Phoenix Point

Phoenix point is a little rough around the edges, but if you manage to look past its bugs you'll be treated to one of the most nuanced and entertaining turn-based strategy games to arrive in quite some time.

Phoenix Point may not meet the legacy of its celebrated forebear X-Com, but then few games ever will. Elegant, atmospheric, and energetic, Gollop’s latest remains remarkably hard to put down.

Die hard fans of XCOM will likely fall in love with Phoenix Point, a hard-as-nails challenge that offers procedurally-generated replayability and a suite of tactics to help you thrive on and off the battlefield.

If you are familiar with the genre, you know what to expect with Phoenix Point. Little flourishes, like letting you manually aim your shots, inject some new life into a fairly predictable genre. It is the plot and the aesthetic that make Phoenix Point truly shine though; the world is so strange and immersive that you will love playing the game over and over to learn everything you can — which is precisely how the game is meant to be played. Even though it doesn’t shine technically, Phoenix Point has it where it counts — in an engaging gameplay experience.

Almost identical to XCOM 2 in visuals and gameplay, although not as polished. Hit zones provide more tactical depth, though.

Phoenix Point is a game fans of the genre should not miss. Sure, it has some flaws, but it’s a very solid first entry for a new IP, and we hope it continues to grow –the foundation is so good it could easily be one of the best strategy franchises.

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.

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]

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.

It's hardly the deepest strategy game around, but it effectively sets up the loop these games revel in, one thing feeding into another so you can never quite find the right moment to put it down [Issue#341, p.110]

Julian Gollop knows what he’s doing, and his experience lends tremendous breadth to this crowdfunded indie game. It keeps your mind busy as you try to achieve your goals in the most efficient way possible. I’ll go one step further: it’s what XCOM 2 should have been.

Phoenix Point expands upon the XCOM formula brilliantly, offering a fantastic campaign that leaves you twisting and turning. Despite a bit of a slog through the middle section of the game, there’s a lot to love here, and Snapshot Games has every right to be proud of the work that they’ve put in to bring this wonderful end-of-the-year delight to life.

Phoenix Point has plenty of bold new ideas for the XCOM genre, but not all of them have the same level of shine. It can feel a bit unwieldy at times, a bit less user-friendly than you'd hope. But it's a game that feels more concerned with experimentation than perfection, that's more interested in discovering new paths to take than walking one that's already well-trodden.

I don't see any real reason to recommend Phoenix Point more than the Firaxis games. But if you've spent hundreds of hours with XCOM and you've had enough of the series, you might notice the small differences to the competitor and thus be offered some variety.

While Phoenix Point has flaws, technical hiccups, needs a bit of polish and some of its systems feel dated, there are some genuinely exciting mechanics and world-building to this experience. The monster evolution system isn’t as revolutionary as you might want/be expecting but it’s executed to a point where it does force you to change your playstyle and gives a nice sense of thematic presence. Overall, if you like Julian Gollop-designed experiences, experimental strategy games and gun-infused crabs, Phoenix Point is a must.

Phoenix Point stands out in the tactical-RPG genre, even from obvious comparisons to XCOM, because it so fearlessly explodes the management systems on the battlefield. Even among tactics fans, it's clear this isn't a game for everyone, but if you're looking for something to really sink your teeth into, Phoenix Point is it.

Phoenix Point is an entertaining experience for all of those who interested in the tactical-strategy genre. It mostly uses the same elements that we’d seen in the XCOM series, but thanks to several new features, the gameplay distinguishes itself from XCOM. However, you have to get along with some disappointing technical issues.

Even though it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, at the end of the day, strategy fans – and certainly XCOM fans – will enjoy the improvements that Phoenix Point makes, especially if this is just the beginning.

Phoenix Point’s blend of combat, research management and global exploration is thoroughly compelling, even if the factions can be a little trying. Whether you’ve got fond memories of Julian Gollop’s original game or not, he and his team have taken old school strategy and dragged it kicking, screaming and gurgling into the modern day.

A very capable game that excels at the strategy layer, but the tactical sphere is a bit sterile and leaves you feeling cold.

Newcomers won't find any flash or forgiveness in the story or difficulty; this is a hardcore strategy game through and through. None of those points deter from my overall enjoyment of Phoenix Point, though. It's a fantastic game, and I'm excited to see what Gollup has in mind for DLC. I certainly plan to play more of this game and improve my tactics. At the moment, my only Phoenix-like revival skills lie in save scumming.

The gameplay of Phoenix Point is similar to the X-COM series but introduces tons of dazzling innovation. It's hard to get started but once you master all the strategies you will become a die-hard fan. The biggest problem, for now, is that the game suffers from an array of annoying bugs.

Surely an interesting game, Phoenix Point nevertheless suffers from some opaque mechanics and too much micromanagement. Julian Gollop is proposing a valid spin on the X-COM formula, but Firaxis' War of the Chosen remains a bridge too far.

Strategically delicious, Phoenix Point’s biggest problem is lackluster technical execution.

Phoenix Point is a good vision of the XCOM-style turn strategy weighed down by its structure and low intensity in the fighting.

Phoenix Point is ambiguous: on the one hand, it will appeal to all turn-based strategy enthusiasts who are looking for an old-school experience, on the other it will surely find the resistance of those who are used to something else.

Phoenix Point offers a great return to a more complex, more involving, if not a little too slow (at times) version of the XCOM style of game. Featuring a massive amount of customisation and personalisation, from the building of your own personal Earth-saving force as well as diplomacy with the surviving factions, you have a massive amount to sink your teeth into. Add onto this some of the best tactical gameplay around and a very replayable nature, you have something that will suck you in. There are issues, it can grind to a halt at times and it can also feel a little repetitive with repeated side-missions. In the long run, this is a great game and one that is well worth spending your time with.

Phoenix Point is a collection of fantastic new ideas installed on the solid foundations of the X-COM franchise. While it lacks the content to offer the replay value of the more recent X-COM games, it’s still a great game that will test your strategic mettle to its very limits.

Phoenix Point remains a solid and pleasant title, but it is more similar to a "craft" job than to an interesting reinterpretation of the games it is inspired by.

Quotation forthcoming.

It was made with true passion but at the moment it’s unpolished and unbalanced. The ambitions of Julian Gollop and his crew were clearly bigger than the game’s budget. [02/2020, p.38]

Call it an insistence on reinforcing the strategy side of things or not, the game can fall victim to its own limitations. But for those with an adoration for lore and for that looming sense of desperation more so, while not entirely original in tone or presentation, Phoenix Point does just enough for those restrictions to fall by the wayside.

Phoenix Point is a game that achieves great things, gameplay-wise, by standing on the X-Com shoulders. It also suffers from a severe lack of polish and low production values.

Phoenix Point's more complex take on the classic X-COM formula has some great ideas, but most of them feel experimental and in need of fine-tuning and balance.

Phoenix Point stumbles and fails its release, which has obviously been rushed. Although it's currently full of bugs and balance issues on many levels, the game has great potential that will eventually shine and make it a game of choice for aficionados of the genre. The gameplay is ambitious and deep, with a combat and management system that can be very satisfying. In addition, the diplomacy feature is a rare strength, even if the current content doesn't encourage you to take full advantage of it yet. We advise you to wait a little before buying Phoenix, as it will most likely be improved soon.

The creator of XCOM returns with some interesting new ideas, but without the budget or time to refine them Phoenix Point struggles to offer a viable alternative to its more established rival.

Phoenix Point has some amazing gameplay ideas and even fun fluff, but it needs to work on quality of life and balance.

Phoenix Point successfully introduces a slew of new features and mechanics that sufficiently evolve the XCOM-inspired genre of strategy games, though is brought down by some buggy, wonky, and unbalanced implementation of some mechanics.

Phoenix Point is a good try at capturing some of that XCOM magic, but it falls short of being great. I found myself enjoying the experience, but at the same time, couldn’t help feel that something was missing. Hopefully it’s something that can improve in a sequel, if it ever comes.

Despite a bunch of interesting ideas, Phoenix Point rarely offers a viable alternative to the many other games of the same genre. Greatly unbalanced, unpolished and poorly optimized, the game by the creator of the X-Com series is but a shadow of Gollop’s past.

Phoenix Point has some interesting ideas that are brought down by a bad UI, poor difficulty balancing, and a distinct absence of polish.

With X-COM, Firaxis took a punishing, impenetrable strategy game and made it slick, cool and thrilling; a dynamic sci-fi beast with muscular jaws. Phoenix Point has double the number of teeth but a less effective bite. The devil may be in the detail, but the drama is in the edit. Phoenix Point feels like it’s a draft short of greatness.

Its dynamic gameplay birthed unforgettable, heroic tales of agents who made amazing triumphs and ultimate sacrifices alike that I still remember over twenty years later. Unfortunately, Phoenix Point never inspires in the same way. The turn-based combat is probably among the best the genre offers but the hollow string of separate missions the procedurally created content weaves can’t carry the game. Ultimately, Phoenix Point is only for true believers of the genre - if they don’t mind the meaningless framework the game is put onto, that is.

Phoenix Point fits firmly on the foundation of modern XCOM, but rethinks combat with an action point system and the ability to free aim. While the latter seems like a gimmick, it's actually a wonderful tactical option that pushes the strategy forward. It's a shame then that a reliance on procedural generation leads to a lack of variety, weapon balance isn't great, and the technical execution is rough. Phoenix Point is a great starting point for something amazing, but it's not quite there yet.

Phoenix Point is all a little too like XCOM to move the genre forward in any huge way.

Phoenix Point should be the spiritual successor to the XCOM games, but it only presents itself with some big staggering issues on top of its innovative and fun gameplay ideas. In the current state, it is so poorly balanced and riddled with bugs, its hard to recommend it, while only hope remains that the developers will fix some of these problems in future patches.