Poll Thoughts on the Ending? (149 votes)
SPOILERS
Just finished up the game and wanted to see how folks felt about that climax because, despite loving the rest of the game to bits, I found those last two missions a profound disappointment - wanted to know if I was a minority in that feeling.
The Advent Tower
The decision for the "no turning back" point to be a short kinda-stealth mission (the ADVENT Tower) that directly precedes the main assault seemed pretty lame to me. Not so much in concept, but considering there's literally no buffer between that mission and the final bit, it just sorta feels like a trap to get your best troops out of commission. They even add this entire new mechanic - a novel one, I will say - wherein you spend Intel to put yourself in a more favorable strategic position, and it helps build this sense that you're gonna be facing something pretty terrifying. I'm sure I'm not the only one who pulled out their best Colonels to deal with whatever the new threat was... buuut nothing came of it. It was just a handful of standard enemies on a small map, and then you push a button. I took a couple knicks that on any other occasion I could buff out in a few days, but the final assault activating right after basically just forces those troops out of your final roster.
The Commander's Avatar
The actual final mission doesn't use the cool new Strategic Intel-spending mechanic - despite the fact that it's a much longer, more involved mission that would benefit from it far more. It also doesn't give you access to a larger roster of troops as Long War did (a great addition by that team that allowed you to utilize all your favorites for a final stand, and considering everything else XCOM 2's design borrows from LW it's a shame not to see it here). The "new mechanic" is the Commander's Avatar. Now, mechanically the Commander is fun. It's awesome freely mind-controlling an array of different aliens, basically running through sidekicks as you book it down the alien base. Narratively? I couldn't stand it. I'd just spent dozens of hours building this colorful cast of hardened troops, characters I'd built up in my head, molded as I saw fit, characters with history. Now suddenly the focus is entirely on the Commander character, who for all intents and purposes is just another dude I'm controlling. The whole notion that you are the Commander is bonkers when they represent you as one of seven troops you can control, which immediately creates a disconnect and turns them into just another dude; a dude you haven't spent any time with so far. It's like a show that spends six seasons building up to an epic final battle, only for the world to be saved by some dude introduced in the last episode. I didn't get to equip them, or pick their skills, or customize their appearance; they're just there, and when the ending cut-scene rolls around, it's them that gets the heroic moment, not any of the troops I've spent most of the game with. After sticking it out with these guys for so long, it was a bummer to see a literal self-insert take all the glory.
The Elder's Speech
I'll also note the interaction with the Ethereal here as another disappointment, as it's basically the same speech from the previous game. More "What are you fighting for?", more "Humanity is worthy but also not", more "You don't know what you're meddling with!!" I kinda figured with all this added emphasis on plot that they'd thought of something interesting to do with those interactions but... nah, it's just the same thing with a different voice. And were you expecting a dramatic ending? Nah, the Commander just saves the day and then humanity cheers. Woo woo. Time for the next play-through.
Summary
My main issue was the complete de-emphasis of your actual troops in favor of the self-insert Commander character, made worse by how easy it is to put your best troops out of commission due to the over-hyped pre-amble stealth mission. I already had my main characters; Bridget Walsh the ex-con Gunslinger, Brit Mezzo the trigger-happy Gunner, Camille Aerts the underground hacker Specialist. But they were at half-health because they took three damage and had to sit in the medbay for the next two days. Who did I get instead? Mary Sue The Hero Commander, here so the game can tell you how great you are for getting so far.
Apologies for the rant! If it sounds like I hate the game, I gave the wrong impression; I love this game to bits. I think it's an improvement on Enemy Unknown in almost every aspect. It's just seeing it fall at the literal last hurdle that got me down, and I was wondering if these thoughts connected with anyone. So yeah; how did you feel?
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