You might be more masochistic than me
Maybe... but there is something definitely fun with knowing your men can die at any turn unexpectedly. The new X-Com has that feeling, but it loses it eventually when your soldiers start getting a bit OP nearing the end.
If Xenonauts is like the original X-Com (as I understand it is), then that feeling never really goes away. Sure, as you get better equipment their chances improve a lot, but they continue to be fragile, and precious.
But the difference between the new and the old X-Com is the feeling of the scale of the invasion.
As in the old X-Com (as it is in Xenonauts) you have limited radar coverage, limited aircraft range due to the need of refueling, etc, you KNOW that there are things beyond your reach happening constantly. And that generates a sense of urgency that the new one lacks completely.
Don´t get me wrong, I really liked the new X-Com. But the old one was a totally different experience altogether, as Xenonauts seems to be as well. I´ll get it eventually, no doubt about it.