PC REVIEW | Xenopurge

I wouldn’t say I’m the best at strategy-style games… actually, I would say I’m not very good at them at all, but sometimes one will come along that will spark my interest and leave me wanting more. Xenopurge is one of those games, and with its retro aesthetic and easy-to-learn/difficult-to-master control scheme, I found myself facing my tactical nightmares with a little more bravery than normal, which, for a horror game fan like myself, is no mean feat, let me tell you.

I actually tried to review Xenopurge previously when it was in early access, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it properly until the game came out of early access, and I am so glad that I waited. There were more surprises and fun waiting just around that proverbial corner, and I get the impression that Xenopurge might just become a franchise game somewhere down the line.

Ok, so let’s get into a little bit about the premise of the game. You are part of an elite team that is battling an alien threat that is trying to end life as we know it. The developers themselves describe you “as part of M.A.C.E. (Mercer’s Advanced Combat Enterprises), your mission is clear: purge all these aliens to keep humanity safe.” You don’t take part in the battles directly, but instead you are in charge of deploying troops and setting them on their way. Think football manager but with more guns, gore and way more balls. Now let’s take a look into the dark corridors and see what carnage awaits us.

Things I liked!

• Gameplay | The gameplay for Xenopurge is deceptively simple: you place your troops where you need them, set the commands and let them get on with all the hard work while you sit back and enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Oh, if only it were that easy. You get to start off on easy street, but as you progress, you can up the difficulty, and that is where the fun really starts. Have you placed your troops in the optimum place? Have you upgraded the correct things in order to complete your mission? Will the aliens find the person you are escorting and box you in? There are so many scenarios to contend with. The simplicity of Xenopurge will lull you into a false sense of security, but be warned: it’s not as easy as you might think. I actually spent the first few games thinking that I could probably just rush my way through the levels, but as time went on, I found myself trying desperately to place my troops in a way where everyone would live all the time. But such is life in the battle against the Xeno menace.
  

• Graphics | Xenopurge looks cool, in an eighties arcade/tactical movie scene kind of way. It kind of feels like both those things at the same time; you have the multiple-screen first-person view, which makes you feel like you are sitting in the control room in an alien-infested colony on LV-246 (you know which movie I mean), and on the actual control screen where you place your troops, it looks like a classic arcade strategy game from the same era. It just has a really cool vibe going for it, which it provides with gusto. Now while I know this style might not be for everyone, I actually feel like the aesthetic works exceptionally well for this kind of game. You aren’t going to want to be looking at detailed imagery of your team massacring aliens or, in turn, getting their giblets removed; you want to stay as emotionally distant as you can, and the graphical style of the game gives you a sense of that need for detachment, which I think was actually a really clever move on the developers’ part. could you have played this game with hyper realistic imagary? sure but it just wouldn’t have worked the same.
  
  
• Soundscape | Xenopurge has a wonderful 80’s vibe going for it; the keyboards clatter, and the microphone noise from the troops as they report back and forth to you and their fellow units just feels gritty as hell, and I am here for it. You can feel what is going on through the soundscape the developers have created, and even with a minimalistic viewpoint on your screen, you can tell that your troops are fighting for their lives against the Xenos. The screams of terror are a testament to that. The music in the game is really good as well, with some nice synthwave going on, and if you are a fan of 70s and 80s sci-fi, you are going to love it.
  
  
• Story | Xenopurge has a simple tale of humanity vs an alien threat which has been told a thousand times before, so why does it work so well? Well, in my eyes, it’s because it is such a familiar tale to us that we can accept it and move straight into what we need to do, and this, to me, is basically how it would feel for your character in-game. You have been programmed to know what is happening; you know what you need to do, and you don’t question it. Save humanity or die – it is that simple. In the lore-heavy era of games, it is actually refreshing to be able to play a game like this where you can just let yourself be the commander of this team; you don’t need to worry about the morality or the lore; you just have to direct your team as best you can and keep as many people alive as possible. So while yes, the story is lacking to some people, I personally think that it feels much better as it is.
  

Mixed & disliked!

• Length | At the moment Xenopurge has enough content to make it interesting for a while, but it needs more. It is the kind of game I could see having an amazing community, especially with mods and the ability to create your own scenarios. I know the developers have a clear roadmap written for how the game will progress, so I am looking forward to seeing what they will do to keep people coming back for more. With regular updates and community engagement, there’s a real potential for Xenopurge to evolve into a vibrant hub where players can share their creations and experiences. As the game grows, it will be exciting to witness how the developers incorporate player feedback to enhance gameplay and expand the universe further.
  

How long did I play the review before publishing? 10 Hours
How long to beat the story? 60 mins per playthrough
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 45/150
How long to get everything | 40 hours
You’ll love this game if you like these | 1.1.2 operator, Football Manager, Aliens Dark Descent

CONCLUSION

Score: 81/100

Will you purge the scourge of the xenos, or are you going to let humanity become tomorrow’s leftover turkey dinner? Xenopurge is a lot of fun to play and a game that, in all honesty, I probably would have skipped over had it not been given to me to review, and I am seriously glad it was. Is it a perfect game? No, but it has the potential to grow beyond the scope of itself and become a huge hit in the strategy gaming circles, if not beyond. My only peeve is the longevity of the game, and I know that this is just a small nitpick, but with procedurally generated levels and if the developers allow community modding, I think this game could be even bigger. So my opinion is give Xenopurge the chance it deserves and keep those troops alive.