Phantom Doctrine

75%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,919 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Phantom Doctrine Game Cover
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.
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"Phantom Doctrine" is a turn-based strategy game with espionage elements, set in the Cold War era. As the leader of a covert agency, you'll need to manage resources, recruit agents, and carry out missions to uncover a global conspiracy. The game features a rich narrative, strategic combat, and a variety of customization options for your agents. A Deluxe Edition is available, including a digital soundtrack and artbook. An official manual is also available to help you understand the game's mechanics.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

75%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,919 reviews
story260 positive mentions
grinding83 negative mentions
  • Engaging atmosphere and storyline that incorporates real historical events.
  • Unique mechanics such as the investigation board and agent customization.
  • Tactical gameplay encourages stealth and strategic planning over direct combat.
  • Repetitive missions and limited map variety can lead to boredom.
  • Combat can feel punishing and unbalanced, especially when stealth fails.
  • Some mechanics are poorly explained, leading to confusion for new players.
  • story1,906 mentions

    The story of "Phantom Doctrine" is set against a backdrop of Cold War espionage, weaving real historical events into a narrative filled with conspiracy and intrigue. While some players appreciate the depth and complexity of the plot, many find it disjointed and lacking in character development, leading to a sense of repetitiveness in missions that can detract from the overall experience. The game encourages stealth and strategic planning, often allowing players to complete missions without engaging in combat, but this focus on stealth can make the gameplay feel monotonous over time.

    • “The story is engaging, graphics are top-notch, and overall fun to be had.”
    • “The story is intriguing, the gameplay is incredibly immersive, and it also offers tons of replay value and flexibility in how you choose to play missions.”
    • “The story integrates a lot of actual historical material in it to connect to the theme of the cold war era.”
    • “As for the story and the integration of mystery solving into the game: Phantom Doctrine teases you with more than it can deliver.”
    • “I think the weakest part of the game is the story and characters: the 2D story events are not particularly captivating and team deaths or betrayals are not very shocking either, since you aren't really attached to any of them.”
    • “The main problem of the game is that the missions are all very similar.”
  • gameplay865 mentions

    The gameplay of "Phantom Doctrine" has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its unique mechanics and engaging stealth elements reminiscent of the XCOM series. However, criticisms highlight issues such as repetitive mission structures, poorly explained mechanics, and frustrating combat dynamics, particularly the "always hit" shooting mechanic and line of sight problems. While the game offers a rich atmosphere and strategic depth, players note that it can become tedious and lacks polish in certain areas, leading to a steep learning curve and occasional gameplay frustrations.

    • “Great game with engaging gameplay!”
    • “The gameplay is smooth, intuitive, and incredibly enjoyable.”
    • “A neat twist on the turn-based tactics formula, very much an XCOM-like game, but expanding enormously on the stealth gameplay some may be familiar with from XCOM 2.”
    • “The mission gameplay was neat, but trying to play 'right' just means sneaking around with your disguised agent for 20 turns and clicking all the boxes.”
    • “A potentially great game that's let down by little problems which add up, ranging from the overpowered disguise mechanic to problems caused by the game's deterministic combat.”
    • “There's a lot of repetitive gameplay before you actually progress at all in the story, which really wears on your interest after a while.”
  • graphics168 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the atmospheric cold war aesthetic and decent visuals that enhance immersion. However, some critiques highlight that the character models and certain graphical elements appear dated or lack polish, leading to a perception of inconsistency in quality. Overall, while the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they effectively contribute to the game's thematic experience.

    • “The graphics are gorgeous.”
    • “The graphics, the gameplay, and the soundtrack are all very pleasing to me.”
    • “All in all, Phantom Doctrine is highly immersive with beautiful graphics, an interesting and fitting scenario, high-quality soundtrack, and demanding and deep turn-based gameplay.”
    • “The graphics are poor and outdated, which would have been okay if the game didn't have so many flaws that break the immersion.”
    • “Graphics are mediocre with laughably bad cutscenes; gameplay lacks inspiration and the story is uninvolving.”
    • “The graphics leave a little to be desired.”
  • music87 mentions

    The music in the game is widely praised for its fitting jazz-noir soundtrack that enhances the cold war atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its ability to immerse players in the spy theme. However, some players express frustration over the repetitiveness of the tracks, suggesting a desire for more variety to maintain engagement throughout longer play sessions. Overall, while the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, its lack of diversity can detract from the experience over time.

    • “As soon as I heard a saxophone and that kind of 1980's spy genre music, which combined with the dark, steamy, downtown vibes of some of the levels, I was sold.”
    • “The music sets an excellent ambiance, albeit, when a mission drags on it can be a bit tiring to the ears.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game is very good, the soundtrack is right on point, and the gameplay is superb.”
    • “It's just so repetitive, man. Same music, same voice actors after every first chapter of every agency; it's just... ugh.”
    • “There's just no passion, no animalistic need to express something in these tracks, which makes the music boring.”
    • “The music can get a bit boring after the 100th mission, but overall the game is great.”
  • atmosphere86 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, effectively capturing the essence of Cold War espionage through its visuals, music, and narrative elements. Reviewers highlight the game's noir-like ambiance, engaging soundtrack, and the successful integration of spy tropes, creating a unique and compelling experience that stands out in the genre. Despite some gameplay criticisms, the overall atmosphere is considered a significant strength, drawing players into its intriguing world.

    • “The chiaroscuro visuals and enigmatic characters create an alluring atmosphere, while the tactical challenges and cerebral gameplay mirror the essence of spycraft.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game universe is pretty cool.”
    • “There's a real atmosphere to the game, with everything from the music to the character designs and clothing choices, to the way you use a cork board and string to piece together connections between the different pieces of intelligence you gather, all coming together to give a real feel of the 80s cold war setting.”
    • “It's got a solid core to it in regards to gameplay, theme, atmosphere and whatever but it's let down by a lot of small annoyances that make the whole thing feel like an unrewarding grind.”
    • “There are many things that work nicely at first glance: like constant rain and night aka 'noir atmosphere' or those 'find-the-evidence!' tables or secret conspiracy societies with the flair of the '70s-80s... but!”
    • “If you think you're gonna get a fresh alternative to XCOM 2, think again... this is in no way a constructive review based on a serious game test, just my first impression of graphics and overall atmosphere of the game.”
  • grinding86 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for becoming tedious and repetitive over time, with many players expressing frustration over the slow pacing, excessive micromanagement, and lack of variety in missions. While some mechanics initially seem engaging, they quickly lose their charm, leading to a monotonous experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game. Overall, players feel that the game could benefit from more dynamic gameplay elements to alleviate the grind.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Repetitive, grindy, and forgettable.”
    • “However, winning each mission undetected is trivial, once you understand how the game and enemy patrols work, and outside of specific story missions, there is basically no reason to ever enter combat, making 95% of the game content obsolete and making missions very tedious and uninteresting, as there is no challenge whatsoever in the game once you are good at the stealth part.”
    • “The investigation board has you clicking on words and pinning them together; it's tedious and boring.”
  • stability38 mentions

    The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many players reporting various bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including freezing during missions and issues with the user interface. While some users have experienced minimal problems and found the game enjoyable, others have faced significant technical issues that hinder their experience, leading to frustrations and even requests for refunds. Overall, the game appears to be somewhat buggy, but recent patches have improved stability for some players.

    • “As far as I can tell after a few hours, it's bug-free, which nowadays is almost unheard of.”
    • “The new patch 1.1 is where you should come in if you've never played; the game is mostly giant-bug free now.”
    • “Anyway, yeah, this game is a lot of fun, runs great (haven't had a single crash or problem), looks decent enough, and is well worth the money.”
    • “Now since the game is randomized every time you play, undertow is selected at random before you get the objective to wait for omikron to find out who it is; the thing is, since the game is plagued with bugs, if you happen to have the agent the game selects to be undertow in the training facility, the objective freezes... and you're left to wander about the map for days with omikron never getting back at you with a positive.”
    • “The game freezes both during missions and while starting, forcing me to restart my PC.”
    • “This game, currently, is a buggy mess.”
  • replayability35 mentions

    The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating the variety offered by multiple campaigns and different agency perspectives, which provide a fresh experience on subsequent playthroughs. However, some reviewers noted that repetitive storylines and tedious gameplay elements can diminish long-term replay value. Overall, while there is potential for replayability through random mission elements and hidden storylines, the experience may vary significantly based on individual preferences and play styles.

    • “The game offers a wealth of content and opportunities that make it highly replayable.”
    • “The game has a significant replayability value, with the campaign storyline available in short and extended versions from three different perspectives, the content of each differing significantly.”
    • “The story is intriguing, the gameplay is incredibly immersive, and it also offers tons of replay value and flexibility in how you choose to play missions.”
    • “The replayability of this game that I touched on in the pros is actually a lie because who would want to deal with file connections and simple but tedious cell clearing in the assault mode.”
    • “Solid story but not much replayability.”
    • “Far and away the biggest problem with this game is its relative lack of replayability.”
  • humor23 mentions

    The humor in the game is characterized by a mix of intentional and unintentional comedic moments, such as absurd AI behavior, quirky character actions, and amusing cutscenes. Players find humor in the game's mechanics, like agents taking ridiculous detours or using silly combat moves, as well as in the interactions with civilians and the overall absurdity of certain situations. While the humor adds charm, it often highlights the game's flaws, leading to a perception of it being a "funny mess."

    • “Enjoyable turn-based tactical combat, light RPG elements, and a decent plot with a sprinkling of humor.”
    • “I found it hilarious and laughed out loud when I first saw civilians running in panic in the direction of an armed dangerous man.”
    • “The judo-chop to take down your foes silently is rather funny and kind of silly.”
  • optimization23 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing smooth performance and stability, while others report significant issues such as crashes, sluggishness, and unoptimized enemy CPU cycles. While the graphics and overall aesthetic are praised, many users feel that the game requires further polish, particularly in interface navigation and performance consistency. Overall, there is potential for improvement, and players are advised to save frequently due to the instability reported by some.

    • “Nice optimization and good looking graphics.”
    • “A lot of depth, great graphics and performance - definitely recommended!”
    • “I also saw some people complain about performance but my game ran very smoothly.”
    • “What kills it is the performance issues.”
    • “The 'enemy' CPU cycles must be some of the most unoptimized in gaming, because even on a new PC you're waiting forever.”
    • “As it stands now, there are just too many issues with its performance and stability.”
  • character development11 mentions

    Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the depth and customization options available, particularly in the context of strategy and mission success. However, others feel that it lacks the necessary depth and impact, suggesting that while there are various options, only a few truly matter. Overall, the character development system is seen as a significant aspect of the game, but it could benefit from further refinement and complexity.

    • “If you enjoy strategy games, you will enjoy this game, planning, character development, research, and great missions.”
    • “Character development is strong; this is one of the few remaining 'read the manual' releases out there, and it goes a bit deeper than the gloss, so it is definitely worth spending some time on if you enjoy turn-based strategy and dynamic storylines.”
    • “Also, I feel character development of your agents is a lot more fleshed out because you don't have fixed skill trees like in XCOM, but rather can combine both skills and agent perks pretty effectively with some randomness attached to it as available perks are limited by choice options on agents' level up.”
    • “Character development isn't as involved as I feel it could be.”
    • “And this makes all the related systems, such as character development (training, perks), and itemization, etc., also really weak, bad, and sophomoric.”
    • “Character development offers many different options, of which in my experience only a few really matter when it comes to success in missions.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Reviews highlight a mixed emotional experience, with some players feeling deep emotional conflict when faced with difficult choices, such as executing a character they had previously captured. In contrast, others report a lack of emotional attachment to characters, leading to a sense of expendability and detachment from the game's narrative. Overall, the emotional impact varies significantly among players, influencing their engagement with the game's story.

    • “Later on, I found her on a mission, recaptured her, and interrogated her. After which, I was too hurt emotionally to set her free and decided to execute her instead.”
    • “If one of them happens to die, I have formed no emotional attachment.”
    • “Zero attachment made me feel like they are expendable.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

74% average critic score

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Play time

21hMedian play time
52hAverage play time
6-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 24 analyzed playthroughs

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