Comparison to xcom2

Comparison to XCOM2

tl/dr summary: CKF has more plot variety and character build variety. Base building is similar. XCOM2 has a much higher graphics/animation budget. At a very abstract level, tactical combat is "similar" (fans of either game will disagree; more details below.) As a cyberpunk game, CKF has a significant component of missions in the "matrix".

Main plot and overworld

In XCOM2, there is a fixed main plot with 4-5 fixed story missions. Every game will have the same main plot. In CKF, there is no main plot. There are currently a small number of story lines, some of which may occur in one play-through but not another. The story lines may be triggered by a known characteristic of one soldier, or randomly based on certain attributes of any soldier. Story lines may have several linked missions and several "branches" to explore. No two playthroughs will encounter the same set of story missions.

In XCOM2, one main feature is expanding influence across a map of the world. This gives a sense of placement within the world for each mission. CKF does not have any overworld map. Missions launch from the "safehouse" (base) and return there. The external lore guide gives a sense of place, but the game has only tactical mission maps and the safehouse map.

In some DLC and mods of XCOM2, soldiers can be sent on special missions, which make them unavailable for combat missions and may provide some special benefit, such as new items or talents. CKF has the same capability, called "legwork". These frequently appear as part of storylines, although some basic repeatable legwork missions can be offered.

Overall graphics

There is no question that XCOM2 has a higher graphics and animation budget than CKF. Even though XCOM2 is 8 years old, the character visuals and animation are superior and terrain variety is much larger. The studio behind CKF is quite small and has done well for their existing budget.

Both games offer visual customization of each soldier, with a variety of faces, skin tones, hats, and other accessories. CKF probably has more options than "vanilla" XCOM2 (without DLC or mods).

Hair customization in XCOM2	Hair customization in CKF

Classes and team composition

In vanilla XCOM2, there are 5 character classes, and each class has a limited build variety: at each of 6 levels, one of two talents may be chosen. Currently in CKF, there are 6 classes, and each class has a huge talent tree. Generally a class has about 15 talents and about 15 opportunities for stat increases, arranged in a tree with many branches. Furthermore, each talent has about 6 options to improve it, resulting in about 16 different "strengths" of the talent. It would be hard to enumerate all the varieties, but certainly one class at max level could have thousands of different builds.

Talent tree in XCOM2	Talent tree in CKF

In vanilla XCOM on normal difficulty, soldiers are randomly generated and will die regularly; you may have a pool of 15 soldiers which changes through the game and typically one "A team" of the four highest level soldiers. In CKF, the team size is smaller and turnover is much less. A large team might be 12 soldiers, some suited for stealth missions and some for combat missions. Currently each starting soldier and available recruit has a unique back story, which ties into the variable story lines mentioned above. In both games, after a number of missions, you will have some personal history with each soldier, or at least the "A team", but in CKF, this identification happens much sooner and is more connected to game mechanics.

Tactical combat

Turn sequence. Both XCOM2 and CKF have turn based combat. CKF uses initiative ordering (like XCOM Chimera Squad among other games).

Map grid. CKF is gridless; weapon and talent ranges are true spheres accounting for distance and altitude. Each movement point is a straight line, but you can plot moves that bend around enemy sight lines or other obstacles.

Move preview in XCOM2	Move preview in CKF

Stealth. In XCOM2, a few turns at the beginning of the mission are considered "stealth" but most of the team is spotted for most of the mission. In CKF, if you efficiently target and kill guards who are out of sight of other guards, you can perform most of the mission without "breaking stealth". This is possible, but generally you wind up triggering guards and then "going loud" as in XCOM2.

Security devices. In XCOM, there are a few cameras which globally turn off once stealth is broken. In CKF, there are a variety of devices including pressure plates, rotating cameras, and noise detectors. Each of these can be individually, temporarily disabled by using talents. In many missions of CKF, the security devices provide more obstacles to movement than the enemies do.

Encounter ordering. In XCOM2, typically one "pod" of 3-5 enemies is triggered at one time and most enemies on the map start invisible. In CKF, typically a level may have 10-15 guards on patrol paths, most of whom are visible at the start of the mission. As the alert level rises, more guards will leave their paths to join combat and reinforcements can appear at multiple entrances.

Matrix / hacking encounters

In XCOM2, hacking is limited to a popup dialog on certain interactable objects in the mission map, which can give some benefit for that mission. In CKF, because of the cyberpunk setting, hacking is a main part of most missions and some missions take place entirely in the matrix. Hacking missions are more than just a "minigame", although less complex than other games notably the Shadowrun games by Harebrain (see separate comparison). Expect to spend 30-40% of your time in hacking missions, including times when the hacker must find and open a door while being attacked in the real world ("meatspace").

Base building

Base building is quite similar between XCOM2 and CKF. CKF is more complicated. Both have a small grid of available rooms, each of which must be cleaned and then filled with one room type. CKF has several constraints that must be considered together, more than just ensuring enough power. Also, each room can be upgraded 5-6 times with increased capacity and constraints.

Research, market and crafting

In XCOM2, more powerful weapons appear as a result of research; once available, all soldiers of a certain class can upgrade after some currency is spent. (This can be changed completely by mods, notably Long War 2). In CKF, more powerful weapons are obtained by either crafting, using blueprints that are available as mission loot, or by "leveling up" contacts to provide more powerful services (similar to the factions in XCOM2 WOTC). For example, in mid game, level 3 weapons may be available in the market; a contact may "level up" to offer level 4 weapons for purchase, and you may be able to craft certain types of level 5-6 weapons.

Map / objective variety

In vanilla XCOM2, there are 5-6 biome types, each containing a set of map blocks. For any mission, the map is generated randomly by choosing and tiling some of the map blocks for the biome. The map blocks have enough variety that any number of missions can be run in the same biome and still play differently. CKF has fixed maps, currently around 30 maps, with more being added continuously. Each map has multiple entrance and exit points and can be reconfigured slightly with more/fewer guards, security cameras, and other features. Currently all the maps use the same "biome". Experienced players will recognize the maps and have favorite "routes" through them.

In XCOM2, apart from story missions, there are about 5-6 different objectives, such as "guard a position" or "attack a position", usually ending with "and kill all enemies". In CKF, apart from story missions, there are a larger number of objectives. Currently there are about 12. Some objectives are better tackled with stealth, and some objectives are pure combat. This means that you cannot send the same "A team" on every mission.

Modding

XCOM2 has a very sophisticated modding system; modders can change a lot of the functionality of the game, adding entirely new classes and play modes. Long War 2 is the obvious example. For CKF, the studio has promised modding will be added after release, but there are no known details. The previous game from this studio had limited modding support retrofitted several years after release, which allows basic capabilities including adding/changing many types of graphics. We will have to wait and see for this one.