Parents' Guide to

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

By Marc Saltzman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Thrilling sci-fi strategy game with violence and gore.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 10 parent reviews

age 10+

its good but tough

be ready to ask for a refund if you dont know how to play

This title has:

Too much violence
age 14+

Extremely Well-made Tactics and Base-Management Strategy game

Violence: Moderately bloody violence against aliens, blood is yellow. When your soldiers are killed there's a brief splash of red blood. No injury detail. Bloody alien autopsies are shown, but with little detail. Some missions feature aliens terrorizing human populace. The only instance of gore is in the first mission, a man is seen with his stomach torn open, another with his eyes missing. Not horribly graphic, in the context, it would probably fit into a PG-13 rating. | Language: In the campaign, there's rare usage of very mild language such as damn and hell. During combat, when injured your soldiers will rarely shout out sh*t or f*ck. This can be turned off in the settings, but even when left on it's possible to go an entire playthrough without hearing it.

This title has:

Great role models
Too much violence

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10):
Kids say (19):

XCOM: ENEMY UNKNOWN is a refreshing change compared to most other games available today. From Firaxis, the award-winning team behind Civilization, comes this action-heavy strategy game that delivers thrills and spills. The turn-based strategy spans more than 70 missions around the globe, which keeps things fresh, but choosing the right man or women for the job can be just as critical as following through with tactical combat. While the graphics can sometimes be a bit glitchy, the pacing and progression, single and multiplayer maps, and thoughtfully designed soldier depth all add up to an engrossing strategy game worthy of your time, attention, and money.

Game Details

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