Phantom Fury

65%
Game Brain Score Based on 661 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Phantom Fury Game Cover
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.
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Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison is back in this highly interactive mix of first person action and road movie adventure. Embark on an adrenaline-fueled journey around the USA. Use an enormous arsenal of weapons and skills to battle treacherous soldiers and vile mutants, all while trying to save mankind.

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

Reviews

65%
Audience ScoreBased on 661 reviews
story33 positive mentions
stability68 negative mentions
  • The game features strong and satisfying shooting mechanics, with a variety of weapons that feel engaging to use.
  • The art style and level design are visually appealing, reminiscent of late 90s and early 2000s FPS games.
  • Despite some bugs, many players found the game enjoyable and fun, with a nostalgic feel that pays homage to classic shooters.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including AI problems and confusing level design that can lead to frustration.
  • There is a lack of clear guidance on objectives, making navigation through levels tedious and sometimes leading to soft locks.
  • The story and character development are weak, with many players feeling that the writing lacks depth and coherence compared to its predecessor, Ion Fury.
  • story159 mentions

    The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it generic, predictable, and poorly executed, often describing it as a collection of clichés and plot holes. While some appreciated the attempt at a more cinematic narrative, others criticized its lack of clarity and coherence, leading to confusion about objectives and character motivations. Overall, the story serves as a basic framework for gameplay but fails to leave a lasting impression, with many players feeling it detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Intense story, workable firearms, interesting plot twists.”
    • “Yes, this game has its issues, but deep down you can see the love from the devs and its story.”
    • “Despite all of this, I love the story, I felt the need to finish the game and I was hooked!”
    • “The story is not clear; everybody wants to kill you and you don't know why. Also, sometimes you don't know what to do or where to go.”
    • “The story is pretty much non-existent; it's all so unconnected it feels more like a set of random set pieces than an actual story for a game.”
    • “Unfortunately, that person didn’t tell the writer, so Phantom Fury’s story fails even at the bare minimum of what a first-person shooter narrative is supposed to do: convey where you’re going and why you’re going there.”
  • graphics149 mentions

    The graphics of the game have received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many praising its retro aesthetic that combines early 2000s visuals with modern lighting and effects. Players appreciate the vibrant art style and level design, which evoke nostalgia for classic shooters like Half-Life and Duke Nukem, although some have noted performance issues and occasional graphical bugs. Overall, the visuals are seen as a strong point, contributing to an engaging gameplay experience despite some criticisms regarding animation quality and texture fidelity.

    • “The good: the game looks amazing! I took so many screenshots; I just love this enhanced pixel art style so much. Even though a lot of the levels are facilities, it still feels so varied level by level, and every level sticks out in my mind having its own style and feel.”
    • “The art style is spot-on for something that tries to mimic the graphics of the late 90s and early 2000s, with some modern lighting and effects work on top.”
    • “The graphics, while not cutting-edge when compared to other modern shooters, have a very pleasing style clearly trying to emulate Half-Life 1's chunky and pixelated look, but with modern tweaks such as dynamic shadows and volumetric fog that all look great.”
    • “The art style attempts to mimic games of the 2000s, but the textures, models, maps, and the entire art direction are very ugly and inaccurate, to be honest.”
    • “I also had some performance issues with the game which shouldn't be happening with a game that has retro-like graphics.”
    • “The first thing that catches my attention is the graphics, or just how mismatched it feels, to be exact.”
  • gameplay134 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players enjoying the solid shooting mechanics and variety in combat and exploration, while others criticize it for being janky, poorly executed, and lacking depth. Many noted that the game feels unfinished, with issues like invisible walls and confusing level design detracting from the experience. Overall, while there are fun moments and a nostalgic aesthetic, the gameplay often feels undercooked and in need of refinement.

    • “Smooth, satisfying early-2000s shooter gameplay with some twists.”
    • “The aesthetics are beautiful, Shelly is badass and the gameplay is a lot of fun too!”
    • “Gunplay is snappy, movement works (mostly) great, and there's some good gameplay variety here consisting of combat, exploration, and some light 'puzzling' (mostly key- and switch-hunting) sprinkled in between.”
    • “The game has good ideas, but executes them poorly, one of the biggest being the illusion of having multiple ways to approach a set-piece. A lot of the map is plagued with invisible walls and areas that look like shortcuts being complete dead-ends. Gameplay and design-wise, everything just has a very undercooked feel to it; this game needed more time.”
    • “It's bad, very bad. It's not even finished at so many points; gameplay is boring, buggy, and the AI makes me want to pull my hair out.”
    • “The gameplay is sluggish, and the maps are terrible to navigate through.”
  • stability74 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs and performance issues, including glitches related to the physics engine and AI behavior. While some users experienced minor cosmetic bugs and found the game enjoyable overall, others described it as a "buggy mess" that feels unfinished and rushed. Overall, the consensus suggests that while the game can be fun, it suffers from a lack of polish and stability at launch.

    • “The game runs great for me so far, with no real bugs encountered.”
    • “Having a lot of fun so far; it runs great on the deck if you lower the shadows a bit.”
    • “Runs great, even in VR using uevr.”
    • “This is a buggy, undercooked mess of a game.”
    • “A buggy, seemingly rushed and unfinished mess.”
    • “There are some later areas that feel outright unfinished, with lamp-posts floating in the air, haphazardly placed enemies that don't react to you consistently, and major glitches that can remove your upgrades and powers.”
  • music65 mentions

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its composition and quality, while others find it underwhelming and lacking intensity. Many players noted that the soundtrack is often muted or barely audible during gameplay, leading to a lifeless atmosphere, and some tracks feel repetitive. Overall, while there are moments of good music, the execution and integration into the game leave much to be desired.

    • “The music was very well composed and full of high-quality ambient tracks and battle themes.”
    • “Excellent soundtrack.”
    • “I really enjoyed the visual style and game's music.”
    • “There's no music during fights, etc.”
    • “The soundtrack is just boring and completely not memorable.”
    • “The almost total lack of music, and bugs everywhere... you could go on and on, and many will, but you don't need me to list the litany of issues.”
  • optimization46 mentions

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including frame rate drops and stuttering, particularly in areas with numerous enemies. While some users report smooth gameplay and no problems, the consensus is that the game requires further optimization and patches to address these performance inconsistencies. Overall, the game's graphics and design are praised, but the technical performance detracts from the experience for many players.

    • “On the good side, the shooting mechanics feel solid and enjoyable. The weapon variety is good, and the levels are mostly well designed, pleasant to look at and explore. The game features a good combination of beautiful 7th generation-like lighting, ambient occlusion, and stylized early 2000s graphics aesthetics while paying homage to games like Sin, Half-Life 1, DNF 2001, and Halo. The environment is quite interactive in the vein of Source engine games and runs smoothly, except for short frame-rate drops three times during the whole playthrough.”
    • “The game has had two patches since launch, and they have improved the game quite a bit in regards to the bugs and sometimes spotty performance.”
    • “This game is far from perfect - it needs better optimization and a lot of fixes... but that being said, I have enjoyed it.”
    • “So some pretty bad optimization in some sections where there are a lot of enemies.”
    • “Playing on a 7800x3d and 7900xtx, I should have had a locked 144fps @4k, but even after lowering the settings from the ultra to high preset, I would often see dips as low as the mid 60s and major stuttering in large areas.”
    • “The game sure has its problems though, like the lack of quicksave/load and huge performance issues - CPU and GPU being utilized to 30-40% at max (doesn't seem to be a bottleneck anywhere) and I'm getting 50 fps in some places, it's weird.”
  • humor20 mentions

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the physics-based antics and darker comedic elements, while others find the overall humor forgettable and unremarkable. Although there are moments of funny lore and amusing enemy behavior, many reviewers feel that the game lacks memorable one-liners or clever references, leading to a sense of boredom rather than the intended comedic experience. Overall, the humor seems to be overshadowed by issues of polish and originality.

    • “Great level design, made with care, with pieces of funny lore sprinkled throughout.”
    • “She has a bit of a darker sense of humor in her comments, which I do enjoy.”
    • “During those opening levels, it felt like the animations for walking weren't even synced up with how they were actually moving, and soldiers had a strange tendency to suddenly zip around corners and obstacles at lightning speed, sometimes so blazing fast that they were actually sliding around, which was certainly hilarious.”
    • “The humor falls flat, relying too heavily on outdated references and recycled animations that feel more like a cheap imitation than original content.”
    • “The jokes and comedic elements are poorly executed, making it hard to find anything genuinely funny amidst the glitches and repetitive sound effects.”
    • “The attempts at humor feel forced and unoriginal, often leaving players cringing rather than laughing.”
  • atmosphere12 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its beautiful level design and diverse settings, contributing to a strong sense of world-building. However, some reviewers note inconsistencies in the level design and occasional shortcomings in sound, which detract from the overall atmospheric experience. Despite these flaws, there are many memorable atmospheric moments that stand out.

    • “I really liked the ambience and level design, which is beautiful and with a wide range of different layouts, settings, and atmospheres.”
    • “I really like the atmosphere and world building of the levels I've played so far.”
    • “It's a shame because there's a lot of good atmospheric moments here that are kind of wasted.”
    • “Level design isn't always perfect; it feels a bit too random and lacking in terms of atmosphere, or sometimes even feels like there's sound missing.”
    • “I really like the atmosphere and world-building of the levels I've played so far.”
    • “Feel and atmosphere?”
  • grinding8 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While the keycard-hunting progression and ample save points help maintain tension and reduce tedium, some criticize the level design as uninspired and formulaic, leading to a sense of grind, particularly regarding health management.

    • “The levels are decently made, and the keycard-hunting style of progression wasn't as tedious as some games in the genre.”
    • “Enough save points and in this case no manual save is a good thing, keeps tension alive and (most) levels are not tediously long-winded.”
    • “The level design is tedious and uninspired, encounters are formulaic, no secrets to find, and the sound design is abysmal.”
    • “The level design is tedious and uninspired, encounters are formulaic, no secrets to find, and the sound design is abysmal.”
    • “Make health less grindy.”
  • monetization6 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized for being unremarkable and forgettable, with no innovative or engaging promotional strategies to enhance player interest. Reviewers noted a lack of creativity in advertisements and overall game design, contributing to a bland experience that fails to stand out in a crowded market.

  • emotional4 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is negatively impacted by traversal issues and environmental glitches, which can lead to frustration and a sense of disconnection from the intended experience. Players report feeling hindered by obstacles that disrupt immersion and create a sense of confusion about the game's design.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

70% average critic score

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Play time

6hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
2-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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