- Publisher: Snapshot Games Inc.
- Release Date: Dec 3, 2019
- Also On: PlayStation 5
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Dec 20, 2019Phoenix Point remains a solid and pleasant title, but it is more similar to a "craft" job than to an interesting reinterpretation of the games it is inspired by.
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Dec 30, 2019Quotation forthcoming.
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CD-ActionJan 15, 2020It was made with true passion but at the moment it’s unpolished and unbalanced. The ambitions of Julian Gollop and his crew were clearly bigger than the game’s budget. [02/2020, p.38]
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Jan 6, 2020Call it an insistence on reinforcing the strategy side of things or not, the game can fall victim to its own limitations. But for those with an adoration for lore and for that looming sense of desperation more so, while not entirely original in tone or presentation, Phoenix Point does just enough for those restrictions to fall by the wayside.
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Dec 18, 2019Phoenix Point is a game that achieves great things, gameplay-wise, by standing on the X-Com shoulders. It also suffers from a severe lack of polish and low production values.
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Dec 12, 2019Phoenix Point's more complex take on the classic X-COM formula has some great ideas, but most of them feel experimental and in need of fine-tuning and balance.
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Dec 8, 2019Phoenix Point stumbles and fails its release, which has obviously been rushed. Although it's currently full of bugs and balance issues on many levels, the game has great potential that will eventually shine and make it a game of choice for aficionados of the genre. The gameplay is ambitious and deep, with a combat and management system that can be very satisfying. In addition, the diplomacy feature is a rare strength, even if the current content doesn't encourage you to take full advantage of it yet. We advise you to wait a little before buying Phoenix, as it will most likely be improved soon.
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Dec 4, 2019The creator of XCOM returns with some interesting new ideas, but without the budget or time to refine them Phoenix Point struggles to offer a viable alternative to its more established rival.
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Dec 4, 2019Phoenix Point has some amazing gameplay ideas and even fun fluff, but it needs to work on quality of life and balance.
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Dec 3, 2019Phoenix Point successfully introduces a slew of new features and mechanics that sufficiently evolve the XCOM-inspired genre of strategy games, though is brought down by some buggy, wonky, and unbalanced implementation of some mechanics.
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Feb 20, 2020Phoenix Point is a good try at capturing some of that XCOM magic, but it falls short of being great. I found myself enjoying the experience, but at the same time, couldn’t help feel that something was missing. Hopefully it’s something that can improve in a sequel, if it ever comes.
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Dec 30, 2019Despite a bunch of interesting ideas, Phoenix Point rarely offers a viable alternative to the many other games of the same genre. Greatly unbalanced, unpolished and poorly optimized, the game by the creator of the X-Com series is but a shadow of Gollop’s past.
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Dec 19, 2019Phoenix Point has some interesting ideas that are brought down by a bad UI, poor difficulty balancing, and a distinct absence of polish.
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Dec 13, 2019With X-COM, Firaxis took a punishing, impenetrable strategy game and made it slick, cool and thrilling; a dynamic sci-fi beast with muscular jaws. Phoenix Point has double the number of teeth but a less effective bite. The devil may be in the detail, but the drama is in the edit. Phoenix Point feels like it’s a draft short of greatness.
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Dec 13, 2019Its dynamic gameplay birthed unforgettable, heroic tales of agents who made amazing triumphs and ultimate sacrifices alike that I still remember over twenty years later. Unfortunately, Phoenix Point never inspires in the same way. The turn-based combat is probably among the best the genre offers but the hollow string of separate missions the procedurally created content weaves can’t carry the game. Ultimately, Phoenix Point is only for true believers of the genre - if they don’t mind the meaningless framework the game is put onto, that is.
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Dec 4, 2019Phoenix Point fits firmly on the foundation of modern XCOM, but rethinks combat with an action point system and the ability to free aim. While the latter seems like a gimmick, it's actually a wonderful tactical option that pushes the strategy forward. It's a shame then that a reliance on procedural generation leads to a lack of variety, weapon balance isn't great, and the technical execution is rough. Phoenix Point is a great starting point for something amazing, but it's not quite there yet.
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Dec 3, 2019Phoenix Point is all a little too like XCOM to move the genre forward in any huge way.
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Jan 27, 2020Phoenix Point should be the spiritual successor to the XCOM games, but it only presents itself with some big staggering issues on top of its innovative and fun gameplay ideas. In the current state, it is so poorly balanced and riddled with bugs, its hard to recommend it, while only hope remains that the developers will fix some of these problems in future patches.
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Feb 24, 2020With the pedigree and ideas going into this, Phoenix Point should have been much, much better than it is. The cool ideas are overshadowed by ever-present bugs, glitches, and hiccups that constantly get in the way of the player. Even excusing these, the ideas and presentation come off as incredibly bland very soon into the adventure. Little customization, little options, and little reason to care about your soldiers or base, round out reasons this is in need of massive updates and overhauls if it is to be saved.
| This publication does not provide a score for their reviews. | |
| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
| These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation. | |
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Dec 3, 2019Playing Phoenix Point has been a powerful propulsion back through my past, pinballing me through 25 years of alien-fighting nostalgia. And if I still find myself returning to it again, keen to blow the floor out from under another tentacled terror the moment I finish this review, then you know it's got much more right than wrong. Even if I never reach the end, I will still have enjoyed the journey, and the friends (soldiers) I met (renamed as my friends) along the way.
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Dec 3, 2019There’s slow-burn greatness in Phoenix Point. It’s a game where you might be exploring a site, bracing for ambush, but instead find an abandoned theme park dedicated to a novelty boy band of hedge fund managers called the Lucrative Lads. Where you dread the thud of a parasitic worm dropping from a roof to the ground at your feet. Where the cold utilitarianism trained by XCOM slowly melts, and ideology begins to influence your diplomacy. It’s warmer, stranger, than its genremates. But it’s harder work to enjoy. Like its most outlandish guns and powerful armours, it takes a few hours’ research to get there.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 161 out of 398
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Mixed: 94 out of 398
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Negative: 143 out of 398
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Dec 4, 2019
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Dec 4, 2019
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Dec 4, 2019