Phantom Brigade
- November 16, 2020
- Brace Yourself Games
- 13h median play time
An exciting concept begging for structural refinements and more meat on its robot bones.
Get on Steam"Phantom Brigade" is a turn-based tactical RPG with strategy elements, where players control a team of mech pilots fighting in a war-torn region. Customize and upgrade your mechs and pilots, engage in tactical combat, and make decisions that impact the story in this challenging and immersive game. With its deep mechanics and high replayability, "Phantom Brigade" offers a rich and engaging experience for fans of the genre.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Unique and engaging combat mechanics that allow players to predict enemy actions and plan accordingly.
- Visually appealing graphics and animations that enhance the overall experience.
- Extensive customization options for mechs, allowing for diverse builds and strategies.
- Lack of meaningful story and character development, making the game feel shallow and repetitive.
- Repetitive mission structure with little variation, leading to a grindy experience.
- AI behavior is often predictable and lacks strategic depth, reducing the challenge of encounters.
- story1,998 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story in "Phantom Brigade" is widely criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, with many players noting that it essentially boils down to a generic premise of liberating a homeland from an unnamed enemy. While the game features some initial cutscenes and flavor text, the narrative quickly fades, leaving players with repetitive missions and little character development or emotional investment. Overall, the gameplay is praised, but the absence of a compelling story detracts significantly from the experience, making it feel more like a sandbox than a narrative-driven game.
“I wish that the campaign had a bit more plot to it, but the gameplay alone is enough to recommend it.”
“Despite the fact that the story is weak and vague, the gameplay won my attention.”
“The first and the final missions are scripted and tell a story; everything in between is randomly generated standard encounters and a few story missions every once in a while that are randomly generated from a pool of about 5 different templates.”
“It also bears repeating: there is no story.”
“The story is non-existent, I have no idea what country we're fighting or what country we're fighting for; it's not that I missed it... it's never mentioned.”
“The story is virtually non-existent and even the evil empire you're fighting doesn't even have a name or any motive to speak of.”
- gameplay1,490 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Phantom Brigade" is characterized by its innovative timeline mechanic, allowing players to plan actions in a quasi-turn-based format while predicting enemy movements, which creates engaging and cinematic battles. However, many players find the core gameplay loop becomes repetitive after a few hours, with limited mission variety and a lack of meaningful progression or story elements. While the mechanics are praised for their uniqueness and depth, the overall experience is often described as shallow and in need of additional content and polish to maintain long-term interest.
“The unique pseudo turn-based gameplay is excellent at organically creating moments that really get your gears turning.”
“The prediction mechanic makes this game super unique and very cinematic for a 'turn-based' strategy game especially since you can rewatch the round again.”
“The gameplay loop ends up becoming very repetitive and offers little variety: 1) go to this point, 2) kill everyone, 3) take their gear, 4) repeat.”
“Unfortunately, Phantom Brigade is extremely plagued with poor design choices, an extremely shallow gameplay loop, zero story, and not much to look forward to at this time past 10 hours of gameplay.”
“The core gameplay loop is what carries this game, because it's that damn good.”
- graphics310 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their clean and appealing style, with many noting the impressive animations and visual effects that enhance the gameplay experience. However, some users criticize the lack of variety in mech designs and the limited graphics options, suggesting that optimization issues detract from the overall visual quality. While the aesthetics are appreciated, there are mixed feelings about their depth and originality, with some players finding them generic or uninspired.
“The art style and animations are superb, and you can slow down and review the last turn's gameplay to watch the action from any angle at any speed (perfect for making the best screenshots).”
“The liberation of territories, rendered with great graphics, becomes a visual feast as your mechs stomp through landscapes, toppling trees, and leaving destruction in their wake.”
“The graphics are really good straight up and it's almost always nice to see the game play itself out after pressing the execute button.”
“Worse yet, you have limited graphics options.”
“Performance is atrocious and GPU heavy for no apparent reason as the graphics are mediocre at best.”
“Unfortunately, the game has zero optimization when it comes to graphics.”
- grinding148 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly in the early and mid-game stages. Players express frustration with the lack of meaningful progression and the cumbersome UI, which exacerbates the grind for resources and upgrades. While some enjoy the core gameplay mechanics, many feel that the overall experience becomes a monotonous slog, detracting from the potential enjoyment of tactical combat and mech customization.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The early game being this tedious and sloggy only makes me dread mid and late game.”
“Even if the gameplay is super fun it still gets tedious without a good incentive and that just leads to everything being boring.”
“After all the novelty wears off, this game is just tedious.”
- optimization148 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 31 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players reporting subpar performance, frequent crashes, and high GPU usage even on lower settings. While some users have managed to achieve smooth gameplay on older systems, the lack of effective graphics settings and persistent performance issues make it challenging for those with mid-range or lower-end hardware to enjoy the game fully. Overall, significant improvements in optimization are needed to enhance stability and performance across various systems.
“This game is well-produced, with smooth and responsive performance on my 10-year-old machine.”
“It is a bit of a performance hog if you run at max settings, but there are plenty of options for mitigating this if your GPU is not new.”
“Above that: customizing your machines to eke out every last ounce of performance from them.”
“Crashes are common and performance is awful.”
“As of this review, it has performance issues, as it is clearly not optimized at all.”
“Performance is atrocious and GPU heavy for no apparent reason as the graphics are mediocre at best.”
- music114 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its dynamic and atmospheric qualities that enhance gameplay, while others find it either forgettable or overly dramatic. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to reflect the game's themes and situations, though some note issues with volume levels and repetitiveness over time. Overall, while the music is generally well-executed and complements the visuals, there are calls for improvement and more engaging compositions.
“The music is excellent and it shifts dynamically depending on environment or game mode.”
“Soundtrack is an absolute beast and I found myself just sitting there listening to the opening screen for a long time.”
“The gameplay is great, the music is remarkably good (I'm seriously considering purchasing the soundtrack), I don't constantly miss at 100% chance to hit... it's a great game.”
“The gaudy and intense music and visuals make it seem like the game is trying to sell you this epic tale, but it isn't.”
“The music sounds the way the game looks, just kind of flat and you hear it and go 'sure.'”
“The campaign is sub-par, the story lacking, and the soundtrack forgettable.”
- stability42 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 76 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting significant bugs and unfinished elements, particularly in combat systems and mission completion. While some players note that the game runs smoothly and is mostly bug-free, others experience frequent crashes and frustrating gameplay issues. Overall, the game appears to require further polish and optimization to justify its price and enhance the player experience.
“The game is absolutely fun, runs great, and I do recommend you buy this.”
“This is a well-made, almost entirely bug-free game with cool time prediction turn-based combat.”
“The game's time prediction mechanic is solid, the game is stable and practically bug-free.”
“It's buggy (missions can't be completed, combat systems are broken, long range missiles are grossly overpowered and dodging doesn't break the missile lock), and they asked me for $30, so until they step up the level of polish to warrant that price, stay away.”
“The game is buggy and clearly unfinished.”
“The game is also buggy and poorly optimized, had a crash almost immediately after starting.”
- replayability32 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low, primarily due to a lack of varied battles and a static map that limits player engagement after the initial playthrough. While some players appreciate the detailed animations and the potential for replayability through future updates, such as procedural generation and additional content, the current state of the game feels content-deficient. Suggestions for improvement include adding diverse battlefields, elite gear, and avoiding repetitive tutorials to enhance the overall replay value.
“I feel like having this feature would increase the replayability a lot since watching the cool fight you choreographed after 20-60 minutes of intense deliberation would be an amazing way to let you sit back and be rewarded for playing well.”
“I think once the game generates more varied battles, or mod support is added, it will have a lot more replay value.”
“As fun as the combat is, I do hope the team continues to polish and expand the game in the near future to add to replayability and extend its playable life.”
“Low replayability value other than to experience it all.”
“There's really not much room for replayability; you'll start off in one province, the map doesn't change, you take the provinces around the capital and then the capital... game over.”
“Likely not the most replayable game though, at least in its current, content-anemic state.”
- emotional28 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is mixed; while players form attachments to their mechs and feel the weight of their losses, the overall narrative lacks depth and fails to create a strong emotional connection with the characters and setting. Many reviewers express a desire for a more engaging story to enhance their investment in the pilots and the world, noting that the emotional dialogue often feels disconnected from the gameplay experience. Ultimately, the combat is praised, but the emotional storytelling leaves much to be desired.
“It is not a story-heavy experience, but you get very attached to your mechs, and getting them injured or killed in battle is sometimes even more heart-wrenching than losing your favorite character in XCOM.”
“The emotional depth of the characters and the moral dilemmas they face mirror the complexities of life and leadership that I encountered throughout my own journey.”
“With these personalities, you have figures to root for, to worry for, to despise, who are worth remembering and emotionally investing in until they die tragically because you made a mistake or got unlucky in a turn.”
- humor24 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of absurdity and unintentional comedy, with bright and naive flavor text contrasting the chaotic and often ridiculous gameplay mechanics. Players find joy in the hilariously unbalanced weaponry and the slapstick nature of battles, where tactical maneuvers can lead to amusing outcomes, such as friendly fire incidents and over-the-top melee attacks. Additionally, the dialogue is humorously bad, adding to the overall comedic experience of being a "funny mech guy" in a chaotic environment.
“The flavor text is usually hilariously bright-eyed and naive, in a way that shouldn't exist in a world where we can open Twitter and see war crimes happen between Hello Fresh advertisements.”
“The feeling of shield-bashing an oncoming mech so hard that it cripples the mech and kills the enemy pilot on impact is a wonderful mix of satisfying and hilarious, to name one example of the quality situations the collision system creates.”
“The dialog is funny, but not because it is good or intended to be; it's funny because it is so bad.”
- atmosphere24 mentions
- 42 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its unique visual style and engaging music reminiscent of Mass Effect, which contributes to a tense and immersive experience. However, many players criticize the overall atmosphere as lacking depth, feeling sterile or dead, particularly due to minimal dialogue and a lack of engaging sound design. While combat and map design are noted as solid, the absence of a compelling atmosphere detracts from the overall experience.
“The visual/art style is amazing and atmospheric and such a unique take on the tactical genre!”
“The music is reminiscent of Mass Effect, atmospheric and tense at times, militant or melancholic at others.”
“There's no undo button for when every plan goes to waste, but it adds even more to the tension and helps to create an engaging atmosphere.”
“Just give me something to distract from how the lack of atmosphere makes this game feel dead outside of random encounters and navigating enemy territory.”
“Just an absolute lack of atmosphere or tone of any sort.”
“The atmosphere is a bit sterile.”
- character development14 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 57 % negative mentions
The reviews consistently highlight a significant lack of character development, with pilots described as mere "meat" without any depth or backstory. Players express disappointment over the absence of engaging narratives or emotional connections, making it difficult to stay invested in the game. Overall, the character development is deemed non-existent, detracting from the overall experience.
“The plot doesn't need much more, nor does it offer more, but I'd have liked to see more character development anyway.”
“Further negatives include a total lack of character development for your pilots: these guys are literally just the meat, and the metal is all that matters.”
“As it stands now, I am not sure I am even going to be bothered trying to finish it, given that there is no story to drag me in, no character development to get the feels going, and the missions are clunkily executed aside from the neat predictive combat system.”
“I don't mean the dialogue is bad, or the end was rushed, or there isn't much character development... I mean there is nothing.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's monetization model is straightforward, with a $30 price tag that includes no additional DLC, gated content, or microtransactions, making it a reasonable investment for players. However, concerns arise from limited and repetitive content, as well as the game's short playtime, which may not justify the cost for some. Additionally, the lack of effective marketing has contributed to poor sales and subsequent layoffs among the development team.
“For the $30 asking price with no DLC, gated content, or microtransactions, it is a perfectly good use of your gaming budget.”
“Limited and repetitive content, developers laid off in mass due to poor sales (had no advertisement/outreach), most of the story and scenes play within the first 30 minutes.”
“The flavor text is usually hilariously bright-eyed and naive, like in a way that shouldn't exist in a world where we can open Twitter and see war crimes happen between Hello Fresh advertisements.”
“Firstly, from the advertisement and promotional material, I thought the home guard were going to be a bigger factor in this game.”
