As a kid I used to live in a cardboard, my father used my head as a toilet scrubber due to my hairy nature and asphyxiation permanently damaged the two peas in my head fighting for supremacy in an imaginary universe.
I do love XCom due to it´s simplicity, my compulsive desire to blast aliens to smithereens is fulfilled, in that endevor I do not need to worry about reading, calculating trajectories and applying rocket science to have some sort of twisted primitive fun. No, I have no need to kill aliens in a different setting, running around in a third person perspective requires reflexes, aiming and other skills, I like to drink coffee and relax while being weirdly satisfied by a good head shot. It´s like my two peas had a cease fire for just a brief moment.
My best friend is the opposite, he does understand my need to “just play” but takes all of his gaming to a different level, he can spend an eternity in Warhammer 2 examining stats and optimizing every move, that´s why we never co-op, my attention span is very limited and I have no patience towards his superior intellect.
I just saw a youtube video by a streamer who kept unloading clips from afar onto a Chiron, he didn´t understand at any point why he wasn´t doing any damage and that assault rifles are meant for daydreamers. I do not judge him as I truly understand the difference in commitment applied by the vast number of gamers into any given game, there are games which offer so much and yet explored so little but still manageable. The best games in history have this fine balance, to offer diversity to all styles of play.
In Baldur´s Gate 2 I used cleric summons to accomplish my goal, even did it Ironman style, I think they nerfed those permanent summons since I played it though. In Planescape: Torment I spent too much time in a cube leveling my heroes, so they were ready for the tasks ahead. In the Witcher 3 I didn´t think much, I just followed the story and made it till the end. All these games cater to everyone, the most intelligent “git gud” dudes who spend eternities on min/maxing and me, the idiot, but even morons lie yours truly deserve to play games.
In Phoenix Point my two peas immediately agreed to a cease fire when two very nasty Chirons started throwing bombs from across the map, they were blocked by a huge wall and no height advantage helped, 3 Sirens then charged from halfway across the map along with a few other scary mutants. (I am not allowed to call them aliens). After a brief moment my peas declared war on one another again, I wish I had a third pea.
Phoenix Point has it´s brilliant moments but it´s a weird mixed soup where the ingredients are tossed in with substance but without thought and balance, it just mixes everything in a bowl and serves it disregarding quantity and quality at times. I do know how hard it is to balance a good soup, that´s why I usually let my better half do the job, I make one mean boiled egg though.
Have fun all and hugs, remember, we all want different things and remember to stay positive. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, there where all the peas are.