Phantom Fury
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Critic Reviews for Phantom Fury
But regardless of what caused the project to get derailed, it still means that Phantom Fury is a disappointing result. It’s a mash of ‘00s FPS cliches without reprieve. I spent most of its runtime wishing it was over. Or, at least, wishing it was what it promised to be. Its overall blandness has done the impossible and made me appreciate Duke Nukem Forever just a little bit more.
Phantom Fury is an unapologetic boomer-shooter that can definitely talk the talk, but fails to walk the same walk that its inspirations did some 25 years ago. Countless technical problems, obscure level design, and a sad excuse for a story unfortunately make what could have been a good game a middling one.
Phantom Fury is a classic FPS that manages to engage and entertain. It is a simple but well-finished evolution of its predecessor, to whom it owes a lot and which can still be an excellent yardstick in the panorama of boomer shooters. The new production, while not shining for originality, knows how to be a remarkable follow-up.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Phantom Fury is a decent boomer shooter, albeit one that emphasizes environmental interactivity over an arcade-inspired killing spree in which everything is a weapon. The few moments of cinematic silliness are par for the course in the boomer shooter genre, but they’re not enough to make this any less of a slog.
Phantom Fury simply doesn't feel like it's ready yet, with too many bugs and nowhere near enough polish to become the game that it could be. Too many encounters are designed to only be beatable once you memorize enemy placement and a giant-mech boss shouldn't be an easier, more enjoyable encounter than a handful of guys in a hallway. Bugs are also abound, with enemies zipping between cover points while stuck in the kneeling position, music that you can almost hear playing in the background despite the volume being maxed out, or getting trapped in an elevator when its doors won't open. "Reset to checkpoint" is always an option, but in this case it was an open service elevator, and while sticking to the '90s/early-2000s gameplay convention of a hero who can't hop over a waist-high obstacle is authentic, it's the wrong kind of authenticity. Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison has the potential to be a great 90s throwback character, but Phantom Fury is nowhere near what's needed to see her reach her potential.
Phantom Fury feels like stepping back in time to the late 90s in an explosion of pixilated carnage that only occasionally stumbles due to its unwavering reliance on old-school sensibilities.
Phantom Fury is quite easily one of the most refined boomer shooters in the market today. It combines classic action movie tropes and 90s shooter gameplay with more modern visual technology and level design, making for a fun rampage across America.
