Screenshots & trailers
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) | – | 77 | 6 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 87% | 80 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 82 | 8 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 80% | 74 | 4 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 10 reviews sampled · 9 total reviews in window · weighted 6.2 up / 1.5 down · computed 5h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (19)
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.
- 80
“Xenonauts is a faithful modernization of a classic. It retains the features that made X-COM such a tense and memorable game, with base invasions and a gigantic open-ended campaign of depth and freedom. If Firaxis' revamped take on the series felt a little too directed and linear for you, then Xenonauts is likely to delight.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Xenonauts is an unlikely success, a challenging clone of a beloved classic with enough tweaks to entice fans and newcomers alike. ”
read full review ↗ - 86
“Whether you're a fan of the old X-COM/UFO games and you were not covered by the streamlined version of Firaxis either you adored the recent XCOM: EU and you are looking for something in the same style, but with more gameplay depth, then Xenonauts must go directly to your "to-buy-list".”
read full review ↗ - 85
“With deep strategic systems, omnipresent dread, and clean turn-based combat, Xenonauts is a triumph of rebooted game design.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“It may be the closest thing to X-COM: UFO Defense we’ve seen in 20 years, but its frustrations make it tougher to recommend than it should be.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“The road to this borefest was paved by good intentions: building on a classic wasn't a bad idea, not improving on it is an opportunity sorely missed. [Issue#244]”
- 70
“Xenonauts knows exactly who its audience is, exactly what it's aiming for and, while it may never achieve a wider appeal, it will capture that audience in a very familiar act of alien abduction.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A tough turn-based strategy game with first-rate AI and well-executed level-design that suffers from a number of tiny technical issues, map repeating and a research tree that is not branched enough. If you get over its problems, in company with Xenonauts you will enjoy plenty of hardcore entertainment, however, do not be expecting strategic nirvana.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A worthy tribute to UFO: Enemy Unknown/X-COM: UFO Defense, but far from perfect. If you feel that your inner hard core gamer is not dead yet, give it a try and have fun. [Sept 2014, p.64]”
- 70
“Retro looks can only get you so far, and in the case of Xenonauts, the longer you play it, the more annoying things you discover. A primitive leveling up system (there are no classes or special abilities), contrived combat mechanics, a moth-eaten 2D engine that doesn’t know how to rotate or zoom. In the end, the strategic part becomes much more interesting than tactical battles.”
read full review ↗ - 84
“If you wish to dethrone the Eternal Emperor of computer gaming, you can't have gaping holes in your armor, and thanks to the repeating and completely flat terrains as well as some balancing issues, that's precisely what Xenonauts has. However, in many other ways this is the best UFO-game thus far and thanks to modability and an active community, we just might be witnessing the birth of a legend. [Jan 2015]”
- 70
“Xenonauts is, in the end, a remake of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown. It has this retro-feeling and an old-school complexity: enough to please those who didn't appreciate the (solid) 2K remake.”
read full review ↗
GameWatcher
GameSpot
PC Gamer
IGN
Eurogamer
CD-Action
Everyeye.it…and 7 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Launcher UpdateApr 17, 2023
- Xenonauts V1.65 Stable Released!Aug 8, 2016
- Xenonauts V1.65 Stable Released!Aug 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.65 Experimental Released!Jan 19, 2016significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.65 Experimental Released!Jan 19, 2016
- Further fixes to Mac / Linux builds!Jan 10, 2016
- Further fixes to Mac / Linux builds!Jan 10, 2016
- Mac / Linux Builds UpdatedOct 6, 2015
- Native Mac / Linux Builds!Sep 29, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.59 Released!Apr 13, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.59 Released!Apr 13, 2015
- V1.58 Rolled Back to V1.56Mar 29, 2015
- V1.58 Rolled Back to V1.56Mar 29, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.58 Released!Mar 23, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.58 Released!Mar 23, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.56 / V1.57 Stable Released!Feb 27, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.56 / V1.57 Stable Released!Feb 27, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.55 Stable Released!Feb 23, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.55 Stable Released!Feb 23, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.54 Stable Released!Feb 13, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.54 Stable Released!Feb 13, 2015
- V1.53 Hotfix Released!Feb 5, 2015
- V1.53 Hotfix Released!Feb 5, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.51 Released!Jan 31, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.51 Released!Jan 31, 2015
- Xenonauts V1.5 / Steam Workshop Released!Jan 26, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.5 / Steam Workshop Released!Jan 26, 2015significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.5 Available for Testing!Dec 12, 2014
- Xenonauts V1.5 Available for Testing!Dec 12, 2014
- "Extras" Update!Jul 31, 2014
- "Extras" Update!Jul 31, 2014
- Xenonauts V1.09 Released!Jul 23, 2014
- Xenonauts V1.09 Released!Jul 23, 2014
- V1.08 HF Reverted!Jul 18, 2014
- V1.08 HF Reverted!Jul 18, 2014
- Xenonauts V1.08HF Released!Jul 16, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.08HF Released!Jul 16, 2014significant · resets scoring window
- Xenonauts V1.07 Released!Jun 30, 2014
…and 21 earlier patch announcements.