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X-COM: Terror from the Deep

1995 MicroProse Turn-based strategy Updated 27 Jul 2026

X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a 1995 turn-based strategy game developed by MicroProse. A direct follow-up to the acclaimed UFO Defense, it moves the alien war beneath the waves, tasking players with defending Earth from an aquatic extraterrestrial threat awakening in the oceans decades after the first invasion.

The game retained the celebrated two-layer formula: a strategic Geoscape layer for managing underwater bases, researching alien technology, and intercepting enemy craft, and a tactical layer of tense turn-based battles where soldiers used action points and every operative could be permanently lost. Built on its predecessor's framework with new units, sonic weapons, two-part terror missions, and underwater environments, it offered a notoriously steep challenge, with a difficulty curve widely regarded as even harsher than the original's.

Terror from the Deep remains available through digital storefronts, and the broader X-COM lineage has continued through modern reboots that reimagine its blend of strategy and tactics for new audiences.

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Modern alternatives to X-COM: Terror from the Deep, with the devices they run on and their price. Ordered editorially by how well each one stands in for the original, with community votes weighted in as they accumulate.

Prices, platform availability and Steam Deck compatibility can change at any time. Always check the store page before buying.

Modern alternatives to X-COM: Terror from the Deep compared: price, Steam Deck rating and the devices each one runs on.
Alternative	Price	Steam Deck	Runs on
OpenXcom Indie	Free	Not on Steam	PC, Mac, Linux
Xenonauts Indie	€ 22,99	Steam Deck Unsupported	PC, Mac, Linux
Aliens: Dark Descent	€ 39,99	Steam Deck Playable	PC, PlayStation, Xbox
Xenonauts 2 Indie	€ 34,99	Steam Deck Playable	PC
X-COM: Terror from the Deep	€ 4,99	Steam Deck Unsupported	PC