Having said that, this old dog has without doubt learnt some new tricks, and Phoenix Point differentiates itself from its ideological predecessors in some subtle and unique ways. The similarities extend to level design, the overall focus and tactical nature of combat encounters, as well as the constant pressure of being low on resources, units and technology to balance which battles you will, and more importantly won’t, take on in your quest to save the Earth from a new fleshy threat: the Pandoravirus. For newcomers, there’s a brand new story, complete with its own history and lore, so entering at this point wouldn’t be inaccessible at all. Integrating challenging and chastening turn-based gameplay with a ruthless and time-sensitive global strategy structure, XCOM players will immediately feel right at home.
Snapshot Games provided us with a Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition PS4 code for review purposes.Given the aforementioned talent behind Phoenix Point, it should come as no surprise it plays immensely similarly to Julian Gollop’s previous outings. And, again, if the creator of XCOM wants to remake XCOM again, he can, but it still doesn’t mean that you have any reason to go out and get Phoenix Point. All the talk of new systems and alliances and whatnot can’t cover up the fact that it’s simply reinventing XCOM. In fact, that’s the complaint that could be applied to everything in Phoenix Point: it doesn’t feel different in the slightest. Being given the option of aiming for an arm versus aiming for the head doesn’t feel different in the slightest. It’s still a turn-based tactical combat game, which means that the actual gameplay is completely identical - you shoot, you shield yourself, you outflank your enemies.
While these changes are all well and good, in practice they don’t feel all that different from what you can do in XCOM. The game also has a complex diplomacy system, which gives you the option of building alliances or simply building up your military might.
Phoenix Point also gives you a little more freedom in combat, allowing you to free aim at enemies, which means you get to target specific body parts rather than spraying shots in their general direction. Its worlds are procedurally generated, which applies to not only the maps, but also your enemies - as the game explains, you’re fighting against a virus that has caused people to mutate, and no two mutations are totally alike. To be fair, it’s worth acknowledging Phoenix Point tweaks the formula a little here and there. I’m not usually one to complain or care about which game came first, but in this case, Phoenix Point copies XCOM 2 so closely that it’s hard to tell what the real difference is between the two. In fact, I’m not sure why you’d want to get Phoenix Point when XCOM 2 is already available on the same platforms. If the guy who created XCOM wants to make a new game that’s basically exactly the same as XCOM, he’s earned that right.īut that doesn’t necessarily mean the game is worth getting. Whatever complaints could be made about a smaller studio wholly ripping off a well-known game don’t apply here. It was developed by Snapshot Games, a studio founded by Julian Gollop…who created XCOM back in 1997. To some extent, this is wholly understandable. Pretty much everything there is to say about Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition begins and ends with this: it’s a very well-made XCOM clone.