If you want the closest match to XCOM 2’s mix of squad battles and campaign management, start with Phoenix Point for an alien-threat campaign or Jagged Alliance 3 for mercenary operations on an open map. Choose Wasteland 3 if you want tactical squad combat wrapped in a story-led RPG. They share turn-based combat, but their combat decisions and campaign priorities are different.
What makes a game feel like XCOM?
XCOM 2 is the reference point: Firaxis Games developed it, and 2K published it. Its campaign centers on rebuilding XCOM under alien rule and leading a global resistance, pairing turn-based squad tactics with a strategic resistance layer. It was released on February 4, 2016, according to its Steam store page.
For other games, the useful comparison is not just whether battles are turn-based. Ask what choices you make during a fight, how much the campaign map and its pressures matter, and whether the story or operational layer drives the experience.
How the three alternatives compare
| Game | What you decide in combat | What drives the campaign | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jagged Alliance 3 | Spend action points, manage weapons and positioning, and account for jams, penetrating bullets, destructible buildings, and persistent wounds. | Control territory, train militia, command multiple squads, and explore the map at your own pace. | Players who want granular mercenary combat and a more open operational campaign. |
| Wasteland 3 | Fight challenging tactical turn-based battles with a customizable squad of up to six Rangers. | Make difficult choices within a deep, reactive RPG story. | Players who want narrative and RPG decisions as well as squad tactics. |
| Phoenix Point | Face tactical encounters whose difficulty can change with enemy capabilities. | Manage resources and recruits while responding to Pandoran evolution and attacks; difficulty affects these strategic pressures too. | Players who want an alien-threat strategy campaign and interconnected tactical and strategic pressure. |
Jagged Alliance 3: action points and a flexible map
The official Jagged Alliance 3 site describes an action-point combat system with weapon jams, penetrating bullets, destructible buildings, and wounds that do not immediately heal. Beyond individual fights, you can control territory, train militia, command more than one squad, and explore the campaign map at your own pace. Mercenaries have distinct personalities and may react to relationships within the squad; the campaign also supports online co-op.
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#1 Best Overall
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Those features make it a strong pick if you want to manage a group of specialists across an operational map. Its focus is mercenary operations, not a replica of XCOM’s resistance campaign.
Wasteland 3: tactical battles inside a reactive RPG
Developer inXile describes Wasteland 3 as a squad-based RPG with challenging tactical turn-based combat and a deep, reactive story. Its official page highlights difficult choices and customization for a squad of up to six Rangers. That combination suits players who want character and story decisions to sit alongside battles; it is less closely aligned with XCOM’s campaign structure.
Rank #2
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Phoenix Point: alien threats and strategic pressure
Phoenix Point is the option to consider if you want to pair alien-threat tactics with a campaign whose difficulty reaches beyond the battlefield. The community-maintained Mentaculus guide says difficulty affects starting resources, recruiting and progression, enemy capabilities, Pandoran evolution, and attack frequency. This creates pressure across both tactical encounters and campaign planning.
How difficulty changes the choice
There is no reliable apples-to-apples basis here for calling one of these games “the hardest.” The available specific difficulty guidance concerns Phoenix Point, and it comes from a community guide rather than current official developer documentation. The guide suggests that experienced tactics players new to the game consider Veteran, while warning that the difficulty curve rises over time. It also notes that some of its material may be outdated.
Rank #3
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The practical distinction is that Phoenix Point difficulty is described as changing strategic inputs as well as enemy strength: resources, recruitment, evolution, and attack pressure all matter. Comparable, sourced difficulty breakdowns for Jagged Alliance 3 and Wasteland 3 are not established here, so choose between them by their combat and campaign design rather than an unsupported difficulty ranking.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How long is Jagged Alliance 3?
The only comparable campaign-time estimates established here are for Jagged Alliance 3. IsThereAnyDeal relays HowLongToBeat community estimates; they are aggregated player reports, not publisher promises or fixed completion times.
Rank #4
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| Play style | Estimated time |
|---|---|
| Main story | 41 hours |
| Main story plus side content | 63 hours |
| Completionist | 88 hours |
| All styles | 60 hours |
These figures were accessed via IsThereAnyDeal in 2026. The all-styles figure is an aggregate across play styles, not an additional campaign mode. No reliably sourced, comparable runtime set was established for all three games, so these numbers do not support ranking the shortlist by exact hours.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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Which game should you choose?
- Choose Phoenix Point if you want an alien-threat strategy campaign where difficulty can affect both battles and strategic pressure.
- Choose Jagged Alliance 3 if you prefer mercenaries, action-point combat, territory control, and an open campaign map.
- Choose Wasteland 3 if you want tactical squad fights integrated with a reactive story and RPG choices.
