Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (273 positive / 27 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing7% mention it
- Difficulty & balance6% mention it
- Combat4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Bugs & crashes22% mention it
- Controls & UI11% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
65%
20 reviews
5-15h
98%
44 reviews
15-40h
84%
69 reviews
40-100h
97%
73 reviews
100h+
94%
94 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 89 | 6 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 91 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 93% | 88 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 86 | 38 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 91% | 86 | 53 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 150 reviews sampled · 120 total reviews in window · weighted 110.8 up / 10.4 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (55)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 90
“Many hours spent with XCOM: Enemy Unknown turned out to be breathtaking. The atmosphere is unforgiving, but the immensely satisfying gameplay convinced me, that Firaxis Games are true masters of their craft. This is an XCOM game that should bring new fans to an almost dead genre. This game is a truly engrossing strategy and one of the contenders for the game of the year title.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The fact remains that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is an exemplary turn-based strategy game. Firaxis has deftly blended management, tactics and the sort of gut-level, throaty encounters usually reserved for fast-paced action games.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“As long as you enjoy action, sci-fi and a rich amalgam of gaming styles, there's loads to enjoy right here.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The developers of Firaxis did a great job of transfering the old PC-game into the year 2012. The view and the optics are not high-end but they are prefect for this genre, while the speakers, the loading-times and the multiplayer-mode are weak points. The gameplay is deep and tactical and the good old XCOM-setting is omnipresent. XCOM: Enemy Unknown makes round-based strategy socially acceptable again.”
read full review ↗ - 95
“From its tough yet fair challenge to the way that all of the systems interconnect, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is an absolutely fantastic game and somehow balances what could have easily been an overwhelming palette of gameplay elements into one ridiculously engaging package.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Re-imagining? Remake? Whatever it is, XCOM brings back and revitalises a classic...This game is a winner.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“A wonderful and worthy strategy game with a layer of campy charm that makes the stone-faced seriousness of the game's characters all the more endearing. It's also remarkably accessible, thanks to a great interface that feels comfortable whether you're using a keyboard and mouse or have a controller in your hand.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Though the strategic side suffers, this XCOM remake still offers a worthy tactical experience.”
read full review ↗ - 87
“Brutal, beautiful, emotion-wringing turn-based storytelling muffled by flat base design.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“I look fondly at XCOM: Enemy Unknown. It's the kind of game that gives me a glimpse at what games should be. It's a $50 title that has already burned 20 hours of my life, and refuses to be satisfied with that much. ”
read full review ↗ - 100
“I don't want to leave you with the impression that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is anything less than an amazing, triumphant game right down to its core. It's XCOM's Batman Begins, in effect -- it does a magnificent job of rebooting the series with its soul intact, delivering an awesome modern experience and paving the way for a future that doesn't just recreate the tense tactical battles and global strategy of the 18-year-old original, but builds on them.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Enter the story of the fierce war between humans and aliens! XCOM is back in full force, though it's not the same game as its predecessor. [Nov 2012]”
GRYOnline.pl
GameWatcher
Worth Playing
Eurogamer
GameSpot
PC Gamer
DarkZero…and 43 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- XCOM: Enemy Within Update 02/25/2014Feb 26, 2014
- XCOM: Enemy Within Update 02/25/2014Feb 26, 2014