Phoenix Point

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 theThe 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

   • 20 of 51 users found this helpful
2. 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+
   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

   • 7 of 23 users found this helpful
4. 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 wasI 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

   • 5 of 15 users found this helpful
5. 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: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

   • 4 of 7 users found this helpful
6. HidaN20

   Dec 8, 2019

   4

   Наиграл уже больше 15 часов. И если честно, продолжать играть не тянет. В игре много проблем. Если вам нужна атмосфера, то играйте в XCOM:Наиграл уже больше 15 часов. И если честно, продолжать играть не тянет. В игре много проблем. Если вам нужна атмосфера, то играйте в XCOM: Enemy Unkown. Тут её нет. Вы просто летаете на самолёте по точкам, разведуете карту. Иногда сражаетесь с монстрами. Причем миссии скучные просто пипец. "Защитите ресуры" и "вы попали в засаду". За 15 часов было 3 нормальных миссии: атака на улей, момент когда на мою базу напали, и когда я впервые встретил монстра артиллерию. Всё. 15 часов. Тупой скукаты и летания между точками на карте. Сюжет движется ооочень медленно. Причем больше всего меня раздражает, что когда появляется новый монстр, никакого внимание, как в том же XCOM: EU ему не уделяется. Вы просто его убиваете и все. Дальше максимум прочитаете чуток текста про него в лаборатории. Всё. Никакого удивления, никакого внимания на монстра, ни какой близкой камеры, чтобы его полностью посмотреть нет. В том же ХСОМ: EU при первой встречи с новым противником, доктор Вален что-то рассказывала о нём, как и при вскрытии, как и при допросе. Было не только интересно узнавать нлошников, но и пытаться их поймать. Тут же вы всё делаете с покер фейсом. Причем храмает и сама механика. Противник "оглушен" ок да. Ты подходишь и пытаешься его парализовать, а он в ответ по тебе стреляет в притык. НО ВЕДЬ ОН ЖЕ ОГЛУШЕН!!!! Бред. Плюс эти всякие маленькие иконки в инвинтаре, когда ты снаряжение вешаешь на своего бойца. Они все почти одинаковые, как патроны, так и оружие. Отличаются только цветом. Характеристики оружия читать не удобно, что-то сравнивать тоже. Про фракции в игре я вообще молчу, ибо они клешированы (копия фракций из Fallout 4), и тебе просто становится на них плевать. Я игру то пройду, но через силу. В общем в игре много проблем во всём. Пока играть не рекомендую, максимум попробовать в неё сыграть, когда выйдут все длц.… Expand

   • 12 of 21 users found this helpful
7. XykyTa

   Dec 5, 2019

   3

   Глючная, сырая, скучная, безликая. Разнообразие тактик? Нет. Баланс на высокой сложности? Нет. Хотя бы экшон и графон? Тоже нет. Кто-то купилГлючная, сырая, скучная, безликая. Разнообразие тактик? Нет. Баланс на высокой сложности? Нет. Хотя бы экшон и графон? Тоже нет. Кто-то купил в EGS за 300р. - вот её цена, а не 1799р.… Expand

   • 8 of 19 users found this helpful
8. 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 absolutelyFor 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.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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