x-com Archives - Shadow Gaming

The Glorious, Gritty, and Utterly Insane World of X-Piratez

If you’ve ever played the original 1994 X-COM: UFO Defense, you know the drill: Earth is being invaded, you’re the commander of a global defense force, and you spend your…

Chris January 12, 2026

Retro-Games

The Game That Changed Everything: A Tribute to Julian Gollop’s X-COM: UFO Defense

Release Date: March 1994 (EU) / May 1994 (NA) Developer: Mythos Games / MicroProse In the summer of 1994, a game arrived on the DOS platform that would redefine the…

Chris January 8, 2026

Reviews

Rising from the Ashes: Why Phoenix Point is the Thinking Player’s Apocalypse

When Julian Gollop, the legendary creator of the original X-COM, announced a spiritual successor, the strategy world held its collective breath. We didn’t just want another tactical shooter; we wanted…

Chris January 6, 2026

Reviews

Shattered Lands, Infinite Ambition: A Review of Shards of the Realm

In the crowded landscape of indie strategy RPGs, it is rare to find a project that attempts to juggle as many heavy chains as Shards of the Realm. Developed primarily…

Chris December 31, 2025