, they are all viable if you learn how to play them effectively. I can't speak for the multiplayer (heard that it's broken, don't really care) but don't let that put you off from …

Trash game not recommended for buying

Science Lab, that's all you need. The other division helpless on its own, they need support division to win the run. Text is hard to read, there's not many card in the game...so it's okay to read with small eye and memorize it for later run.