Phantom Doctrine Reviews
Phantom Doctrine is the best tactical RPG I've played this generation so far. It takes heavy influences from the rebooted XCOM series yet adds it's own spin and design onto the whole game in order to make it it's own with new mechanics and possibilities. Focused more on the realistic over the fantastical, Phantom Doctrine delivers three similar yet different storylines which will keep you engaged for over 40 hours per faction as you delve into their respective perspectives of the same events and beyond. There is very little not to like with this game, the Investigation Board can get a bit monotonous after a while but every combat section is as engaging and exciting as the last one.
Phantom Doctrine is a life-consuming espionage simulator that offers a deeply complex cluster of systems to explore. Its turn-based tactics gameplay is a feat of engineering that will offer players many hours of combat thrills and stealth schemes.
Phantom Doctrine from CreativeForge uses the collective Cold War imagery to build one of the absolute benchmarks for modern turn based tactical games, excellent in almost every aspect.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Phantom Doctrine blends several complex mechanics and a well-realized Cold War setting into one brilliantly engaging experience.
Tom Clancy like turn based strategy in the vein of X-Com.
Phantom Doctrine did come out of nowhere to become a truly enjoyable and memorable experience.
I also think the game perfectly catches the Cold War atmosphere of the early 80s, and delivers it in the form of a tactical stealth turn-based formula. Phantom Doctrine tackles a sensible but fascinating subject, the Cold War, and does a damn good job at it.
Overall, Phantom Doctrine is an admirable exploration of Cold War espionage, using and improving upon the core gameplay offered by the XCOM series. If you loved that franchise, you will love this: Playing Phantom Doctrine just feels so satisfying, with a wide variety of options at your disposal when initiating and conducting missions. If they had a reference document in-game for those times you miss the pop-up windows, I'd have given this game a higher score. As is, I'll still be playing this for a fair while to come.
Phantom Doctrine is a turn-based strategy games that allows us to take part in international intrigues and espionage. In the world where loyalty is nothing and betrayal is around the corner, will you manage to complete at least the first mission?
Review in Polish | Read full review
Phantom Doctrine demands the patience and calculation of a cold-blooded assassin, but the methodical style of play is rewarding
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.
We aren’t fans of how often “addictive” is used as a synonym for fun, but thanks to its loop of world map organisation and tactical missions, Phantom Doctrine is both.
Given its setting, the high complexity of its systems and the quality in which they are implemented, Phantom Doctrine is a great game. Even with some minor issues in the narrative, the excessive grind and very slow loadings, the game absorbs and challenges you in the right amount.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Whether it's because I can play it untethered from the television or how it eschews the alien threat for a relatively more grounded espionage take on the genre, I found the break-up between on-the-ground missions and reconnaissance activities fresh if uneven, and the removal of dice rolls for hit rate removes obfuscation that for me made combat a much more rewarding endeavor. If you're someone like me who liked Mario + Rabbids but wished there was more depth or don't particularly love sci-fi themes, Phantom Doctrine is a worthy alternative.
Phantom Doctrine captures the look and feel of the 80s and re-creates the paranoia that drove the Cold War up until its end. It's like all the best parts of an espionage film or novel come to life. Whether playing as an American, or a Russian, you'll get two radically different campaigns each and every time. This is simply CreativeForge's best work to date. Phantom Doctrine is ambitious, bold, and creative; paying off in every way.
More The Americans than James Bond, Phantom Doctrine takes the turn-based tactical genre and infuses it with Cold War espionage.
Lack of a proper tutorial and some user interface annoyances aside, Phantom Doctrine takes amazing cues from Hitman and Jagged Alliance, and turns turn based tactics into a rewarding experience, be it completing or failing a mission. A must have for turn based fans.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
I enjoyed the espionage setting, the turn-based stealth action, and the assembly of the puzzle pieces. I often had a hard time getting off the screen because I just wanted to solve this one case quickly or started another mission quickly. If patches are applied here and a little more time is invested in the next title, an up-and-coming game forge could celebrate its final breakthrough.
Review in German | Read full review
I had fun playing the Phantom Doctrine but it’s not a perfect game by any means. While it’s true that this isn’t going to be a game for everyone to enjoy, those who are a fan of turn-based strategy games with emphasis on micromanaging your troops might find it enjoyable. It really brought out the OCD in me. In short, if you’re like me and have an obsession with every detail about how you play a game, then Phantom Doctrine is worth a buy.
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.