Phantom Doctrine

Anyone looking for high-quality turn-based strategy that eschews the aliens, giant robots, and dragons that generally populate the genre will find Phantom Doctrine to be just the thing they’ve been looking for.

A good strategy game that plays really well and offers plenty of challenge. You end up feeling like an actual spy while playing this game and that is a big compliment to the developers. Sadly though, there are a couple of difficulty spikes throughout which causes some frustration.

In some ways, Phantom Doctrine is what you make of it. The sheer depth and lack of guidance allow you to focus on the systems you enjoy while ignoring other systems completely, sometimes to your own detriment. Despite feeling burned by the ploy for an extended replay, I thoroughly enjoyed CreativeForge’s stealthy and methodical take on espionage.

If you’re someone who lives a life of danger, if everyone you meet is a stranger or perhaps you find that with every move you make another chance you take, then Phantom Doctrine is ideal for you. For everyone else, this is a deep and compelling tactical strategy game that provides innovation in a stagnant genre. I’ll be playing it long after I’ve finished reviewing it, and I can think of no higher praise than that.

Phantom Doctrine is the closest we ever got so far to a true spy simulator. With both tactical and strategic missions, deep and complex mechanics, and investigation features, playing the game will make players truly feel in control of a secret organization out to save the world from the mostly deadly world conspiracy ever. The game gets a bit too complex at times, however, so it is definitely not a game for everyone.

Phantom Doctrine's biggest issue is that it compares unfavorably to X-COM. That doesn't make it a bad game, but it emphasizes X-COM's tight design. With Phantom Doctrine, you end up feeling like everything's a touch too unfocused. The metagame is interesting but messy. The combat is filled with interesting ideas but weaker execution. A lot of this may sound really negative, but I had fun with Phantom Doctrine. Fans of X-COM-style games will absolutely find it to be worth playing; it just has so much potential that it's easy to zero in on the little things that it does wrong.

Clearly, fans of the genre, especially those that prefer to play on console as opposed to PC, should give PD a serious look. If you’re on the fence about diving into the genre, and your committed, this is also a great way to jump in, just expect some frustrations along the way.

Phantom Doctrine is a strange one, all told. On the one hand it’s so like Firaxis’ modern classic that it’s almost laughable, but then it throws its own blend of ideas and innovations into the mix that do just enough to produce a brand new flavour. One thing I didn’t experience with Creative Forge’s game was boredom. I enjoyed the idling moments between missions when I felt like the director of a secret team of spies almost as much as I enjoyed directing the spies on the ground, and the overall experience is one I’d recommend to any fan of turn-based tactics or cold war skullduggery.

Phantom Doctrine is a superb slice of Cold War espionage storytelling tied to a serviceable turn-based strategy. A harsh difficulty curve awaits, but there's reward to be found.

Even with its multiple problems, I can't deny that Phantom Doctrine presents a unique and enjoyable take on turn-based SRPGs. Its stealth mechanics and rewarding campaign make for a very satisfying yet currently flawed game.

Phantom Doctrine offers a different approach to the XCOM formula and is unique enough for genre fans to give it a chance. The missions do become repetitive and progress is slow but the ability to fully stealth levels is very welcome and rewarding.

An inspired XCOM clone, whose spy movie atmosphere inspires an emphasis on stealth rather than action – which is a good job given the somewhat flawed combat.

Phantom Doctrine is good tactical action game with a great spy culture motif.

A Cold War XCOM clone with enemy spies instead of aliens, Phantom Doctrine is a largely enjoyable strategy title. The awareness system means you have more control over the flow of combat, and the setting is well presented, rife with atmosphere and charm. However, the punishing difficulty and steep learning curve do take the edge off things every now and then.

Phantom Doctrine is a game that is not without merit, but if you decide to tackle it, then you should prepare yourself to endure that sort of love-hate relationship with it. And, if some of the game's issues, like the frustrating details of its stealth and its badly inadequate tutorial can be addressed, then it suddenly becomes an easy one to recommend.

A game that is often fiddly. As well as action points, there are fire points – some actions require a mix of both – and an awareness bar, which can be spent on special abilities or held onto, because it acts as a secondary health bar. All of that’s a lot to keep track of, and with a squint-inducing UI, you often end up feeling less like James Bond and more like the poor MI6 bod who has to do his paperwork. [Issue#153, p.86]