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. 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
  2. Hreha
    Nov 17, 2022
    5
    there are some technical flaws and bugs but overall it has managed to be an enjoyable game
  3. Borreh1973
    Oct 22, 2022
    4
    I tried to like this game. I really tried. I bought a lot earlier, a long time ago. I started and tried to get this to work before they hit DLC, hoping it would get better, but it got worse and worse.
    "Festering Skyes" was the death of it for me, with a shovel of lime thrown over a stinking corpse.
    DLC FS is an idiocy that sadly resembles a very bad old Atari game using a recent GPU. In    I tried to like this game. I really tried. I bought a lot earlier, a long time ago. I started and tried to get this to work before they hit DLC, hoping it would get better, but it got worse and worse.
    "Festering Skyes" was the death of it for me, with a shovel of lime thrown over a stinking corpse.
    DLC FS is an idiocy that sadly resembles a very bad old Atari game using a recent GPU. In fact, those were better because they were what they could be. This one, october/2022, lacks control and speed, each upgrade has to be tested and it's expensive, very expensive, everything is very expensive.
    There is no balance of costs and earnings on missions.
    Attending the factions of idiots who are trying to kill themselves while the world is under terror is the biggest of the stupidities that leads to think better monsters win because these humans really deserve to die, unwilling to help one or another faction.
    It's the end of this game for me.    … Expand
  4. Nrhej
    Oct 12, 2022
    6
    this game is alright but the pace is too slow and some may find it not engaging enough
  5. 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.
  6. Fryr
    Aug 29, 2022
    6
    the graphics wasn't that good and the animations were too slow made the game not as fun
  7. Maitrify
    Jul 31, 2022
    0
    Not even a finished game. Massive swathes of the game have features missing. (Case in point: When attempting to change video resolution, all the options literally say 'NEEDS TEXT'.)

    It's like the game didn't even have a Quality pass to check for basic **** like this. Don't waste your money on this trash.
  8. 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
  9. Prometheus1241
    Jan 1, 2022
    5
    Game requires a lot of work: firstly, it is fixing terrible balance. Secondly, soundtrack is quite poor, comparing to such strategies as, for example, XCOM or Divinity. Buges, lags, and other things that require fixing, Nevertheless, developers just keep adding new DLCs without fixing that problems. I understand that they need money, but it is simply terrifying to see this. Overall, gameGame requires a lot of work: firstly, it is fixing terrible balance. Secondly, soundtrack is quite poor, comparing to such strategies as, for example, XCOM or Divinity. Buges, lags, and other things that require fixing, Nevertheless, developers just keep adding new DLCs without fixing that problems. I understand that they need money, but it is simply terrifying to see this. Overall, game has really great ideas, but execution is simply bruh. I hope developers will find the way to fix it all and give the game what it deserves.… Expand
  10. maximtemplar
    Nov 19, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have been playing these types of games, on board and on computer for over thirty years. Never has a game wasted so much of my time. On the plus side, the general setup is good, even if it is just Xcom with tweaks. The backstory is good. Animation is average for these days. Loading times, for these days, are abysmal, especially on the console version. On the minus side, there are many problems which can be solved by patching, some already have been. The console version has been rushed out and crashes regularly ruining hours of gameplay. So much so I have given up on it until its updated. Latest nonsense on PC was fighting a large creature on a long and difficult game. Only to find its corpse was blocking my troops from leaving the map. Poor playtesting there, troops can climb over things you know, they even sit on tanks. Overwatch continually fails to activate, and sometimes when it does the shot is taken when the target is behind cover. There are all sorts of advanced laser and gauss weaponry available to the troops, but no smoke grenades. Grenades can only be thrown overarm. Why? Don't know. For a game that boasts real ballistics it has some very stupid drawbacks. Great idea, but very, very disappointing. I shall be dropping it for a few months, I've had enough of its non thought out nonsense. Stuff your DLC, try getting the basic game right.… Expand
  11. 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.
  12. 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
  13. Man-Rata
    Jun 19, 2021
    4
    There is a lot of hate for the story, etc., but the main reason this game isn't worth it is the speed of the combat.

    They've decided to make combat physics based, which sounds good, but once you're a little into the game, enemy turns quickly takes between 5-10 min., and it cannot be sped up in any way. It makes the game mind-numbingly dull. Also the levels are often too small, making    There is a lot of hate for the story, etc., but the main reason this game isn't worth it is the speed of the combat.

    They've decided to make combat physics based, which sounds good, but once you're a little into the game, enemy turns quickly takes between 5-10 min., and it cannot be sped up in any way. It makes the game mind-numbingly dull.

    Also the levels are often too small, making it so enemies can see you from your entry point, making stealth nearly pointless. AI is dumb as hell, and instead of improving it, they just pour in more enemies, and make them VERY tough. Combine that with the slow turns, it just becomes dull.

    If they could fix this somehow, this could be a descent game, though the story is really non-existant.    … Expand
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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
  18. 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
  19. 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.
  20. jhnAlien
    Jan 26, 2021
    0
    For all you complaining MFs, get "cthulhu" update of the game! The update makes the game well ballanced, utterly enjoyable and absolutely perfect! Frickin 10/10 experience.
  21. 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
  22. procyon4
    Jan 5, 2021
    0
    This is definitely not X-COM. The X-COM games right through X-COM 1 (X-COM 2 was not a true X-COM, more like a multi-player arena fight game) had much more diversity and were feasible in more than one way and always with some strategy. Here the progression pace is extremely slow for the player but lightening fast for his opponents. The enemy constant re-spawning in most missions makes itThis is definitely not X-COM. The X-COM games right through X-COM 1 (X-COM 2 was not a true X-COM, more like a multi-player arena fight game) had much more diversity and were feasible in more than one way and always with some strategy. Here the progression pace is extremely slow for the player but lightening fast for his opponents. The enemy constant re-spawning in most missions makes it totally unfair. The AI always knows what you are planning (Like if your soldiers are on over-watch facing a direction, the enemy will not move or simply move into an other direction even if it makes no sense to do so). With limitless re-spawning on the AI side its easy to make winning impossible or with great loss to the player. Resources are scarce and everything is overly expensive. Stuff recuperated after a mission makes no sense. Like you were fighting aliens and you get humans' ammo or from a faction that did not at all appear in that mission. Honestly, it seems fun in the beginning but it will all be gone within a few hours. Its more than disappointment, its total crap!… Expand
  23. Zsoleszmaximesz
    Jan 4, 2021
    1
    This game is an unbalanced dumb pile of **** Few very good ideas, but overall an illogical mess, copying 99% of its content from other titles.
  24. Rkshz
    Dec 28, 2020
    5
    small maps
    no balance
    few content on game
    few types of enemies
    few types of weapons
    random useless skills second tier
    no tactical placement of units
  25. 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.
  26. Mukirana
    Dec 9, 2020
    10
    Player over 40 hours on the first week alone. Extremelly addictive. Stay away.
  27. MCmetacritic
    Nov 18, 2020
    0
    If you loved X-COM so much that you'd play a hollow, ugly, glitchy shell of an X-COM clone, you might just be able to tolerate this hollow, ugly, glitchy shell of an X-COM clone.
  28. 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
  29. napomocht
    Sep 28, 2020
    5
    Au bout d'un moment on s'ennuie a mourir. Ça devient répétitif les missions ne sont pas variées , l'histoire n'avance pas, il y a trop d'armes différentes pour que ce soit stimulant d'en choisir une plutôt qu'une autre et de spécialiser les équipes d'intervention en fonction de la mission. Les attaques de bases se succèdent sur un modèle toujours absolument identique.. C’est rasoir..
  30. megabear
    Sep 26, 2020
    0
    This game could've been epic, but I think they gave up when Epic paid them enough money to move on to other projects. Game is unpolished, and downright lazy in some aspects. Very disappointed.
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
See all critic reviews »