Timeless classic and nostalgia
Mentioned in ~2 in 5 positive reviews
“A classic. Just as relevant today as it was when it was created back in the 1990's- perhaps moreso! Replayability is through the roof.”
Steam review · 3.6 h played ↗
X-COM: Terror From the Deep
Worth buying? What 217 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 217 Steam reviews actually say.
Very Positive · 92%Very Positive · 92%MicroProse Software, Inc2007Turn-Based Strategy · Turn-Based Tactics · Strategy
−75%$4.99$1.24
US Steam price, checked 56 min ago
The verdict
A brutally hard, atmospheric underwater reskin of X-COM: UFO Defense with deep tactics and Lovecraftian dread. Skip it if you dislike punishing difficulty, clunky old UI, or research-order bugs.
Great for
Veterans of UFO Defense and masochistic tactics fans who want a dark, unforgiving challenge
Main risk
Extreme difficulty, clunky UI and no tutorial, plus research-order bugs that can make the game unwinnable
What players love
Brutal but rewarding difficulty
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“If you like unforgiving, yet rewarding games... this game is for you.”
Steam review · 34.1 h played ↗
More of UFO Defense, with new twists
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 positive reviews
“If you have Xcom UFO Defense this game is more of a DLC.”
Steam review · 17.4 h played ↗
Great with OpenXcom
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“Great game but only if you get the OpenXcom mod download.”
Steam review · 125 h played ↗
Dark Lovecraftian atmosphere and music
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“The underwater setting is claustrophobic and terrifying.”
Steam review · 0.7 h played ↗
Deep tactical and strategic depth
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 positive reviews
“the gameplay still has a huge level of depth that is lacking today”
Steam review · 8.8 h played ↗
What players complain about
Just a reskin of UFO Defense
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“So yeah, they made a palette-swapped X-COM 1”
Steam review · 15 h played ↗
Overly punishing difficulty
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“you will waste tens of hours trying to get through the first stage of the game until you learn the optimal strategy”
Steam review · 1 h played ↗
Buggy DOSBox port, poor graphics options
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“This version is very buggy and you'll likely pull out hair from the amount of times you've had a windows notice pop up”
Steam review · 43.4 h played ↗
No tutorial and clunky dated UI
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“It doesn't tell you how to build a base and it doesn't tell you what you need to build a base”
Steam review · 0.2 h played ↗
Research-order bugs can make game unwinnable
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“you MUST research the live Deep One Terrorist LAST”
Steam review · 191.3 h played ↗
Tedious huge maps and hunting last alien
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 negative reviews
“it takes a couple hours of slogging through dozens of doors and corridors to finish the TFTD maps”
Steam review · 3 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Unsupported
Steam doesn’t list requirements for this game.
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