So I posted this on the Steam forums, but I ended up coming with a lot more feedback than I thought, so I'm posting it here as well.
I've played a 60 day campaign so far and it feels like I'm already nearing the end of the game. Just unlocked a tech that explains much of the lore of the aliens and which also started an endgame timer until the final mission.
While I know the endgame content isn't there yet, it feels really off to have the game say to me "you're in the endgame now" when I barely feel like I've cleared the early game. I just started using lasers, I'm still using warden armour, I haven't fought anything bigger than a destroyer, and I haven't even finished building my second base.
Tech progression also feels off, especially weapons. I never even researched magnetic weapons, because lasers unlocked before I finished researching armour and the story content. While I suppose it's nice to be able to skip ahead and prioritize different techs, it feels very unsatisfying to not have time to play around with the new toys you unlocked.
But the Cleaner content felt especially rushed. I played a total of four missions with cleaners: One smash-and-grab (which was really fun), the two VIP missions, and then the final mission. In the span of a month, I had wiped out an entire global conspiracy that had been controlling the world for decades. It feels very cheap, and I would definitely like to see this content expanded.
All in all, it would be nice if the early game was padded out more. The Cleaners arc could easily be twice or even thrice as long, and 2-3 months would be a good length for the early game in general IMO. Enough time to get settled in with your base and loadouts, play around with the mag weapons and Warden armour, get used to the game with some low-intensity combat missions against Cleaners and alien non-combatants before things really ramp up with terror missions and more and tougher enemies that will really beat you up until you adapt. This is also around the time where you unlock the new dropship, which feels like a really appropriate milestone for the mid game, since the battles literally get bigger.
The final cleaner mission could even be a good content gate/milestone in this sense, since the loss of their human collaborators would force the aliens to be much more overt and drastic in their methods, where they might previously have been content with keeping to the shadows and letting the Cleaners do the dirty work. Imagine cleaning out the Cleaner HQ with your veteran squad, and then a week later the first terror mission appears and just wrecks them. That would be a great oh-shit moment and something I'm definitely hoping for in the early- to mid-game transition.
In short, the early game feels way too short and the pacing and tech progression is too fast. Getting an end-game timer before I even get my mid-game equipment and my first terror mission is also really jarring. That said, I really like the content I've seen so far, and I think once it gets fleshed out and expanded, and the pacing tweaked a bit, the early- to mid game could shape up to be much more interesting than in the first game.
