Podcasts
The Horrors of ‘XCOM’ [Safe Room Podcast]
Before tuning into this week’s new episode of Safe Room, please listen to last week’s episode celebrating 25 years of Fallout!
There is no greater example of risk/reward in games than XCOM. Every action could yield disastrous results for your squad. Or it could produce a thundering victory.
While tough decision-making isn’t a new phenomenon within the strategy genre, the way XCOM: Enemy Unknown approaches consequences felt crushing while entirely fair. Even if losing a veteran soldier always feels like someone sticking their thumb in your eye, rarely could you trace back a move that wasn’t miscalculated on the player’s part.
But no matter how crushing a defeat may be, there’s something about how XCOM handles loss that empowers the player to take what they’ve learned while providing the tools to reassess their strategy.
Fair to say, this plays a role in why I have never been burnt out on XCOM. Sure, I may take week or month breaks from time to time. I’m not an XCOM addict, after all. But I have been playing XCOM off and on every year since Enemy Unknown was released back in 2012.
So why do I keep returning to the white-knuckle turn-based gameplay of XCOM? What separates the series from other strategy games I toiled away at over the years?
Neil and I unpack that very question with the help of returning friend of the show and regular Bloody Disgusting contributor Aaron Boehm as we chat about XCOM‘s anecdotal nature, strong series entries and uncover what it is about XCOM that we all just can’t entirely quit. –Jay Krieger
Safe Room is a weekly horror video game discussion podcast with new episodes every Monday on iTunes/Apple, Sticher, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and Linktree for additional streaming services.
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The Halloweenies hitch a ride out to the small town of Abaddon in Upstate New York to check out this totally killer haunted house that’s opening: Hell House LLC.
Join Michael Roffman, Justin Gerber, and Rachel Reeves as they discuss director Stephen Cognetti’s found footage gem that has since spawned multiple sequels and spinoffs. But, as with anything, nothing is ever quite as good as the original.
Note: This episode was originally released to our patrons in October 2025.
Stream the whole conversation below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, Chucky, Alien, and Universal Monsters.
This year? Hellraiser AND The Omen.
You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Child’s Play) and one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Saw, 28 Days Later, Manhunter, Near Dark). Each month promises something new and unexpected from the wildest corners of the genre.