Phantom Doctrine

It's a little bit weird, sometimes disbalanced, boring at times and clearly lacking a better budget, but now, after a handful of patches, you can safely pick it up during a sale.

Two parts XCOM and one part Invisible, Inc., Phantom Doctrine is a fun take on the turn-based tactical genre that struggles with silly pathfinding and an uncertain storyline.

Phantom Doctrine may not quite fully follow through on its early promise, but the game is still a lot of fun and will readily supply lots of hours of enjoyment. The difficulty options are such that newcomers looking to get into the style of game should find themselves welcome and given a bit of license to experiment without being punished too harshly, while those with experience will be able to find a challenge. Anyone with even just a passing interest in either an espionage-focused or XCOM-style RPG will find Phantom Doctrine well worth checking out.

CreativeForge tries to present a larger and more complete turn-based experience, compared with Hard West, but some hiccups show up along the road. The welcome addition of stealth is marred by… immersion issues, as well as feeling over-powered after half-point of the campaign, whereas the lack of any feeling of urgency on the overworld map makes this part of the game feeling somewhat like an afterthought. Nonetheless, it has enough competent elements in its action as well as the presentation of its spy theme which will probably hook fans of the genre for hours.

Phantom Doctrine is a game that can pull you in so hard that you won't notice where the night has gone. It generates lots of fun thanks to cool ideas and good implementations but it can also be frustrating at the same time. If not for the cheating AI we would be taking about a truly wonderful game.

You might well find the evocative, smoke-damaged backdrop of ‘80s espionage fresh enough to carry you through a satisfying playthrough. But even with the plates changed and the serial number filed off, there’s no mistaking XCOM 2.

Atmospheric and thematically very dense strategy game about agents, with some weaknesses and annoying mechanics spoiling the fun.

I loved the idea of this game and enjoyed a few missions here and there, telling my agents where to go and having them exercise their particular skills in saving a prisoner to the backdrop of Cold War espionage chatter and tensions. Yet the gameplay and plot never lived up to its potential, and my expectations slowly lowered themselves into a shallow grave as the gameplay, initially full of potential, let me down through repetitive gameplay and a cliché plot.

Phantom Doctrine is in short a project partly derailed on the tracks of confusion and that it would have deserved more attention in defining the mechanics that characterize it.

A promising setting and clever systems are let down by simple enemies, simpler characters, and strange balancing.

I can see that there is a game to be enjoyed in Phantom Doctrine. I really want to enjoy it, I can’t though until the issue with combat is fixed. So far the best solution has been what Mario + Rabbids has done with its cover system, but even that isn’t a perfect response to a clear problem with turn based strategy games. There’s some unique aspects that I hope are observed by other developers but there are better strategy titles out there like Invisible Inc. that do the core basics better.

The game is full of good ideas but the action/combat part is painful, because of an too powerful AI. In short, the game is no bad but the "action part" is not as good as it should be to feel like a real pleasure. It's a shame for a game with brilliant ideas.

Phantom Doctrine is a disappointment. However, it has bundles of ambition, a lot of smart ideas and a clear and real love for the spy genre it hamfistedly mimics. I’ve no doubt it will find a cult following, but for people expecting a turn-based tactics game along the lines of titans like XCOM 2 and Jagged Alliance 2, this isn’t it...But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop playing it. It’s deeply flawed – but like a proud and misguided parent, I keep wanting the best for the game and can’t leave it alone.

There’s a lot of great game here, with some fantastic ideas, but a lot of major problems are stifling the fun. If those issues are fixed, then Phantom Doctrine might be worthwhile. If you see a patch with the note “combat isn’t broken anymore”, then you may pick it up. Until then, hold off.