Phoenix Point

 PC
User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 398 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 161 out of 398
  2. Mixed: 94 out of 398
  3. Negative: 143 out of 398

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  1. Scritty
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    The best game I've bought this year. Though I've only bought about 3 full priced games.
    I have well over 800 hours in XCOM 2 and bought the original Microprose terror from the Deep on UK release day in the 90's and completed it on the hardest level many times.
    This is pitched somewhere between the Firaxis games and the Microprose games in terms of depth. It has a lot of user QOL    The best game I've bought this year. Though I've only bought about 3 full priced games.
    I have well over 800 hours in XCOM 2 and bought the original Microprose terror from the Deep on UK release day in the 90's and completed it on the hardest level many times.
    This is pitched somewhere between the Firaxis games and the Microprose games in terms of depth. It has a lot of user QOL improvements, good graphics and despite a couple of bugs (Overwatch can be flakey) it is a great game already.
    The tutorial does a great job. It explains the basics but leaves so much to discover,a nd that is - after all - a HUGE part of the game. Discovering what to buildm what goes where. There does not seem to be a right way to win, different strategies seem to work if they are well thought out. But the game lets you discover much for yourself and for me that is far preferable to being hand held.
    After the tutorial you can do anything and everything - but only at a superficial level. The rest is for you to find out. That's the ideal tutorial as far as I'm concerned Discovery and imagination are key gameplay ideas that so many developers destroy by forcing you to play a certain way and explaining every nut and bolt of the game
    It's a lot more stable (for me) than XCOM 2 was at launch and looks considerably better, The geoscape is a vast improvement over the Firaxis game. The UI in the base is clean and simple to understand the aliens are wonderful and that game has become a classic with solid developer support, well priced and effective DLC's and a massive boost from an enthusiastic modding community.
    Phoenix Point starts in a better place (as far as I'm concerned) and with good support could (and perhaps should) be a better game in timer than XCOM 2 is with mods, DLC's and bug fixes.
    It's a solid game now. 50-60 hours for a game that costs quite a bit less than most AAA releases.

    I'll be playing this game a lot in the coming months. This and Factorio are the only two games I'll play till Spring probably. Wish I had more time for games and wish there were more games like this :)    … Expand
  2. elguru
    Dec 10, 2019
    10
    7.5 It's rough around the edges, but it's made by Gollop, one of the brightest minds of the age of computer games, with that said, the story is good, the tactics and animations better than XCOM's, the ufopedia good as usual, the only thing it needs is a bit more game options (like turning off right clicking run) and more to do on the geoscape, the inclusion of the APC is great, finally7.5 It's rough around the edges, but it's made by Gollop, one of the brightest minds of the age of computer games, with that said, the story is good, the tactics and animations better than XCOM's, the ufopedia good as usual, the only thing it needs is a bit more game options (like turning off right clicking run) and more to do on the geoscape, the inclusion of the APC is great, finally snipers are not useless compared to Firaxis version, also the random positioning of the enemies is way better and the surprise factor well done, i suggest you play on the hardest mode to enjoy it the most, music is fantastic and is based on the original scores, the game have some bugs but is mostly optimized and well done, this is probably one of the few good Unity games out there, i know the exclusivity deal with Epic games store is not cool but at least when it launches on Steam, the game will be way better.… Expand
  3. markelphoenix
    Dec 9, 2019
    10
    Extremely enjoyable game with a long developer commitment for continuous content and support! Can't wait to see what comes next!
  4. floatingbumblee
    Dec 9, 2019
    10
    Game is tight. Extremely well thought out. Amazing atmosphere. There's occasional stuttered animation when i jumpjet a heavy, but only rarely and only exists while jetting, could be because i have free camera on. Occasional issue with shooting the cover you hiding behind, easy work around is to look down the sights, before firing, which is a fantastic mechanic (sniping weapon arms andGame is tight. Extremely well thought out. Amazing atmosphere. There's occasional stuttered animation when i jumpjet a heavy, but only rarely and only exists while jetting, could be because i have free camera on. Occasional issue with shooting the cover you hiding behind, easy work around is to look down the sights, before firing, which is a fantastic mechanic (sniping weapon arms and shutting down annoying mutations, i sniped someones mounted rocket pack yesterday and blew them up) The inventory and customization is great. Yes people compare it to xcom, why? Because firaxis bought the UFO xcom franchise upon which they based their games (which i find so frustrating i cant play it). This game is very very good. The learning curve may be steep for some, I'm on my 4th restart and now have the hang of the game and can plan my progression accordingly. The amount of game and story content here is massive, when the dlcs become active, it's going to be even more amazing. I have a deep love for well crafted things, whatever they may be and this game gets it. Cannot understand why there is so much meh towards this game. For a 4x tactical squad based game, there is currently no equal. (I suspect that people who have a problem with the freeform narrative format struggle with their imagination, as you explore the world, the story of what happened to the previous earth and the mystery of the virus becomes clearer, dont just click through the encounter scripts... READ THEM!) There are so many different ways you can approach this game and customize units it's really so very great. I only had to look for online aid twice. Once was for the armored buggy you can stick in your ship, still dont know if it's a robot or needs a driver, but i have future plans to drive one in the midst of enemies and dump a crew of shotgun toting super mutants up their noses) game is good, it's a strategy tweakers wet dream.… Expand
  5. cyberlaw4
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    Потом напишу полноценный обзор, как пройду со всеми дополнениями, пока игра великолепна! Чувствуется рука автора оригиналов хоть и осовремененная и всё ещё нуждающаяся в развитии. Подождем-увидим.
    justlikeme, не позорься на весь земной шар! Эта игра от создателей оригинальных X-COMов 90х годов, а не той шляпы с названием Enemy Unknown, создатели которой не имеют ничего общего с    Потом напишу полноценный обзор, как пройду со всеми дополнениями, пока игра великолепна! Чувствуется рука автора оригиналов хоть и осовремененная и всё ещё нуждающаяся в развитии. Подождем-увидим.
    justlikeme, не позорься на весь земной шар! Эта игра от создателей оригинальных X-COMов 90х годов, а не той шляпы с названием Enemy Unknown, создатели которой не имеют ничего общего с оригиналом. Даже Xenonauts больше X-COM чем Enemy Unknown!    … Expand
  6. Dark_Ansem
    Apr 9, 2020
    10
    I really didn't want to give this game a 10, but considering the ridiculous reviews about Epic Games or from people who expected an action RPG, I have to. It's superior to XCOM2 in principle (and occasionally performance), but it lacks the same polish and amazing toolset. YET. More DLC and the toolset are coming.
  7. Joote
    Dec 5, 2019
    10
    I have been waiting for a game like this forever. The new Xcom 1 and 2 was okay but came with to little depth to scratch that Xcom itch. Phoenix point on the other hand comes with great tactical and strategic mechanics, similar to the original UFO_EU/ Xcom apocalypse and Laser squad.

    This game was made by the creator of Xcom so he knows what he's doing. I bought it on release and    I have been waiting for a game like this forever. The new Xcom 1 and 2 was okay but came with to little depth to scratch that Xcom itch. Phoenix point on the other hand comes with great tactical and strategic mechanics, similar to the original UFO_EU/ Xcom apocalypse and Laser squad.

    This game was made by the creator of Xcom so he knows what he's doing. I bought it on release and have not stopped playing since. It has a few bugs but nothing game-breaking bugs that you would expect on release. They are busy making a patch so no worry's there.

    Phoenix point it your true Xcom baby and is a fantastic game.    … Expand
  8. Xubaca
    Oct 12, 2021
    10
    - Excelent turn-based combat
    - Good graphics and sound effects
    - As good as XCom 2 - Good management options (research, build bases, manufacture equipment) - Diplomacy adds a new dynamic do the game, comparing do XCom series - Loading maps is very slow on Xbox One, but game is very good - Game still have some minor bugs on Xbox One and I had 3 crashes after 50 hours gameplay. But the    - Excelent turn-based combat
    - Good graphics and sound effects
    - As good as XCom 2
    - Good management options (research, build bases, manufacture equipment)
    - Diplomacy adds a new dynamic do the game, comparing do XCom series
    - Loading maps is very slow on Xbox One, but game is very good
    - Game still have some minor bugs on Xbox One and I had 3 crashes after 50 hours gameplay. But the game is good and worth your pattience.    … Expand
  9. 2fatbear
    Dec 17, 2019
    10
    It's a great game in the tradition of the old and venerable XCom (not the recent games, but the old ones from the 90s), made by the creator of that games. Its true it is made with a low budget and it shows in sound that could have been better, between scenes graphics of variable quality and some small details like that. But the problems are all in these non-essential issues. The core ofIt's a great game in the tradition of the old and venerable XCom (not the recent games, but the old ones from the 90s), made by the creator of that games. Its true it is made with a low budget and it shows in sound that could have been better, between scenes graphics of variable quality and some small details like that. But the problems are all in these non-essential issues. The core of the game, the playability, the game itself, is great. Its well thought and implemented. No clicking wrong soldier or place (unless you *really* mess it), easy to understand interface. The game itself isn't easy to master and that's a great thing, you have to think, learn, play to get the hang of it. I'm currently on my third play and already seeing I made something wrong, but still can't say precisely what. So lets go on and discover!

    One point I complain a bit about is that we could have sceneries related to the places in the world where they are. Or more variation at least. This limitation was an aspect of the original games but by then we had games on 3 1/4 disquettes, now we have much more freedom so this could have been addressed.

    Another thing I'm asking myself, will it be possible to customize things around? I mean, at least the cosmetic part? I would love to be able to recreate my team of Hollywood actors as soldiers like I did on the original XCom games! (: By then we only had the photos of faces and names to change, now it would be much more complex, but...

    All in all, I'm loving to play this game. I like a lot the new XCom, played 1 and 2 to the end many times vamilla and customized, but Phoenix Point is like returning to the *real* thing.
    Can't wait to see the DLCs!    … Expand
  10. FreelancerAB
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    10/10 Игра очень понравилась. (наиграл часов 8) Есть плюсы и минусы. Будут сравнения с ХСOM 2 ибо в нее играли, и ближайший аналог
    + Интересный геймплей в себя включает стрельбу по частям тела, разрушаемость, на карте можно почти все подорвать к чертовой матери. В Х2 это все было стерильно.
    + Огромная возможность костома у персонажей. + Графа не убивает глаза учитывая что ее делали на    10/10 Игра очень понравилась. (наиграл часов 8) Есть плюсы и минусы. Будут сравнения с ХСOM 2 ибо в нее играли, и ближайший аналог
    + Интересный геймплей в себя включает стрельбу по частям тела, разрушаемость, на карте можно почти все подорвать к чертовой матери. В Х2 это все было стерильно.
    + Огромная возможность костома у персонажей.
    + Графа не убивает глаза учитывая что ее делали на коленках.
    + Сюжет средняк, но нужен ли он в тактической игре
    Минусы
    - Баги, но какие игры сейчас без багов. Вон редредемшион 2 вовсе вылетает, хотя ее делали за овердофига милионов
    - Не интуитивный интерфейс, иногда не понятно что нужно сделал ради чего либо
    - раздражающие мелочи такие как нужно производить патроны для солдат, которые иной раз делаются долговато, так же с оружием тратим ресурсы так еще и время на ее производство.    … Expand
  11. Pech_SOG
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    Love it! more like X-Com UFO Defense than Firaxis versions. Incredible lore and could one day be a masterpiece.
  12. derek_
    Oct 9, 2022
    10
    Great game. Plenty of interesting ideas, great tactical combat, beautiful graphic, good enemis-story-factions. Definitely right step forward for x-com type games.
  13. Pr8Dator2
    Dec 6, 2019
    10
    First day I got it, I pumped in 10 hours straight! PP is not genre changing but I addressed all of what was lacking in all of the recent "XCOM-WANNABES"; Firaxis XCOM's lack of strategic depth and overly simplified combat, the Original X-COM's overly complex action points system with unimpressionable characters, the UFO AFTER series lack of a proper combat system. I am glad PP found theFirst day I got it, I pumped in 10 hours straight! PP is not genre changing but I addressed all of what was lacking in all of the recent "XCOM-WANNABES"; Firaxis XCOM's lack of strategic depth and overly simplified combat, the Original X-COM's overly complex action points system with unimpressionable characters, the UFO AFTER series lack of a proper combat system. I am glad PP found the perfect middle ground for real X-COM fans in terms of combat and base management. Particularly in terms of the new action points system. It is dressed up visually to look like the XCOM system but is really internally a simplified X-COM system. Sounds complex? I think the way it is presented makes it too much like XCOM and do not give justice to the genius of this new system. AS a 30 years X-com player, I really love this and I think this along with the real ballistic and aiming system does push the genre forward. I will not be surprised to see more of similar mechanics in future turn based games.… Expand
  14. Darkgamer923
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Amazing game! Beautiful visuals and great control. If you're a fan of the Xcom series and turn based strategy games that takes real thought then this is a game you must have! I can't wait to see more from the creators and team.
  15. Mukirana
    Dec 9, 2020
    10
    Player over 40 hours on the first week alone. Extremelly addictive. Stay away.
  16. Skrip
    Dec 20, 2019
    10
    real best game, fans of the genre I advise you to play. thanks to the developers
  17. TimRad
    Dec 7, 2019
    10
    Лучшая пошаговая стратегия, за последние лет 10, продуманная и глубокая. И самое главное минимум ТУПОГО РАНДОМА. Почти шедевр. Желаю разработчикам финансового успеха и сам куплю игру и все дополнения.
  18. JohnDavis
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Amazing game! I loved the backer build so much I have no doubt about the final product
  19. shamix3d
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Much needed true successor to the original Xcom. Well done Snapshot Games!!!
  20. Shadow14
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Aliens are awesome! Look at that Siren! Creeepyyyyy! And that Mutog is looking great.
  21. Justme7kris
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Great game! I've been following the development of the game from the very beginning, and am very pleased with the game!!!
  22. TapaG
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    Best turn based game I have seen. Good job. Very good story, well made tactical and geoscape. The realistic ballistic system is amazingly done for this type of game and really pleased of what i see
  23. Ravenoid0_1
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    A lovely tactical brain teaser. I love the feeling of control that the game gives the player and the surprise when pandoras pop out when you think you have everything in the palm of your hand.
  24. WHTKalus
    Dec 3, 2019
    10
    The game has solid mechanics, a deep lore and plot, visually appealing and a great soundtrack. Most important it is just the beginning, 5 DLCs and free patches already announced to add content (not just cosmetic).
  25. xyla
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    Great game! Kept me playing all night. Beautiful graphic, too. Recommended.
  26. HUtorX
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    Хороший наследник старого X-COM. Сюжетно это больше хоррор в стиле Лавкрафта, нежели боевик об войне с инопланетянами. Ибо главные наши враги это мутировавшие люди и животные. Очень радиует балистика стрельбы - каждая пуля в очереди просчитывается отдельно (привет Front Mission 3) - почему так нельзя было сделать в играх Firaxis мне не понятно.
    Да, есть и минусы. Слабый дизайн и графика,    Хороший наследник старого X-COM. Сюжетно это больше хоррор в стиле Лавкрафта, нежели боевик об войне с инопланетянами. Ибо главные наши враги это мутировавшие люди и животные. Очень радиует балистика стрельбы - каждая пуля в очереди просчитывается отдельно (привет Front Mission 3) - почему так нельзя было сделать в играх Firaxis мне не понятно.
    Да, есть и минусы. Слабый дизайн и графика, кое где не очень удачная анимация. Но лично я готов это простить. Очень надеюсь что 5 грядущих дополнений сделают игру действительно 10 из 10. А пока десятка авансом.    … Expand
  27. Bamboozles
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    It is pretty good. Some say that there is a lack of balance, which is not necessarily a bad thing, for me at least.
  28. NikolasB
    Dec 5, 2019
    10
    An amazing game. I'm new to the genre and feels quite difficult. Still in brings me in a very pleasant way in its dark atmosFEAR. It's quite fun to make mistakes only to find new and new things. Everything is quite beautiful with nice attention to detail. Just love what those guys have done. Keep on!
  29. GThreepwood
    Dec 4, 2019
    10
    I must admit that the game is a bit of a slow burner. At the beginning I wasn't very hooked up, but after the first 5–6 hours I just couldn't stop, it is always just one more mission or research. The game get compared to XCOM a lot and for a fair reason. However, to enjoy it truly you should come with a clear mind as you have to unlearn quite a few things as the flow of the game is quiteI must admit that the game is a bit of a slow burner. At the beginning I wasn't very hooked up, but after the first 5–6 hours I just couldn't stop, it is always just one more mission or research. The game get compared to XCOM a lot and for a fair reason. However, to enjoy it truly you should come with a clear mind as you have to unlearn quite a few things as the flow of the game is quite different.… Expand
  30. 4ever
    Dec 5, 2019
    10
    +
    Game from one of the creators of original xcom/ufo series
    Simply best aiming in xcom history Grim setting Pretty tasty storytelling Imho Various opponents - Weak graphics Small squad size and problem with soldiers rotation (every soldier should me maximally cared) No terminator mode Not a big options for various base upgrades    +
    Game from one of the creators of original xcom/ufo series
    Simply best aiming in xcom history
    Grim setting
    Pretty tasty storytelling Imho
    Various opponents
    -
    Weak graphics
    Small squad size and problem with soldiers rotation (every soldier should me maximally cared)
    No terminator mode

    Not a big options for various base upgrades
    ----------------------------------------------------------------
    For those who compaining about cover system, look, there is no percents like in firaxis games, its not like if you are shooting someone in cover you will always have less than 50% hit chance . Its more like real life , with proper aiming you will be able to shoot visible part of your opponents body ! Such aiming is one of the biggest upgrades for modern xcom games!    … Expand
  31. mistero1982
    Dec 5, 2019
    10
    Big game, not only xcom clone. Gameplay choices that make it much more tactical and compelling than xcom. In general less refined than xcom but will follow patches and dlc to fix.
  32. Stormcastle499
    Dec 7, 2019
    10
    First time - Low budget boring game.
    Second time - strategic orgy.

    Who loves XCOM2, must play. This game needs time for understanding. I recommend.

    XCOM2:
    better graphic
    more complex

    PHOENIX POINT:
    similar to old XCOM
    more interesting enemies
    interesting ideas
  33. 2ICKYT
    Dec 7, 2019
    10
    Game is flawless! Similar to Xcom, but way better! Everything Xcom lacks this game has. Way more forgiving than Xcom. Must play!! Support Spattercatgaming on YouTube. Buy through his link please!
  34. BritneysJourney
    Dec 8, 2019
    10
    It's revolutionary game for the XCOM genre, you can shoot whatever you want, no matter if it's environment or enemies or even friends. There is no logical abstraction with random chances of the shooting, the randomness comes only from the weapon's spread angle. You can make yourself a hole on the wall and shoot whatever you see through that whole... but it can also shoot you back, it'sIt's revolutionary game for the XCOM genre, you can shoot whatever you want, no matter if it's environment or enemies or even friends. There is no logical abstraction with random chances of the shooting, the randomness comes only from the weapon's spread angle. You can make yourself a hole on the wall and shoot whatever you see through that whole... but it can also shoot you back, it's hilarious, I've never seen such freedom in a turn based game. Yeah it has some bugs, the AI is "thinking" too slow sometimes (which is normal I guess, having in mind this freedom I'm talking about), but It's a first official build after all, we all know how developers launch first, fix bugs later now days.… Expand
  35. valda
    Dec 9, 2019
    10
    Amazing Game. If you liked classic XCOM or even the newer version, you will love this game. I can see it being a classic for years to come. It's a life stealer though. Set some time aside.
  36. realblacktea
    Jun 26, 2020
    10
    I am playing on legend difficulty without save load and having a lot of fun, It is my 60-th try and i almost got it to the last mission, however got wiped out again, Best x-come like game in the last couple of years.
  37. Sinistars
    Feb 28, 2020
    10
    After finishing my last game I was looking for something isometric strategy or RPG and after trying many xcom wannabes I went back to play another round of XCOM2, until, this little gem came along. Creator of the original XCOM was enough to pull me in and I am so glad it did. If you played XCOm, you will feel at home fairly quick, not a huge learning curve for us, a lot of the sameAfter finishing my last game I was looking for something isometric strategy or RPG and after trying many xcom wannabes I went back to play another round of XCOM2, until, this little gem came along. Creator of the original XCOM was enough to pull me in and I am so glad it did. If you played XCOm, you will feel at home fairly quick, not a huge learning curve for us, a lot of the same mechanics and layout, with some improvements and a few not so much. Combat improve the are the most notable for me, the zooming in to shoot and target areas of the body and such I love, where the ship building leaves a lot to be desired, no improvements and maybe less challenging since you can place new rooms anywhere, no challenge figuring out how or where to place your rooms. It does go into a lot more detail about diplomacy, factions and with so many decision to change the outcome of the game, it seems it will be Very repayable. So far I love it, it’s fun, challenging and is helping relieve the XCOM 3 cravings, for now. game.… Expand
  38. Val_b3
    Jun 13, 2020
    10
    While game has it's gripes and difficulties user score on meta is not representative of the quality of the game. It's a bit on the low side.
    First thing to know about it - it's slow. Very slow. I've wasted 60+ hours on a single campaign and I'm still not finished.
    Second thing - research tree is... unique. Unlike X-COM series where research is very straightforward, here it's not. You'll    While game has it's gripes and difficulties user score on meta is not representative of the quality of the game. It's a bit on the low side.
    First thing to know about it - it's slow. Very slow. I've wasted 60+ hours on a single campaign and I'm still not finished.
    Second thing - research tree is... unique. Unlike X-COM series where research is very straightforward, here it's not. You'll be getting most of your tech from factions, be it stealing, gifted or even collaborations.
    Third - experience from similar tactical games will help, but also impede with you. Unlike most of tactics where range and dice toss are the king, here it's range, aiming reticle AND dice toss. It's still clunky but fun to operate. Takes time getting used to.
    As for the gripes - squad requires MICRO management (goes as far as reloading BETWEEN missions and healing ONLY on bases or in battles (despite having all the medkits in the world and an assumed ability to use them in between; that's just dumb)); sheer volume of numbers makes it impossible to deduce most things, you'll be lost operating thousands of numbers each turn (there is a reason that X-COM series doesn't like going beyond 20 - not only does it enhance tactical experience, it also keeps them manageable (players need to be able to compute SOME numbers and possibilities on the fly)); enemy types are limited - while the enemy variations can be described as shifting and changing, the game suffers from lack of enemy types, this in turn backfires on the stuff you'll be spending 80% of your time on - tactical combat; more types = more fun; a whole pleiad of technical issues/bugs/freezes.
    Back in the day game release has suffered a lot of blowback due to EGS exclusivity. Despite all the negative it looks like team is set on continued support and developement of the game. I cannot help but support that. Hope that developers will keep on shaping this project into a game they can be proud of.    … Expand
  39. K0O
    Jun 26, 2020
    9
    Very nicely balanced. Very addictive and interesting gameplay. Good solid game engine. Nice sounds and graphics. A bit repetitive, but still one of the very best turn-based strategy/tactical XCOM-type games. Recommended highly, if you liked the newer XCOM.
  40. Combiner
    Dec 19, 2020
    9
    Great different look on XCOM formula with very alive world and many random and non-linear things.
    Now devs just released Year One edition and they will keep improoving the game in 2021.
  41. daroubignole
    Dec 23, 2019
    9
    I think this game is really really good. The roots (and trunk) are XCOM(2), but there are a tons of hitherto unknown to me little mechanics sprinkled all over it. I like the troops & inventory management à la Soldiers of Fortune. I also like the eerie atmosphere that emanates from the whole package (lore, design, music, ...).

    If my understanding is correct, the dev team is basically one    I think this game is really really good. The roots (and trunk) are XCOM(2), but there are a tons of hitherto unknown to me little mechanics sprinkled all over it. I like the troops & inventory management à la Soldiers of Fortune. I also like the eerie atmosphere that emanates from the whole package (lore, design, music, ...).

    If my understanding is correct, the dev team is basically one guy, or at least one dude made most of FP. Anyway, there are a few bugs, a few problems, and some things are not clear at first glance. That said, the versatility and originality of the combat mechanics as well as the overall quality of the game in general outweighs the occasional frustration or quirkiness for me so far (about 200hrs).

    Also, the first patch that came out recently was decent and left me hopeful the the dev(s) will keep on fixing for a little wile before DLCs come out..    … Expand
  42. thzeitch
    Dec 25, 2019
    9
    I like classic XCOMs and Firaxis' XCOM2: WotC as well. Now I've played Phoenix Point about 30-35 hours.
    All visuals, sounds and music made very well - stylish and congruent. Really good job!
    The core game mechanics is rock-solid. Gameplay is addictive that leads me to insomnia. Lore/narrative content implemented good enough (btw, do not expect strong storyline or something, because this    I like classic XCOMs and Firaxis' XCOM2: WotC as well. Now I've played Phoenix Point about 30-35 hours.
    All visuals, sounds and music made very well - stylish and congruent. Really good job!
    The core game mechanics is rock-solid. Gameplay is addictive that leads me to insomnia. Lore/narrative content implemented good enough (btw, do not expect strong storyline or something, because this game {like original XCOMs} is much more about gameplay, not storytelling).
    Also, I must admit, some game aspects are unpolished yet, but noncritical. No doubt the game is definitely worth to buy and has a great potential that (I'm sure) will be properly unleashed in the future DLCs.
    9/10.    … Expand
  43. LordKiRon
    Dec 8, 2019
    9
    Initially I gave 6/10 to this game, but after playing for couple of days changed to 9/10.
    My problem is that I expected something like X-COM or better yet X-COM with modern graphics and maybe a bit different firing system, the game is not it .
    However, its a great game, I started to love it ! On the bad side there still rather uneventful, blend, research and the learning curve is    Initially I gave 6/10 to this game, but after playing for couple of days changed to 9/10.
    My problem is that I expected something like X-COM or better yet X-COM with modern graphics and maybe a bit different firing system, the game is not it .
    However, its a great game, I started to love it !
    On the bad side there still rather uneventful, blend, research and the learning curve is unpleasant, also the “switch” from “everything is too easy and world is small” to “damn, I can’t pass any mission and the world is huge” is just too sharp.    … Expand
  44. Vitamin-J
    Mar 11, 2020
    9
    A revolutionized engine for the "X-Com Like" genre.

    Granted, the original Xcom had a similar mechanic - Phoenix Point's free aim systems makes any other game that uses percentages feel seriously dated. The factions are a great addition and allow multiple play throughs with different endings and outcomes. The factions lack a little asymmetry but with the mods there are out there, one    A revolutionized engine for the "X-Com Like" genre.

    Granted, the original Xcom had a similar mechanic - Phoenix Point's free aim systems makes any other game that uses percentages feel seriously dated.

    The factions are a great addition and allow multiple play throughs with different endings and outcomes. The factions lack a little asymmetry but with the mods there are out there, one can customize the differences and provide a truly unique feel for each one.

    It feels great to have another strategy game with a turn based tactical layer and geoscape strategic layer that isn't centered around the traditional sense of an Alien Invasion. Phoenix Point's story is very unique, eerie and provides the same novel feeling Julian Gollops originally produced X-COM: UFO Defense had given us, so many years ago.

    Not to mention Vehicles. There is vehicles! I always want there to be vehicles and too many developers just skip out on this part.

    I am very excited to see the additional content drops for this game and I truly think this is going to change the sub-genre, for the better.    … Expand
  45. Danny79
    Dec 6, 2019
    9
    it's a really great games, i played arround 7 hours of it, if you like the xcom series you will like this.
  46. Palginortiz
    Dec 4, 2019
    9
    Ah HUGE step up from the X-Com remake. Captures the flair and angst of the original X-Com. Micromanagement for ammunition, Perks and the free fire option are great implementations for the genre. Also, the frustrating "adjacent miss" that X-Com was infamous for is no more. Dive into that great game and enjoy! Btw, this is not a X-Com ripoff when the creator of the original X-Com made thisAh HUGE step up from the X-Com remake. Captures the flair and angst of the original X-Com. Micromanagement for ammunition, Perks and the free fire option are great implementations for the genre. Also, the frustrating "adjacent miss" that X-Com was infamous for is no more. Dive into that great game and enjoy! Btw, this is not a X-Com ripoff when the creator of the original X-Com made this game. It is more like the next step in evolution!
    Graphics are good, Story is okay, all in all a stable release (at least for me it is). If I could remap my keys now it would be a perfect 10 (or 5 out of 7 if you like)    … Expand
  47. PerunAUS
    Dec 4, 2019
    9
    I want to note that i rate this game as what it is, a mid budget successor not to FiraxCom but the old Xcom UFO defence. while a tad rough around the edges the out of the box experience is entertaining and loyal to much of the original. the gane will clearly benefit from some DLC, but i stress again that the out of the box experience is a fun one.
  48. alexg6464
    Dec 6, 2019
    9
    Quite a good game, it has it's own lore, I love the way every bullet is individually simulated so you never feel like the game just cheats you. It keeps me interested like the XCOM and X-Com games did. Way more flexible in soldier maneuvers than the 'walk-shoot' system in Firaxis games, it fits my careful playstyle more.
    Individual spotting rather thant 'packs' of enemies, that makes it    Quite a good game, it has it's own lore, I love the way every bullet is individually simulated so you never feel like the game just cheats you. It keeps me interested like the XCOM and X-Com games did. Way more flexible in soldier maneuvers than the 'walk-shoot' system in Firaxis games, it fits my careful playstyle more.
    Individual spotting rather thant 'packs' of enemies, that makes it nice and realistic.
    I really enjoy this game and look forward to many more hours in it!    … Expand
  49. Pinkiesbrain
    Dec 15, 2019
    9
    I was very surprised. First from the game and then from a lot of Xcom veterans here on metacritic who polarize on the game.
    To me this was one of the best Xcom experiences across the last couple of years minus a few flaws.
    At the start, and with my high hopes, i felt a little bit disapointed about the game and I thought "well, it is not very deep, only 3 character classes, and the    I was very surprised. First from the game and then from a lot of Xcom veterans here on metacritic who polarize on the game.
    To me this was one of the best Xcom experiences across the last couple of years minus a few flaws.

    At the start, and with my high hopes, i felt a little bit disapointed about the game and I thought "well, it is not very deep, only 3 character classes, and the gameplay and customization is a abit shallow"
    But then with more and more hours in the game pretty much exploded in my face and soon i almost lost the overview of all my soldiers, all the classes and builds and loadouts and so forth. And while it became a lot to care about it did not become this behemoth like LW2 where things become messy after a while. In short - the game started to shine a lot later than expected.

    The gamplay works better for me than in the last two xcom titles, because it manages two things very well:
    1. The tactical games are much more predictable and therefore planable and "tactical"
    2. I did not need or want to save scum all the time although it was dificult every now and then. Which makes the gameply so much more fluid.

    There is one thing that is mentioned often in the critics which is "the soldiers dont have personality" which is true but i felt it to be a kind of advantage. I had loved characters in Xcom1 and 2 too. OFC.
    but this led to sad faces when the loved ones get hurt or killed.
    But Xcom has always been about exactly that: expendable soldiers, about losses and the hurt of war.
    Adn this does phoenix point manage very well the soldiers dont get too close to our heart and the skill trees are not toooo deep and this makes them expendable and taht makes the game concept work since we dont care(too much) about a soldier getting badly hurt or leaving someone in the base for a couple of days.
    Still- while I love the "new" aim mechanics so much more tahn the "old" (after some getting used to it)

    Still while this stuff worked good, and replayability is there because of the factions system there is some minor to major flaws imho.

    First , as metioned, it starts too late to develop its qualities. Second the game scales somehow strange. In the first twenty hours it was kinda (too) easy and by now it is really hard. All my soldiers have to be snipers because the storm rifle does 40 dmg max and almost all my enemies have 40 -60 armor. Ending in 0 dmg for "normal" rifles. I dont kow if I missed some research somewhere though...
    Anyways I feel extremely outdated with my weapons.
    The Story is not reeeally engaging thats true. I am not a lore guy- in fact I never in my gamer career was a guy who reads quests or backgrounds since I always found game lore very badly written even in "praised" games. But I like and need immersion and that is a little bit off in phoenix point.

    So all in all - it is a definitve recommend from my side. It is not Xcom3 but it is an awesome Xcom2.5 with great ideas and dynamics.
    And if you compare the Budget from Xcom 2 and Phoenix point - Phoenix Point CLEARLY did the better job in almost every aspect of the game.    … Expand
  50. chuchezza
    Dec 3, 2019
    8
    Забавляют микрочелики, которые сравнивают эту игру с XCOM, при этом не понимая, что PP является идейным продолжателем X-COM из 90х. В игре много потенциала, надеюсь разработчики доведут все до ума.
  51. Mikethewolf
    Dec 5, 2019
    8
    Solid game - Was pushed out a bit too soon - but im sure it will grow and evolve into a better game.] Gave it an 8 just to balance out the unfair 0s . Its a rushed out Day 1 game - so their are some bugs and missing features , but its an indie studio in a niche genre so that expected and im sure will evolve over time.
    It a bit hallow from what it should be but the tactical combat is deep    Solid game - Was pushed out a bit too soon - but im sure it will grow and evolve into a better game.] Gave it an 8 just to balance out the unfair 0s . Its a rushed out Day 1 game - so their are some bugs and missing features , but its an indie studio in a niche genre so that expected and im sure will evolve over time.
    It a bit hallow from what it should be but the tactical combat is deep and fun. Has a long way to go to be a good game but worth supporting to keep it going .
    It released with a completely unexplained and undocumented stealth system though which is a bit confusing but otherwise fun and solid and another one of those " Just one more round" games    … Expand
  52. valir
    Dec 22, 2019
    8
    This game is something that XCOM from Firaxis does not have. Phoenix Point has atmosphere of X-COM classic. I like this game.
  53. doristurlu78
    Dec 6, 2019
    8
    Just started and i must say the game is very good, have an old laptop so i have to play on low setting but still looks fine, but used to have sinclair so maybe graphics isnt a deal breaker for me. the game works great but some loading times. But i think most of the negative reviews are because people were just expecting too much and some people thought it would be more user friendly likeJust started and i must say the game is very good, have an old laptop so i have to play on low setting but still looks fine, but used to have sinclair so maybe graphics isnt a deal breaker for me. the game works great but some loading times. But i think most of the negative reviews are because people were just expecting too much and some people thought it would be more user friendly like the new XCOM games who are great by the way. And its the same with this game as any other game today that is its probably put out a little bit soon so we have to wait for patches and upgrades for some time and hopefully after few months it will be even better. have been playing Fallout 4 finally and its great and everything works fine and all the dlc's are good too. If you want a great turn based game then check this out… Expand
  54. Aliarm
    Feb 9, 2020
    8
    Game have better core gameplay, combat mechanic and variety then XCOM. But still need some better interface, tutorial and polished.
  55. Ahkman
    Dec 4, 2019
    8
    Review based on around 8 hours of play. As a fan of Xcom, so far i am really enjoying this game.
    The good -
    Enemy design is great and varied. Enemies of a certain type will not always have the same loadout or the same approach and this leads to a lot of variety. Tactics find a very good balance between making this deeper than the console friendly new Xcoms from Firaxis (which i liked)    Review based on around 8 hours of play. As a fan of Xcom, so far i am really enjoying this game.
    The good -
    Enemy design is great and varied. Enemies of a certain type will not always have the same loadout or the same approach and this leads to a lot of variety.
    Tactics find a very good balance between making this deeper than the console friendly new Xcoms from Firaxis (which i liked) but not making it too complicated.

    The factions are memorable and seem to take a leaf out of the playbook of Sid Meir's Alpha Centauri i.e. factions are well differentiated by philosophy and the game does a good job of presenting these different perspectives with neutrality. I really like this and more games should do it.

    The meh-
    The game is lacking in the graphic design department - though i do really like the enemy design, the design of everything else is a bit generic and UI is very dated especially in the strategic screens.
    This clearly didn't have a triple A budget and both the cutsene and voice acting quality reflect that. It's not bad per say but it is 'budget'. None of this should put you off buying the game.

    Overall for a kickstarter game this it's great. Looking forward to spending many more hours with this!!    … Expand
  56. ibanghedgehogs
    Dec 9, 2019
    8
    Bloody good xcom like game, needs a bit of bug squash and better tutorial, but it's a great game regardless
  57. SerGjant
    Jun 20, 2020
    8
    I think it's a pretty underrated game. There are quite interesting mechanics. It was not boring throughout the game.
  58. Robbingrogue
    Dec 5, 2019
    8
    Disclaimer: As of the writing of this review, I have played this game for 10 hours. These are my initial thoughts on Phoenix Point.

    As a long-time fan of XCOM 2 (125h in the game), I was very excited when the news about Phoenix Point dropped. But has this game, clearly a love letter to the XCOM franchise, lived up to the hype? XCOM 3? One thing is for certain, the game certainly    Disclaimer: As of the writing of this review, I have played this game for 10 hours. These are my initial thoughts on Phoenix Point.

    As a long-time fan of XCOM 2 (125h in the game), I was very excited when the news about Phoenix Point dropped. But has this game, clearly a love letter to the XCOM franchise, lived up to the hype?

    XCOM 3?
    One thing is for certain, the game certainly *feels* like XCOM. The cover system, the overworld hub, crazy alien enemies, three factions to ally yourself with, and a customizable army at your command all help with the perceiving of this game as an XCOM successor. If you're looking for anything that's remotely XCOM, you shouldn't hesitate to pick this game up. Also, I will stop saying XCOM now.

    THE BAD
    For first-time players in the genre, the first few hours of the game may feel like you being thrown in at the deep end. The tutorial throws a significant amount of information at you; action points, will points, the VATS-like targeting system, the Overwatch system, cover, base-building... The depth in the game is great (more on that later), but the easing-in of players could, in my opinion, have been done better.

    In the visual department, Phoenix Point is nothing tremendously special. The overworld globe lacks detail, and consists of hardly anything but little circle-blips indicating locations to explore and faction bases to trade with. In battle, too, the graphics seem a little outdated, and not as polished as we have come to expect in 2019. It's not *ugly*, mind you - but it could have been better.

    Some reviews I've read have talked about bugs. So far, I have yet to encounter any game-breaking bugs. Loading times on the enemy turns can be a little long, and can make you feel like something's gone wrong, but have resolved themselves every time they happened to me. The largest bug I have encountered is that of line-of-sight indicators. Whenever you select one of your units and hover over potential movement destinations, a small sight indicator allows you to see which enemies you can target from that position. It's happened to me a few times that the indicator revealed itself for a certain location, but when I move to it, the game doesn't allow me to fire on any enemies from that location. This is annoying.

    Finally, the most major thing that has irked me is the 'end-turn'-button (Backspace). It has happened to me three times already that I accidentally pressed Backspace rather than Escape to cancel a proposed action - but when this is done, you automatically skip your turn, no confirmation required. This has led to soldiers lost and angry restarts. What's worse - you can't re-bind the button to something you definitely won't use. So you're stuck worrying about possibly pressing the button and outright losing your game.

    THE GOOD
    Besides the previously-mentioned similarities to XCOM (which is a good thing), so far I am enjoying the story. Information about the world is drip-fed to you rather than being exposited all over immediately, and I am curious to see where exactly the Campaign will lead to.

    The missions are also, so far, fun to play. Enemies are varied and well-designed, and the VATS-like aiming system is great, although not *always* as accurate as it seems to me. I am enjoying the Willpower system which allows you to spend a certain number of points each mission to perform special feats, like a small extra movement for no action cost or lowering the action cost of shooting. Snipers so far are my favorite, with their high damage output and pin-point precision.

    There's plenty of depth in the game for the micro-managers, too; you'll spend quite some time assigning your favorite gear to your favorite characters, building your base from the ground up, manufacturing and scrapping new weapons, etc. Whilst the customizability can be a little confusing at some parts (I myself am not particularly keen on the dozen of different stats for each soldier) and lacking in some elements (there's no real character design customization options), it's still sufficiently deep to be enjoyed.

    CONCLUSION
    Whilst there's certainly more to come in the game that can change my verdict, so far I can say that Phoenix Point is likely to be enjoyed by fans of the XCOM franchise and strategy fans at large. Whilst there are some issues that will hopefully be solved in later patches, the game is fine to play as-is, and is certainly an enjoyable experience.

    7/10 GRAPHICS
    8,5/10 GAMEPLAY
    -1 Information overload in tutorial
    -1 Small bugs & Missing features
    +2 Combat experience (Aiming & Willpower systems, enemy variety)
    +0 Customizability (Nice and deep in some parts, lacking in others)

    TOTAL SCORE
    15,5/20 = [8-]    … Expand
  59. Utfinnbarr
    Dec 5, 2019
    8
    I'm about 15 hours in and I must say I quite enjoy Phoenix Point. The big marker of success for this genre of game is whether or not you want to play it to the end— by that marker it works. I offer what I find good about the game and ways I think the game NEEDS to be polished and improved.
    (There's a summary at the bottom)
    It feels like a worthy iteration of one of the most paranoia    I'm about 15 hours in and I must say I quite enjoy Phoenix Point. The big marker of success for this genre of game is whether or not you want to play it to the end— by that marker it works. I offer what I find good about the game and ways I think the game NEEDS to be polished and improved.
    (There's a summary at the bottom)

    It feels like a worthy iteration of one of the most paranoia inducing series in gaming history. The procedural map generation is well done in this game with a lot of variety in design and layout. The inclusion of faction specific classes as well as the balance between resting your squad and the injuries you will inevitably suffer breaks the tendency in X-Com 1 and 2 to have a single super squad that steam rolls all missions. This along with the difficulty in getting new soldiers means you will have a constant rotation of different compositions, sometimes out of experimentation sometimes out of desperation. And importantly classes behave differently and serve very different functions, in this way nothing feels too samey.

    Metaphorically speaking the construction of Phoenix point is tied to its main theme, I describe it thus as mutagenic. There are a lot of different moving parts in terms of game play, the three factions are in conflict with one another pursuing their own research and slinging arrows while the ominous red mist creeps across the globe spreading Lovecraftian horror. The rogue-like quality in this system of diplomacy has a narrative purpose. I find that for the most part the factions bring nuanced story building through the random encounters and dialogue you have. You speak with haven leaders who are associated with a faction but not necessarily the leader of the faction itself, resulting in conversations with folks from different levels of power in the society. You thus get a sense of the gleaming ideals of those at the top and also the average person's experience living in the proposed society. It's a nice touch and well communicated through the various cinematic bits.

    I will say however because it is a mutagenic game a lot of it feels unguided. While there are story missions the game play loop is vaguely pointed to and not structured like X-com 2. A lot of the exploring and doing missions hovers between busy work and immersing yourself in the fantasy. The prospect of scavenging missions, even 10 hours in tends to be, "stop the man crab from hitting the apple barrel." The game itself seems best explored through trial and error, but the payoff is at times vague.

    Even as a veteran player I chose the normal difficulty for the sake of learning the game and thus far I've lost a few soldiers and when it happened I knew it was my fault, which is excellent. Still, most fights feel pretty one-sided at this difficulty at least this early on.

    Now for the critiques;
    The voice acting in the battlescape is uninspired. The recording quality is not consistent which is almost worse than having everything sound uniformly bad. The sound design, I found it momentarily compelling but not particularly engaging; it's serviceable. This in particular is a shame because I have such a strong positive association with the sound effects and score from the Ps1 port of the original X-com. The music is never bad but often times is hardly noticeable, the gun shots, explosions and sounds of the mutants serve their purpose but aren't anything special.

    The graphics are a let down. I find them rudimentary for a 2019 release and it's only by ambition of the ideas that I don't really dislike them. The enemy design is alright, it's not pretty or jaw-dropping. This again is in stark contrast to the excellent design in X-com 2.

    As I said earlier the game play loop is unfocused, a lot is tossed at you at once and you'll always have choices to make (what should I research, what should I build, where should I go) but often times it's just a sheer volume of things without any real satisfaction in doing them.

    Most egregious are the many typos in different descriptions or journal entries. It's wildly disappointing to see something as simple as a spellcheck being overlooked and I think ties to my final assessment of the game.

    Here's my summary:
    Phoenix Point's ambition to expand X-com into something that is simultaneously modern while invoking the complexity and atmosphere of the original is largely successful. It achieves this through the power of its ideas, both regarding that of the hostile invasion that is taking place as well as the interplay between differing ideologies battling in crisis. The mechanics through which it does this however are at this point unpolished. There is a lot of squinting you have to do in order to get sight of the big picture. There are lots of details in of design and implementation that need to be smoothed out in order for it to reach its full potential. I cannot recommend this as a first entry, for veterans go out and buy it for the upcoming free updates.    … Expand
  60. tuffpet
    Dec 7, 2019
    8
    While some of the mission types pop up far too often (I'm looking at you scavenge missions), there is a lot of detail to get into and depth to explore.

    I prefer the movement mechanics to xcom, though they did take getting used to!

    The story is interesting and I'm currently working with the faction I least thought I would. Enjoyable fun that will keep me going for quite some time!
  61. Varrgas
    Dec 9, 2019
    8
    First, this game didn't deserve a Mass Dislike and review bombing like that...
    For a AAA like BL3 or else i can understand, but not a Kickstarted Indy game...
    If people want to play Xcom from Firaxis, just do it, don't ask a game to be an other one, it's useless. My opinion after some hours, didn't finished the main campaign yet: Good: - Combat are strategics - The 3D visual is    First, this game didn't deserve a Mass Dislike and review bombing like that...
    For a AAA like BL3 or else i can understand, but not a Kickstarted Indy game...
    If people want to play Xcom from Firaxis, just do it, don't ask a game to be an other one, it's useless.

    My opinion after some hours, didn't finished the main campaign yet:

    Good:
    - Combat are strategics
    - The 3D visual is nice and is really well optimized (60FPS at 1080p with a PC: i7-4790K no-OC + GTX 980 no-OC )
    - There is many way to play, many classe and combo
    - The Ui who is clean, not a mess, easy to understand
    - An in game PhoenixPedia for more info
    - Mechanics are well explained and easy to understand, but not easy to mastery
    - Really cool looking Artistic direction
    - The Real Aim Sight Mechanics !!!! it change A LOT the game play, it's amazing and totally change the feeling from game like this one.
    - The story who seems amazing and very interesting but...

    Bad:
    - ... the Story is not nought present, to mush in the back, why ???
    - The music are to shy, and i think they was composed before the game loosed his horror atmosphere, that why sometime the music seems more dark than what happen in game and doesn't suit well.
    - Combat music have to be a little more punshy, more energetic i think, but it's personal feeling.
    - No cinematic effect during combat, or cut Scene, like when you One shot someone from far away with your sniper, as we can see in Trailer Video, there nothing like this in game.
    This point isn't that important maybe but it add a lot of fun and help the player to feel the grinding of his team and when he grow in power. There isn't to be all the time, but just sometime, when great action happen.
    It's nice to see the effect of our strategy in action in a nice looking scene.
    - Maybe not enough class and different equipment
    - No PvP online :/

    Special case:
    - The lost of the Horror Side of the game.
    I can understand why for this point, this is a niche game and with an horror background and story, maybe too mush people will let the game on the side and look for something else.
    But the game had to be sell one day and earn some money, we musn't forget this, even if it's fan made from people who love video game and what they done, even if it's a kickstarter, there people who need to feed there family behind this game !
    I a saying all of this and i not even backed the game xD

    Well, whatever, the game is nice, interesting, need some adjustment and there will be some before the end of the year with a free DLC.
    Give it a chance, even later, if you like this kind of game.

    But stop Review bombing, it's stupid, Epic or not !    … Expand
  62. ergo14
    Dec 9, 2019
    8
    Snapshot delivered a good game. It builds on UFO/XCOM mechanics in a fun way and adds own twist on top of that. Geoscape is meaningful and fights are fun. Currectly there are some bugs and balacing issues here and there but nothing that can't be solved by a patch. I do like the difficullty though - it seems player has to adapt to Pandoran evolution too and it is a race with time to win.Snapshot delivered a good game. It builds on UFO/XCOM mechanics in a fun way and adds own twist on top of that. Geoscape is meaningful and fights are fun. Currectly there are some bugs and balacing issues here and there but nothing that can't be solved by a patch. I do like the difficullty though - it seems player has to adapt to Pandoran evolution too and it is a race with time to win.

    I liked the game a lot better than first XCOM and at least on par with XCOM2/Xenonauts.    … Expand
  63. iseeall
    Mar 15, 2023
    7
    A game in the XCom style which tries to improve on the 2010s versions by adding back features from the 1990s versions. However, it's mired with poor camera controls, glitches and lags

    Good: - the 4AP system is closer to the original 1990s XCom and is a major improvement compared to the 2AP system which sadly became so common in the more recent squad-based tactical games - extensive    A game in the XCom style which tries to improve on the 2010s versions by adding back features from the 1990s versions. However, it's mired with poor camera controls, glitches and lags

    Good:
    - the 4AP system is closer to the original 1990s XCom and is a major improvement compared to the 2AP system which sadly became so common in the more recent squad-based tactical games
    - extensive character customization and classes taken from the later XComs are good
    - the story is nicely written, it's higher-quality sci-fi with at least no obvious logical inconsistencies. Factions with their ideologies are believable
    - music is great and deserves a download for listening when not playing the game
    - graphics and sfx are good
    - the tutorial does a good job showing you all the numerous game systems
    - the aiming system is a good idea (borrowed from Fallout New Vegas), it works better than I'd expect

    So-so:
    - like in all newer XCom games, overwatch is still king. You can put a few snipers on constant overwatch in the corner of the map and that's it. The game tries to discourage this by putting resource barrels which the enemy will destroy if you don't rush forward - but I guess a bit of lost loot is still far better than a dead soldier. Btw in the original 1990s XComs there was the same issue: there you could just skip 35 turns, the aliens will rush forward to find you, and you put a line of crouched soldiers with laser rifles - the game turns into a shooting practice. The real solution to this was offered by JA2 with its mix of real-time and turn-based modes + interrupts (based on wisdom stat and soldier's line of sight).
    - the game shows approx locations of enemies which makes the game a bit too easy. The original XComs had this tension where you could never know where the next alien will come from - that's lost here

    Bad:
    - can't reconfigure key bindings. E.g. I'd want to flip Q/E, T/G and mouse wheel but that's not possible. Rotating the camera was a constant pain for me. Instead of Q/E, camera should be freely rotatable, say, with middle mouse button, since it's a 3D game. Also, I was constantly trying to zoom out to see where the enemies are - in vain. The camera just refuses to be controlled properly. Most likely, it's because this game was made for consoles first, not PC first. So, everything is optimized for controllers, not mouse and keyboard
    - there are missions where you need to reach a location or pick an item - even after all enemies are dead you still have to move each soldier in turn-based mode
    - performance is bad: even at "low" gfx preset, my gaming laptop with NVidia GTX1100 had noticeable lags. When you move around the cursor, it aparently runs pathfinding all the time, so there are delays when all those lines and borders of movement are shown. This creates a laggy experience overall and takes out much of the fun
    - vehicles are a nusiance. They drive through scenery objects including barrels, explode them and take damage. Instead, vehicles should only enter objects if you explicitely tell them to go there. Or maybe hold "shift" while clicking to move

    Try it if you're into the newer XCom releases. I'll just wait for Xenonauts 2 instead.    … Expand
  64. Biberattacke
    May 1, 2020
    7
    Julian Gollop als einer der Erfinder der UFO/Xcom Reihe hat versucht Xcom von Fireaxis Konkurrenz zu machen. Wir nehmen die Grundfrage Vorweg: Ist Phoenix Point das bessere Xcom. Antwort: Nein! Aber es macht ganz viel richtig! Die Taktikkämpfe sind herausfordernd und selten unfair. Die Gegner sind sehr abwechslungsreich, und jeder erfordert eine andere Taktik. Die Waffen und Utilities dieJulian Gollop als einer der Erfinder der UFO/Xcom Reihe hat versucht Xcom von Fireaxis Konkurrenz zu machen. Wir nehmen die Grundfrage Vorweg: Ist Phoenix Point das bessere Xcom. Antwort: Nein! Aber es macht ganz viel richtig! Die Taktikkämpfe sind herausfordernd und selten unfair. Die Gegner sind sehr abwechslungsreich, und jeder erfordert eine andere Taktik. Die Waffen und Utilities die man seinen Teams mitgeben kann ergänzen das Spiel sinnvoll. Die Strategiekarte mit den einzelnen Basen ist.. naja OK. Vielmehr war bei Xcom 2 diesbezüglich aber auch nicht drin! Das Spiel ist also recht gut, aber warum nur eine 7/10? Bietet es doch so noch so viel mehr wie verschiedene Fraktionen, eine solide Storyline, die auch zum mehrfachen durchspielen anregt. Die Antwort ist: Es zieht sich wie Kaugummi! Mein Gott Walter, warum ist das Endgame so künstlich verlängert? Ständig sich wiederholende Missionen und im letzten Viertel machen ein gutes Spiel mit sehr guten Ansätzen zum Sisyphosarbeit. Schade! Sehr Schade, denn das Potential den Genrekönig Xcom 2 vom Thron zu stoßen war in Ansätzen vorhanden.… Expand
  65. YordanYanakiev
    Jun 8, 2021
    7
    A game which dividing me is rare.
    Absolutely great ideas, great graphics, great gameplay, great story.. but well - why should be this pushing up from the monsters over taking the planet. It's feels like absurd pressure which is with a predicted doom over your small world. This result killing the fun and practically ditching the game.
    Absurdly wrong decision for such a gem. I really hope    A game which dividing me is rare.
    Absolutely great ideas, great graphics, great gameplay, great story.. but well - why should be this pushing up from the monsters over taking the planet. It's feels like absurd pressure which is with a predicted doom over your small world. This result killing the fun and practically ditching the game.
    Absurdly wrong decision for such a gem.
    I really hope that it will be reconsidered in the next episode. ;)    … Expand
  66. Imoen
    May 11, 2022
    7
    It would be a very good game if not a HUGE number of unnecessary actions that developers add every DLC. For example, what they did with a seemingly good DLC about the weapons of the ancients is simply infuriating. Or an DLC where a Behemoth makes an already difficult game to regret that you yourself are not a mutant with 5 hands. This game deserves a better rating than 7, but so far it isIt would be a very good game if not a HUGE number of unnecessary actions that developers add every DLC. For example, what they did with a seemingly good DLC about the weapons of the ancients is simply infuriating. Or an DLC where a Behemoth makes an already difficult game to regret that you yourself are not a mutant with 5 hands. This game deserves a better rating than 7, but so far it is the only one.… Expand
  67. Nartau
    Nov 2, 2021
    7
    Great game in terms of mechanics and best shooting for X-COM clones out there, but man micromanagement of items gets tedious over time and just unbearable in the late game.
  68. Vasot
    Dec 13, 2019
    6
    Good but inferior from XCOM games in many aspects. Quality is surely worse from XCOM games with worse menus much worse base management and characters are poorly designed and lack emotion. Feels like an old Flash game sometimes with some minimalistic static screens. There is no aerial combat and the gameplay is more complicated that it needs to be, The plot feels lacking and it's not thatGood but inferior from XCOM games in many aspects. Quality is surely worse from XCOM games with worse menus much worse base management and characters are poorly designed and lack emotion. Feels like an old Flash game sometimes with some minimalistic static screens. There is no aerial combat and the gameplay is more complicated that it needs to be, The plot feels lacking and it's not that interesting when you fight the same mutant alien crabs. Overall it's not as good as the XCOM series sorry… Expand
  69. drumbunny
    Dec 6, 2019
    6
    The core game is fine and fun but far from polished. The cover mechanic is broken on many maps as well as the line of sight. In such a strategic game it can break a mission if you rely on the line of sight indicator.

    Also the maps and missions get repetetive pretty fast...
  70. MadclownJack
    Apr 8, 2020
    6
    Love it so far. It's reasonably easy to get into, easier if you're versed in micromanagement from earlier UFO games. It contains enough new mechanics to distinguish itself from its equivalents, but also contains enough familiar mechanics so as not to appear repellent to anyone. Enemies have interesting designs, and so do player characters, and playable factions (in the form of theLove it so far. It's reasonably easy to get into, easier if you're versed in micromanagement from earlier UFO games. It contains enough new mechanics to distinguish itself from its equivalents, but also contains enough familiar mechanics so as not to appear repellent to anyone. Enemies have interesting designs, and so do player characters, and playable factions (in the form of the occasional recruits). Huge fan of the mutated sea creatures (lovecraftian horrors)! I do hope, however, that there's no timer mechanic present, because i am currently having a lot of fun just finishing random missions, if only to study the enemy behavior (and have their AI study mine, apparently) and to accrue necessary materials/loot. The mission variety is similar to that of the last XCOM games, with a twist towards eldritch horror, rather than science fiction alone. I think this is a worthy addition of the turn-based sci-fi horror genre. I am not a backer, and i got the latest build of the game, and again, so far, it's been very stable. No crashes, bugs, nothing. Every XCOM/UFO fan owes it to themselves to play this. 9/10

    Edit. After a full week of playing i found out that i often had to resort to save scumming to be able to progress due to the game being terribly unbalanced. On top of that, Bosses just destroy everything in their path and trample anyone found under them just by moving. Why? I mean the game is fine as is, why resort to such cheap, borderline unfair mechanics? Are they really going for realism THERE? So great, it's a tank. Fully armored, highest HP in the game, shoots literal nukes. Why the trample mechanic? Such a detriment to an otherwise great game. Insult to injury, i managed to kill set boss but had to evac because an enemy got stuck behind an indestructible wall becoming unkillable, making all my effort a waste of time. Also why am i stuck with the crappy weapons and armor while the pandorans are evolved to hell in like 10 missions? The Sirens kind of feel cheaper than the rest and multiple ones in the same mission just isn't fun or fair. I can deal with one of them, but again, savescumming. Also, i feel as if i'm bottle necked to lose the campaign because i feel no progress in research, or armor and weapons upgrades.That said, Had to detract two points from grade. Must be re-balanced and fixed stat. Still good, just not as good as previously thought. 7/10

    Edit 2. Just had a mission with two Sirens. Mind-controlled 4 of my 6 characters in one turn. It's worth mentioning that they are fully armored and can't be killed by anything less than 3-4 subsequent attacks. I can't pretend this is any sort of fair anymore. I'm all for learning to play but this is clearly not that. I'm also starting to feel that this is somehow by design, to prevent players from reaching an end point to a game that is in reality unfinished. 6/10

    Edit: Apr 04. Updated to hell, STILL has weird difficulty spikes. Sirens still spawn 2 at a time. Still able to hijack two soldiers in one turn. On the side of new things BioArmor looks nice. The Pure are just another unnecessary stumble you're set to slip on. Weapons still feel waaay too slow to research, forcing you to either steal or slowly grind diplomacy missions. It's like, there's a ton of choices and stuff to do, but all of them leading to the realization that the leaders in this world are illogical narcissistic caricatures of men/women, inevitably bent on mutual self-destruction. God i want to like this game, i really do. It's got great, GREAT ideas. Some of them well executed even. But it's just not for me. Guess i just want a coherent tactical turn-based strategy that'll let me win every once in a while, without giving me anxiety and forcing me to choke the HDD with saves. Also, why do my characters still miss shots at unobstructed targets a literal FOOT in front of them? What sort of RNG is this exactly?    … Expand
  71. sherbz
    Dec 5, 2019
    6
    IMO Phoenix Point does everything that XCOM does, but does it worse. And the other game to compare it with - Xenonauts - it only manages to beat it on a handful of occasions. Thats not to say it is a bad game - because it is not. But honestly i was expecting more. One area it falls down in dramatically is in sound. The soldiers sound like their recordings were done in vacuum tubes.IMO Phoenix Point does everything that XCOM does, but does it worse. And the other game to compare it with - Xenonauts - it only manages to beat it on a handful of occasions. Thats not to say it is a bad game - because it is not. But honestly i was expecting more. One area it falls down in dramatically is in sound. The soldiers sound like their recordings were done in vacuum tubes. The music is there, but not tied to the script. It basically has a lot of good ideas and the germ of a good game is there, but it really lacks overall execution. Which is a real shame (im a backer btw). I dont begrudge my backing. But i dont think this will be taking the title of best turn based squad game from XCOM anytime soon. Firaxis's offering is smarter, better designed, and just better in all facets. If you want to play a polished game of a similar ilk then play xenonauts. If you are willing to wait, then Phoenix point may end up surpassing it. But that time is not now. For the vast majority of people, there is not really much to see here. Go play XCOM you fools.… Expand
  72. Duloth
    Mar 30, 2021
    6
    What would you get if you built a total conversion mod for X-com 2, wherein you were dealing with a Zerg invasion of earth, with a slowly expanding creep from which colonies of the organic invaders would swarm out to attack nearby cities, and then tacked on a faction system where mid-tier equipment was gated based on allying yourself with one of three groups of survivors?

    Phoenix    What would you get if you built a total conversion mod for X-com 2, wherein you were dealing with a Zerg invasion of earth, with a slowly expanding creep from which colonies of the organic invaders would swarm out to attack nearby cities, and then tacked on a faction system where mid-tier equipment was gated based on allying yourself with one of three groups of survivors?

    Phoenix Point. Its clearly an unfinished game, where some aspects that may have been considered early on were changed and removed with their legacy remaining in the game, never quite balanced out properly, and with a fair number of bugs still held over well after release.

    And when Is say Zerg, I mean Zerg; one of the alien units looks like a more detailed version of a Hydralisk, and the entire faction follows an alien/insect/crustacean aesthetic that means every creature you run into would fit in well with the swarm, including infested terrans. Couple this with an aesthetic on one of the factions that resembles blue-armored starcraft space marines, and this seems like a Starcraft total conversion for X-com.

    That being said... while it wasn't well-designed or balanced, they certainly weren't lazy about it either. A truly ridiculous number of options for equipping and customizing your soldiers by the end, some of which are more useful for fighting specific enemy types, and some vehicles which are incredibly overpowered early on, and later only useful for gimmick tactics.    … Expand
  73. eded9999
    Mar 8, 2021
    6
    Very good unfulfilled intentions.

    The aiming system, the action points and the real ballistic instead of RNG **** is the way to go for this kind of game in the future. But as a game PP need more work, more content: maps, ENEMIES, different kind of missions, maybe bosses...? Because the game feels unfinished and a bit grindy sometimes, making the same havens defence again and again.    Very good unfulfilled intentions.

    The aiming system, the action points and the real ballistic instead of RNG **** is the way to go for this kind of game in the future. But as a game PP need more work, more content: maps, ENEMIES, different kind of missions, maybe bosses...? Because the game feels unfinished and a bit grindy sometimes, making the same havens defence again and again. Also, on release the game is way too buggy.
    Ending needs more work too. They feels a bit disappointing.

    It's rough around the edges, but with future work it could be a good game.    … Expand
  74. joshbreviews
    Dec 7, 2019
    6
    I really REALLY wanted to love this.

    As of writing this review, it's nothing more than a slightly polished beta. PROS: Very interesting story premise. Cool enemy visual designs. Interesting warring factions premise. Interesting take on x-com aiming system. Interesting take on global map mechanics. CONS: Direly lacks polish. Horribly un-intuitive user interface, making it an    I really REALLY wanted to love this.

    As of writing this review, it's nothing more than a slightly polished beta.

    PROS: Very interesting story premise. Cool enemy visual designs. Interesting warring factions premise. Interesting take on x-com aiming system. Interesting take on global map mechanics.

    CONS: Direly lacks polish. Horribly un-intuitive user interface, making it an absolute chore to learn the game. The game tends to hide important information. Game balance is a total mess. Clearly not play-tested enough.

    Some examples of how messy PP is right now:

    1) Mini-bosses called Sirens attack you in handfuls - MINI-BOSSES. HANDFULS. Inexplicably, the devs intentionally actually created the Siren and intended them to be all-powerful with no weaknesses or counters. The only way to survive an encounter with a handful of Sirens is to hope that they don't all attack at once, which is totally outside your control. One or two, you can defeat. But 3 or 4 at a time? You're dead. Dealing with Sirens is RNG. Will your snipers miss hitting breaking the head or tail? How close will they spawn? How small is the map? Which of your allies gets mind-controlled first? Note that Sirens can mind-control AT RANGE, MULTIPLE TIMES, AND IT HAS NO COUNTER. You will encounter squads of Sirens very early in the game, meaning you'll have to save-scum to scrape by. A SINGLE mind-controlled ally often results in a total squad wipe. It's telling that the devs did NOT ship this game with ironman mode.

    2) Random, run-ending base attacks with ONLY 12 HOURS WARNING. Before the 12hrs, it's RNG. You won't know until it's too late because your plane is halfway across the world. Also, of course, a handful of Sirens will join the assault so you need all hands on deck or it's game over.

    3) Allies WON'T DUCK when ally behind wants to shoot, resulting in friendly fire. Seriously?

    4) The game does not show you the percentage to hit. Seriously? In an X-Com-type game? Who thought this was a good idea? The realistic bullet-tracking is cool, but the game needs more consistency. I NEED TO KNOW THE CHANCES OF A HIT. This is especially notable on one-shot soldiers like snipers or heavies. The lack of percentage calculation is very, very infuriating, considering this is a core concept in these types of games. I understand that they wanted to eliminate the comical 99%-to-hit-but-miss-at-point-blank scenario...but at what cost? PP is much worse off for it.

    5) The maps are smaller and the enemies attack you all at once the moment they know where you are. This make combat faster and tighter, which is good, but somehow it's not quite as good as x-com. I'm not a game dev so I'm having a hard time elaborating. One, the combat skills your soldiers get feel very...generic. They don't really feel like they add flavor to the soldier's specialty. Add to that the cross-class system and it makes each soldier feel less special. X-com's leveling system is more fun and more intuitive. It gives you limited but meaningful choices. PP just throws a bunch of generic buffs at you to choose from. Two, somehow the enemies feel very generic, too. Sorry, can't elaborate well. X-com did enemies better, too. For whatever reason, fights play out very same-y in PP. In x-com, they were more dynamic.

    After an additional year of polish and patching the core mechanics, this could be a GREAT game. But as it stands, this is nothing more than a prototype. If you buy it now you're just a beta-tester. It sucks bad because there's a great game hidden under the thick muck.    … Expand
  75. D3D11
    Feb 12, 2020
    6
    This game is the shining example of how to make something absolutely mediocre. Whoever said that this was from the creators of X-Com, is lied. There is a retextured X-Com game with the missing about 70% of the fun, an added 40% not fun, including unnecessary game mechanics, like AMMO.

    This game shows the difference between professional game making and amateur game making. You can feel    This game is the shining example of how to make something absolutely mediocre. Whoever said that this was from the creators of X-Com, is lied. There is a retextured X-Com game with the missing about 70% of the fun, an added 40% not fun, including unnecessary game mechanics, like AMMO.

    This game shows the difference between professional game making and amateur game making. You can feel that the creators absolutely not loved the game at all, and they aren't really even players.
    You get CRABS (???) instead of aliens, a terrifyingly bad MOBILE HUD instead of a clean and professional one, an overtextured, terribly optimized graphics instead of a nice and clean one and the most boring campaign you ever had.

    The story is just simply idiotic.

    I really wanted to love it, but I caught myself falling asleep constantly.

    Why did they even had to make this game?

    EDIT:

    After playing 20+ hours, I have to say that this is pretty much a decent game. While I still don't like the art-style, the game mechanics is pretty interesting and contains lots of stuff which was missed from X-Com2. Only, you have to take time to unravel this. But there is still no interesting story-line. The optimization is terrible, including the huge loading time.

    Therefore I give it a 6 score instead of a 3, after all.    … Expand
  76. vurst22
    Feb 20, 2020
    6
    It is hard to say for me but I am bit disappointed with game. I loved to tune airplains and base in X-Com Apocalypse. I loved X-Com 1 and 2 tactics missions, but nothing from it is here. Base is just picture - not very clear what room is it. And airplains cannot be modified. Research is not very interesting since not very usefull equipment is there (at least in the beggining) and mainly anIt is hard to say for me but I am bit disappointed with game. I loved to tune airplains and base in X-Com Apocalypse. I loved X-Com 1 and 2 tactics missions, but nothing from it is here. Base is just picture - not very clear what room is it. And airplains cannot be modified. Research is not very interesting since not very usefull equipment is there (at least in the beggining) and mainly an absurdly high level of difficulty. First missions were fine, but suddenly it increased difficulty madly. No joy to play on such level. Hopefully They will work on it yet but I am afraid that it will not be the game I was expecting.… Expand
  77. SupereM
    Feb 7, 2020
    6
    I want to like this game, but it still has numerous bugs like enemies getting stuck inside objects. It just feels unfinished.
  78. huliolopez
    Dec 8, 2019
    6
    Relatively weak game. It has nice feeling of dying world with alive population counter and some good mechanics, but some bad as well. Why mist an global map looks like red outline, and not like mist? Why mist is totaly absent on tactical battelfield? Why I can't hire crew that I want, instead I have to fly from one haven to another in hope they have a sniper for hire (usually they don't,Relatively weak game. It has nice feeling of dying world with alive population counter and some good mechanics, but some bad as well. Why mist an global map looks like red outline, and not like mist? Why mist is totaly absent on tactical battelfield? Why I can't hire crew that I want, instead I have to fly from one haven to another in hope they have a sniper for hire (usually they don't, so keep flying). Why my heavy soldier sometime dies after landing? Why base managment and diplomacy are so primitive? Why there are so many controller bugs - camera flying off the screen, lists not scrolling, some skills can be called only using mouse. Naming convention - Odin? Eidolon?Acolyte? Do you gues have at least some creativity? it's not a bad game, I like it - but sometimes it feels cheap.… Expand
  79. Bubber
    Dec 21, 2019
    6
    Being a huge fan of the original XCOM game I had high expectations for this Phoenix Point. I hoped for an added layer of complexity compared to the Firaxis XCOM games. But unfortunately it just feels a bit messy and become boring quite fast, many of the added features seem pointless and don't really add anything to the gameplay.
  80. Paul_L
    Mar 11, 2021
    6
    Can Phoenix Point bring you a proper amount of hours of intense fun ?

    Honestly, the pitch is awesome. Promising. The lore is great, it really did catch my interest. The factions & dialogue are wonderful, you really feel involved with those and want to serve their interests, or burn them to the ground (looking at you Anu). The game design has a nice value proposition. Compared to what    Can Phoenix Point bring you a proper amount of hours of intense fun ?

    Honestly, the pitch is awesome. Promising. The lore is great, it really did catch my interest. The factions & dialogue are wonderful, you really feel involved with those and want to serve their interests, or burn them to the ground (looking at you Anu).
    The game design has a nice value proposition. Compared to what we usually witness in turn-based strategy games involving shooting, Phoenix Point chooses the simulation of ballistics, for the good and the worse, but it's overall pretty fun.

    However, it is flawed.
    It. Is. Slow. Bugs and overall design don't ease one big disadvantage that turn-based strategy has: it's so slow. Your turn often times takes long minutes to strategize and play in the right order, and the enemies turn, computer-driven, also takes so long to unfold. Fights are long. And sadly, they also are MANY. From what I've understood, your goal is to manage to defend the population, concentrated in fortresses belonging to faction. You do pursue side-stories and quest, but your goal is that of an alien counter-force. However, not every fight holds a worthy challenge, and it's deceiving to have to have to invest minutes into a fight that won't bring you much fun or resource for the sake of the %age of living humans left.
    Another aspect of the game that turned out to be disappointing, is the goal. There seem to be a main quest to pursue, while you do alien-countering on the side, but it does not take much place, neither does it take much of your time, and you just feel left like you have a day-to-day job. Shooting aliens, but still routine.

    So yeah, Phoenix Point has really great arguments thanks to its lore, design and faction. They better be likeable, given the time you'll spend doing the alien police without much challenge. The fights are slow, the progression is slow. There is room for funnier fights, using more verticality that is already in the game design, and some kind of mechanic for dodging easy fights could be so beneficial too.

    However, for the time being, you could spend much time on Phoenix Point without seeing the end of it, but "intense" isn't the word for it from my experience.    … Expand
  81. Fryr
    Aug 29, 2022
    6
    the graphics wasn't that good and the animations were too slow made the game not as fun
  82. Nrhej
    Oct 12, 2022
    6
    this game is alright but the pace is too slow and some may find it not engaging enough
  83. Winterpsy
    Feb 6, 2020
    5
    A good beginning and a terrible mid game.
    Enemies are bullet sponges, or can ruin your day too suddenly in no time (two bombarding artillery aliens one shooting your soldiers from across the map)
    Equipment doesn’t scale well to be competitive I found many missions to be boring and a slugfest, chipping away enemy hp slowly. Some map designs are horrible. (Alien hives, with endless    A good beginning and a terrible mid game.
    Enemies are bullet sponges, or can ruin your day too suddenly in no time (two bombarding artillery aliens one shooting your soldiers from across the map)
    Equipment doesn’t scale well to be competitive I found many missions to be boring and a slugfest, chipping away enemy hp slowly.
    Some map designs are horrible. (Alien hives, with endless reinforcements)
    When it takes over 30-50 mins for a single resource run map due to slow AI turns, I decided to uninstall.
    Had high hopes. Waiting for the patches.    … Expand
  84. ravenblade
    Apr 3, 2020
    5
    As a platinum backer I been disappointed several times throughout its development but let's keep it short and stick to the game at hand: It still needs a lot of work until it's in actual release-ready state. Mechanics feel clunky, animations feel drawn out, the storytelling is a bit lacking in regards of depth and and in general after a short time you've had already your fill of theAs a platinum backer I been disappointed several times throughout its development but let's keep it short and stick to the game at hand: It still needs a lot of work until it's in actual release-ready state. Mechanics feel clunky, animations feel drawn out, the storytelling is a bit lacking in regards of depth and and in general after a short time you've had already your fill of the game. After all the trouble I really thought the team could pull at least something on XCOM 2 level but this feels like are just only aspiring to be as good as Firaxis latest sequel in this series which started off as Gollop's brainchild after all.… Expand
  85. karlito31
    Mar 5, 2021
    5
    This is not a poor man XCOM. Oh, no. This is a raped, beaten and starved poor man Xcom. Absolutely everything in this game, from the look and presentation to the content and the gameplay screams budget playing straight from the early 2000s. Something appropriate to gather dust on the 2$ specials on Wallmart’s shelves.
    Just a couple of hours in the game, and I’ve already opened the    This is not a poor man XCOM. Oh, no. This is a raped, beaten and starved poor man Xcom. Absolutely everything in this game, from the look and presentation to the content and the gameplay screams budget playing straight from the early 2000s. Something appropriate to gather dust on the 2$ specials on Wallmart’s shelves.
    Just a couple of hours in the game, and I’ve already opened the Modbuddy for the first time in
    months. Here, at least some benefit.
    Just because of that and out of respect for Gollop, 4 stars.

    Edit 5.3.2021.
    A large number of patches through 2020 have improved the game somewhat, so I’m raising the initial rating of 4 to 5.
    With some really serious modding, it could turn out to be a solid game. Unfortunately, there is no official modding support.    … Expand
  86. Klarum
    Dec 16, 2019
    5
    The game is fine. But this is an indie level game, that was crowdfunded, and it shows. So I dont understand why it is being sold at AAA pricing and exclusive on EPIC.
    Wait for it to come to Steam and at a discount. By then the bugs of the game should be fixed and they had a year to add content to the game.
  87. Mandulum
    Aug 26, 2020
    5
    I loved the new XCOM games. I played each of them twice, which is rare for me. I'm not completely sure what's turning me off with Pheonix Point. It might be the repetitive gameplay, there's not much variety. Or maybe it's the geoscape with the constant allies under attack. I also don't much like how the story is doled out.

    Date Dropped: 2020-08-10 Playtime: ~ 10h Enjoyment: 5/10    I loved the new XCOM games. I played each of them twice, which is rare for me. I'm not completely sure what's turning me off with Pheonix Point. It might be the repetitive gameplay, there's not much variety. Or maybe it's the geoscape with the constant allies under attack. I also don't much like how the story is doled out.

    Date Dropped: 2020-08-10
    Playtime: ~ 10h
    Enjoyment: 5/10
    Recommendation: It didn't do it for me, so no.    … Expand
  88. Alixon
    Nov 11, 2020
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Unbalanced. In Late game bored. Last mission is crazy and buggy. I play Last mission About 10hour and no kill boss, because enemy still resurection. Boss have all 4 shields up. **** the game!… Expand
  89. spitfire_ch
    Dec 25, 2019
    5
    Promising game that is crippled by an absurdly high level of difficulty. Even on Easy I have to use a trainer to have a chance in later missions. But that destroys the fun of the game completely. Even if I hate to give up, I have to realize now that it makes no sense to torture myself with it any longer. This isn't a game, it's frustrating, hopeless work without any pay. That's really aPromising game that is crippled by an absurdly high level of difficulty. Even on Easy I have to use a trainer to have a chance in later missions. But that destroys the fun of the game completely. Even if I hate to give up, I have to realize now that it makes no sense to torture myself with it any longer. This isn't a game, it's frustrating, hopeless work without any pay. That's really a pity, because the game mechanics and the story would in principle be a lot of fun.… Expand
  90. PEnchan707
    Dec 11, 2019
    5
    TL;DR It's unbalanced, completely unfit for Ironman mode (which isn't even in the game yet) and feels like a Beta.

    The good bits: There's 6 classes that all have their uses, which can also dual-class. There's plenty of room for experimentation. Enemy variety is quite good. Lovecraftian feel works well. Atmospheric music. Interesting aiming system which allows for    TL;DR It's unbalanced, completely unfit for Ironman mode (which isn't even in the game yet) and feels like a Beta.

    The good bits:

    There's 6 classes that all have their uses, which can also dual-class. There's plenty of room for experimentation.

    Enemy variety is quite good.

    Lovecraftian feel works well.

    Atmospheric music.

    Interesting aiming system which allows for greater tactical variety.

    Wide variety of equipment (though something that is definitely a downside is how you unlock it)

    Downsides:

    Very slow start. You can expect the initial 10-15 hours to be comfortable, even on the penultimate difficulty setting, bar a few specific situations here and there. This means that starting a new campaign is tedious and repetitive.

    Missions are, generally, repetitive and many don't feel like they're important. For exmaple, you have to defend other people's bases a lot, and there's not much variety in those missions. You feel like you're running around putting out fires and not getting on with your own objectives.

    Ridiculous yo-yoing of difficulty with some, quite frankly, silly situations that can occur due to enemy composition and/or spawn areas. There will be instances you lose soldiers, or maybe the entire squad, to these kinds of things. That means one of two things; 1: Restart the campaign with all the tedium that brings, as mentioned above. 2: Savescum your way through, which for many will be completely ungratifying.

    Bugs. For example, your team might spawn behind scenery they cannot move out from. Game can get stuck on enemy turns.

    Unbalanced mechanics that make things very unpredictable and either very hard or, sometimes, very easy. On their own turn, for example, you or the enemy can only fire once or twice. However, a mechanic called return fire can mean that guns can be fired up to any number of times when it's NOT the shooters turn. Example;

    You have a squad of 6 soldiers. An enemy stupidly runs into the middle of you and takes no cover. The logical thing to do is blast him, right? Well, not if he's wearing armour. If you shoot him, you'll just chip a bit of health off, but he'll blast you for a quarter of your health. If you were to shoot him twice with all your team, 3-4 of them would be on half health by the time you take him down. Instead of shooting him, you go overwatch and wait for him to run to cover. Everyone shoots him and hopefully, on your next turn, you can finish him off.

    Sniper rifles and armour shred weapons are king since enemies rely on heavy armour to provide a challenge later on. It leads to a shallow experience with little variety, despite there being so many classes, items and weapons.

    The geoscape (world map) is very limited and base management is very shallow. You'll have 6+ bases but you won't really care as you'll just use them to heal troops. They do little else and defending them is sometimes such a pain you'll simply get fed up and just maintain 2-3 on opposite sides of the world so you have global coverage.

    Attacking the big enemy camps is either long and tedious or short and cheesy. You see, if you play like a normal game, the enemy has infinite reinforcements. So instead you just cheaply send in a 'ninja' to stealth-bow the alien hatchery until it's destroyed. Or riskily jump-pack a heavy trooper with a sniper rifle over to it. Not satisfying.

    When you take all this into account, Ironman mode is a non-starter. I think that's why they haven't implemented it yet. They know the game's structure doesn't fit such a mode.    … Expand
  91. mechagamera
    Dec 17, 2019
    5
    This game is a hot underdeveloped mess. An intriguing story and concept of a long dormant virus released from melting permafrost is wasted. The global map and games overall pacing are underdeveloped. The bases have no strategic game to them and look like place holders for real content. Maps are small and cluttered and most times you out gun the enemy except when your forced to face armoredThis game is a hot underdeveloped mess. An intriguing story and concept of a long dormant virus released from melting permafrost is wasted. The global map and games overall pacing are underdeveloped. The bases have no strategic game to them and look like place holders for real content. Maps are small and cluttered and most times you out gun the enemy except when your forced to face armored monstrosities a few hours in with no hope of beating them. Gear and Danger should escalate slowly over time. It just isn't fun in it's present form.… Expand
  92. tyr8338
    Feb 18, 2021
    5
    Phoenix Point is a pretty descent game of that I`m certain after playing for around 15-20 hours. It dosn`t had huge budget and you can feel it but there is enough depth to enjoy it.

    After spending more time with it I must say it gets extremally repetetive unfortunatelly, X-com games offer much more interesting missions and story elements.
  93. StrategyAddict
    Dec 28, 2019
    5
    After almost a hundred hours into this game, it`s might seem hard to give it a low rating. I do because much of this time was spend grinding for resources, doing the same missions over and over again, running into bugs, looking for story missions (that actually differ from the ordinary kill everything missions). I spend all this time hoping it would get better, but research takes foreverAfter almost a hundred hours into this game, it`s might seem hard to give it a low rating. I do because much of this time was spend grinding for resources, doing the same missions over and over again, running into bugs, looking for story missions (that actually differ from the ordinary kill everything missions). I spend all this time hoping it would get better, but research takes forever and after all this time in the game I'm nowhere near the end - even though I couldn't tell because there's not really a clear story ark.
    The game certainly has it's pros, like flexible class composition and great measure of freedom in planning and executing on the strategic level. Also the diplomacy is a big plus.
    On the other hand, there are only very few types of enemies and the weapons are very similar to each other - most of which you get early in the game. The overall game progression it ridiculously slow. I guess the first 20 hours or so are neat and that's what most reviewers see.

    But then it falls apart. No new missions, enemies, weapons. But grave balancing issues. Some skills and especially combinations of skills are overpowered so that it looks like an exploit: An attack on the third biggest alien base requires you to kill a specific big alien, which you can see from your starting point. With the right skills, you can kill it in one action, ending what is supposed to be one hard type of mission with just that.
    And that's even more sad, as you usually have to kill everything. In missions where you don't, balancing fails. Often in not in your favor, so that half your soldiers get killed the first enemy turn, no matter what you do.
    Oh! I'm a die-hard XCom fans since the original one in the 90s from Micropose. I really would love to see a proper remake. What troubles me in phoenix point also is the practically none-existent base building. You just discover bases (and can't even choose the location) and then you seldomly need to build anything in them. You build one storage unit, one alien containment and it's enough for the game. Hospitals are useless because you can use medipaks instead, base defence non-existent.

    What brings me to the last point at which I quit. If your base get's attacked you'll get a timer. You can move soldiers there, if you have them near. But they need to be relatively near, because even the fastest vessel doesn't cross a third of the globe in that timer. If the timer runs out before you can send in troops, you'll love that base. So - you'll have to reload and send troops before the attack timer even starts. If you did a difficult mission just before or during the timer and don't want to reload to much earlier. Your bad. You'll lose a base without having had any chance to do anything about it.

    And after all those hours spend doing repetitive missions for resources and not being offered anything new to keep you going, that really breaks it for me.

    Could have been much more. I suspect they just ran out of budget. Due to the fact that it's a crowd-founding game. With all the additions build in and a lot of balancing and bugfixing, it could really be better then the Firaxis XCom. Shame I couldn't wait and played it now and not after a year. Maybe I'll take another look then. Glad I bought it, so they can work on it some more.    … Expand
  94. SexiPlexi
    Jan 18, 2021
    5
    The campaign could of been good if there was 80% less receptive stuff like constant defending, to find lairs, and citadels...would of been at least an 8/10 if you didn't have to do 100s of repeat levels just to get to citadels maybe 5 would of been acceptable, it just overwhelming and extremely depressing, that repetition ruined my mood and ruined this game......most people would preferThe campaign could of been good if there was 80% less receptive stuff like constant defending, to find lairs, and citadels...would of been at least an 8/10 if you didn't have to do 100s of repeat levels just to get to citadels maybe 5 would of been acceptable, it just overwhelming and extremely depressing, that repetition ruined my mood and ruined this game......most people would prefer a quality game that lasts only 10-20 hours but only 5% repetition, so many producers just stretch everything out too long, it just gets boring.… Expand
  95. Boros
    Mar 12, 2020
    5
    Aporta algunas ideas más al Xcom2, pero también comete muchos errores en mi opinión.

    Por el lado estético: La dirección de arte y el diseño de menús y demás es horrible, hasta las letras se pixelan si haces zoom. Técnicamente (texturas, iluminación...) no aporta nada, cumple y ya está. En serio los menús y la interfaz son muy feos y anticuados. Por el lado jugable: Añade ciertas    Aporta algunas ideas más al Xcom2, pero también comete muchos errores en mi opinión.

    Por el lado estético: La dirección de arte y el diseño de menús y demás es horrible, hasta las letras se pixelan si haces zoom. Técnicamente (texturas, iluminación...) no aporta nada, cumple y ya está. En serio los menús y la interfaz son muy feos y anticuados.

    Por el lado jugable: Añade ciertas mecánicas como las clases dobles, los vehículos y las criaturas que me parecen muy adecuados (de ahí el aprobado), de resto el juego está desbalanceado, el diseño del tutorial y el inicio del juego es muy poco imaginativo y horrible, muy poco orgánico, con flechas amarillas enormes que te indican donde picar, como el típico juego casual malo de la PlayStore.

    Vamos que el juego es durito en sus primeras horas. Si soportas más horas te llevarás algunas alegrías, pero realmente es un juego de 5-6 de Nota, incomparable con el X-COM 2 que fue un juego con una calidad y unos añadidos excepcionales.    … Expand
  96. DrShepherdLIVE
    Dec 3, 2019
    5
    OK game. Tactics are more like the old X com titles which I was looking forward too.
    The visual design though is a bit different. You know someone else was drawing and creating the stuff here.
    Has some bugs and a lot of stuff is unexplained. You dont even know that you can build stuff in your base when you dont explore every button in this game. Feels like a very low budget game whit    OK game. Tactics are more like the old X com titles which I was looking forward too.
    The visual design though is a bit different. You know someone else was drawing and creating the stuff here.
    Has some bugs and a lot of stuff is unexplained. You dont even know that you can build stuff in your base when you dont explore every button in this game.
    Feels like a very low budget game whit really nothing innovative in it. I couldnt tell if some random was making this game or a well known game designer in the industry.    … Expand
  97. seathian
    Dec 7, 2019
    5
    Before i start i have some bias from the whole steam epic store switch, but still the game is dated and has too many bugs. you can say its good for a kickstarter game or indie dev but at the end of the day they got backed by epic hard so they were no longer a kickstarter in terms of funding. the game truly deserves a 5 or 6 at this point with some polish and maybe see what they do in theBefore i start i have some bias from the whole steam epic store switch, but still the game is dated and has too many bugs. you can say its good for a kickstarter game or indie dev but at the end of the day they got backed by epic hard so they were no longer a kickstarter in terms of funding. the game truly deserves a 5 or 6 at this point with some polish and maybe see what they do in the coming months a 7 or 8 if you get over your bias for the dishonesty… Expand
  98. Zerg82
    Dec 9, 2019
    5
    Скорее, не понравилась.
    Интерфейс, как из задницы. Хотел бы я посмотреть на того умника, кто его спроектировал.
    1) Самое ужасное - в игре нет процента попаданий. Его тупо не показывают. Показывают только возможный урон, который, как правило, сильно отличается в одну из сторон. А процента попаданий нет. То есть, выбирать одну из нескольких целей, как мы это делали в XCOM, останавливаясь    Скорее, не понравилась.
    Интерфейс, как из задницы. Хотел бы я посмотреть на того умника, кто его спроектировал.

    1) Самое ужасное - в игре нет процента попаданий. Его тупо не показывают. Показывают только возможный урон, который, как правило, сильно отличается в одну из сторон. А процента попаданий нет. То есть, выбирать одну из нескольких целей, как мы это делали в XCOM, останавливаясь на той, в которую проще попасть - здесь нельзя. Это так разрабы избежали типа претензий за промахи при 95%.

    2) Солдаты не вызывают сочувствия. Вообще никаких эмоций к ним нет, как в Total War, какой-нибудь. Какие-то безликие существа, с которыми у тебя нет никакого душевного контакта. В XCOM было иначе. Там мы брали их из академии, потихоньку прокачивали, изучали кто как выглядит. А тут они почти все в масках - лиц не видно. Боты, которых не жалко отправить на убой.

    3) Врагов видно сразу, как только начинается бой, хоть они на другом конце карты. Они тебя видят тоже сразу. Никакой интриги, и тупо толкотня на маленьком пяточке.

    4) Мини-боссы Сирены, если нападут сразу по 3-4 штуки - всё, начинай сначала. Победить их можно только по одиночке, максимум по 2 штуки. Но то как они бегают - от тебя не зависит, поэтому если Сирены бегут толпой к тебе - перезагружайся.

    Итог: сыро как на морском дне. Такое впечатление, что это даже не бета, а альфа. В игре нет душевности, и тупая система стрельбы. И никакими патчами это не исправить. В общем, надеялся на большее, а получилась посредственность.    … Expand
  99. watchm824
    Dec 25, 2019
    5
    The game quickly bored me and began to annoy. You will not see anything new in this game. Better to play XCOM again.
  100. napocapo69
    Dec 13, 2019
    5
    After advancing further in the campaign I'm forced to tone down my previous evaluation of the game (see below). The balance is absolutely broken.
    For the readers I'll give you an example:
    In one mission (Pandora attacking one of my bases) I had 7 (quite skilled unit) against the enemy team composed of 3 Antron and 2 Sirens. The Antron is in theory a md level unit with: Defense -    After advancing further in the campaign I'm forced to tone down my previous evaluation of the game (see below). The balance is absolutely broken.
    For the readers I'll give you an example:
    In one mission (Pandora attacking one of my bases) I had 7 (quite skilled unit) against the enemy team composed of 3 Antron and 2 Sirens.
    The Antron is in theory a md level unit with:
    Defense
    - health points slightly superior to your average unit
    - armour 2 or 3 times the amount of armour of your average unit
    - shield to limit the visibility on the vulnerable parts
    Attack
    - rifle/railgun in one arm
    - grenade launcher in the other arm
    - melee attack with poison
    Along with that this "mid level" unit returns fire (if the shield is not deployed) when attacked

    The Siren has:
    Defense
    - health points significantly superior to your average unit
    - armour 3 or 4 times the amount of armour of your average unit
    Attack
    - can take possession (for the duration of 2 turns) up to 2 of the enemy units per turn (depending on the will power)
    - melee attack with poison
    Along with that this unit can recover a significant amount of will power.

    To make a long story short I started the mission with 7 friendly units vs 5 enemy units.
    After 3 turns the game was 5 vs 6; 5 remaining friendly units (of which one without weapons because the rifle was disabled) against 4 enemies (I managed to kill one Antron, but the 2 sirens were still in good shape given the insame amount of armour/health) plus two of my units siding with the enemy.
    The following turn it was 3 (2 + 1 useless unit) vs 8 enemies (4 pandora units + 4 "traitors").

    You can guess the outcome.

    With this balance the game is unplayable at veteran level.

    ------ Previous evaluation-----

    Compared to Xcom2 it shows the lack of production quality (lack of cut-scenes, poor customization options, no modding support). It is also true that it costs 50% less than the price of Xcom2 full price when it came out. There are some bugs, not many, but overall it is more polished than Xcom2 initial release. I spent over 1500 hours on Xcom2 (I played everything) and I remember the bad performance which lasted for over 1 year; but still I loved that game. In this regard Phoenix Point is quite polished and with much better performances than Xcom2, let's be fair.
    Technically is not a masterpiece but it is good; maps are fine, textures (in gameplay) are good as well the sounds, and animations are decent.

    World map is a mess and it is hard to find you own bases, but actually, the main flaw of this game so far is the balance. That must be fixed; some enemies (SHILLA for instance, with overkill skills , 1300 health points and over 400 of armour) are a way too powerful.

    So far the bad and the not so good. Let's talk about the good.

    The game mechanics are great with much more depth than Xcom2. Compared to the Xcom2 base game, you can customize the soldier loadout with much more options, there are many more classes, more weapons, more technology trees. But the main great feature of this game is the shooting mechanics that allow you to shoot a specific part of the enemy's body; you can slow down the enemy by shooting at the legs, make it vulnerable removing its armour, rip-off his arms or weapons to diminish the threat, and so on. Simply great idea and overall well executed. And there is much more.

    In conclusion this is a good game. If you haven't played Xcom2, play that. But, if you have played Xcom2, you should consider this game, it's fun.

    Considering the price, it is a 7 out of 10. Could be 8 if they fix the insane balance.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

27
#27 Most Discussed PC Game of 2019
97
#97 Most Shared PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 48
  3. Negative: 0 out of 48
  1. GameCritics
    May 7, 2020
    80
    Even with all its technical flaws and strategic hiccups, Phoenix Point manages to pull together some of the best aspects of classic and contemporary turn-based tactical design and, in doing so, it somehow leaves me wanting more. It’s not a recommendation that comes without caveats thanks to the bugs and hiccups, but the struggle is worth it.
    Read full review
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Feb 28, 2020
    80
    In some ways, the game may look simple, but the opposite is true. Thanks to the difficulty and intriguing environment you will spend dozens of hours playing the game. [Issue#301]
  3. Games.cz
    Feb 28, 2020
    80
    This is a true spiritual successor to X-Com games. The tense atmosphere and terribly lopsided fight to save humanity make this a wonderful strategic experience.
    Read full review
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