Turn-based battles between soldiers and vile monsters, a threatening invasion of the earth, the development and expansion of a base of operations and many researches: all this sounds damned after the XCOM series. But these key facts come from the just published tactical game Phoenix Point, which does not come from Firaxis, but the still almost unknown studio Snapshot Games. There, working with Julian Gollop, the original creator of the XCOM series, which also had their "predecessor" UFO: Enemy Unknown raised from the baptism. Any parallels are certainly no coincidence …
Death from the ice
Phoenix Point plays in a not too distant future. Global climate change has caused the eternal ice of the Antarctic to melt. It contained a mysterious virus that reached the sea, causing many animals to mutate. A little later, humans are also attacked, a terrible war begins between mutants and survivors who retire to safe areas. She takes on the role of head of the emergency base called Phoenix Point. From there you organize the fight against the mutated beings and thus the future of the entire planet.
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The summary of the story already shows the first difference to the XCOM series, which is known to be all about aliens. But for the most part, Phoenix Point looks and feels like the big genre competitor. The battles take place in rounds, in the base recruits and develops their soldiers and on a world map you select the next mission. Even the graphic style is sometimes reminiscent of the XCOM template. But is that bad? After all, it is said: "Better stolen well than bad self-made." After all, it is the role models are excellent games that still have a large fan base. So our answer to the question is no, it's not bad at all.
Because Phoenix Point manages to stand on their own two feet despite the obvious bonds. As with XCOM (and similar games in the genre), you will complete turn-based battles, always paying attention to how many action points your soldiers have per turn. Their use should be well considered, because otherwise the fighters are suddenly without any cover on the floor and make an easy target for the opponents.
Particularly interesting is a target system, which strongly reminds of the VATS mechanism from the Fallout series. With its help, it is possible for you to target and attack specific body parts of your opponents. This opens up a variety of tactical opportunities not available at XCOM in this form. For example, a targeted shot on the leg of a mutant will allow it to move much more slowly in the future. A hit in the arm prevents the use of heavy two-handed weapons, and head shots … well, you can certainly imagine what they do. However, the hit probability depends on the current distance to the target as well as the type of weapon equipped.
The triumvirate of the powers
By the way, we also liked the three factions that you meet in the course of the game and that have more or less direct effects on the event. For example, there are the Synedrion, who are aiming for a high-tech civilization. In sharp contrast to this are the disciples of Anu, who are much less skeptical about the mutant and even experiment with mutations on their own bodies. Again and again, decisions are needed in the game that will make you fall and fall in the favor of the three factions. This in turn brings you certain benefits, such as additional recruits or help with certain missions, but can also have drawbacks to the attack on your base. The factions not only provide more variety, but also increase the replay value of Phoenix Point. In general, we like the mission design very well, especially the battles against the fat boss creatures are pretty demanding, without drifting into unfairness.
Unfortunately, the performance of the AI is currently fluctuating very much. Sometimes the opponents flit very skillfully from one cover to the next. A little later, they suddenly sit around in a non-rat and non-verbal way and only react when they are under attack.
The creator of the original XCOM has finally released Phoenix Point's latest turn-based strategy game.
Ultimately, we would have just wanted a bit more independence of Phoenix Point. Although there are a few minor differences, overall it is damned similar to XCOM. The latter also has the prettier presentation, resulting in a more captivating atmosphere.
