Phantom Doctrine Critic Reviews

A rich, detailed and highly replayable espionage adventure, touting the right mix of strategic and tactical choices within its entertaining fiction.

Phantom Doctrine from CreativeForge uses the collective Cold War imagery to build one of the absolute benchmarks for modern turn based tactical games, excellent in almost every aspect.

Phantom Doctrine takes the familiar framework of isometric turn-based strategy and confidently repurposes it into a unique and satisfying experience. It wholly embodies the paranoia and tension of the 1980's Cold War setting in every aspect of its numerous gameplay systems, and completely immerses you in that all-encompassing state of mind.

Taut, thrilling, and full of twisty new takes on a classic gaming formula, Phantom Doctrine is our new strategic addiction.

Overall I had a lot of fun with Phantom Doctrine… I’ve been a big fan of the X-Com games since enemy unknown and I thoroughly enjoyed Silent Storm. The Cold War, espionage theme of Phantom Doctrine helps to make it stand out a bit and is a great story line. If you like turn based strategy games I would highly recommend Phantom Doctrine… now excuse me I just have to jet to a (redacted) in (redacted) and talk to my handler.

If you are a fan of the newer Xcom series, I highly recommend this game. If you are a fan of Cold War spy thrillers, I highly recommend this game. The mystery of the conspiracy is fantastic and makes me want to uncover everything. The gameplay is brutal, but fair and unlike Xcom you won't miss a with a shotgun at point blank range and a 99% change to hit. This game fulfilled many niches and I hope others will agree.

A gripping spy thriller, successfully replicating the XCOM campaign structure in a le Carre-like world.

Despite some repetitive missions and cutscenes, there's a massive and complex plot waiting to be discovered in Phantom Doctrine. Although it might not feel that way at first, the game offers a mix of tactical and strategic decisions way more complex than any of the XCOM games. I also think the game perfectly catches the Cold War atmosphere of the early 80s, and delivers it in the form of a tactical stealth turn-based formula. Phantom Doctrine tackles a sensible but fascinating subject, the Cold War, and does a damn good job at it.

I especially like the great focus on secret infiltration.

A suspenseful stealth/action strategy game with a strong Cold War vibe and quite a few original ideas. Not all of them land as well as they should have, but Phantom Doctrine is still a deep and engaging experience for fans of the ‘XCOM’ genre.

Phantom Doctrine is an efficient tactical game, with a suffocating scenario which tighly ensnares the characters… and the player. Its graphics are dusty but the variety of its gameplay plays like a charm.

Quotation forthcoming.

You’re free to grow your operation, tinker with drug combinations to engineer supersoldiers, get the right mix of equipment and training, and fully deck out your MKUltra brainwashing facility. We aren’t fans of how often “addictive” is used as a synonym for fun, but thanks to its loop of world map organisation and tactical missions, Phantom Doctrine is both.

Phantom Doctrine is an addictive mix of improved combat mechanics from Hard West and XCOM’s strategic layer (but you also manage particular soldiers, not just your base). I recommend it if you revel in silent executions and infiltrating enemy facilities without leaving any traces, especially if you enjoyed Invisible, Inc. and don’t mind a game being somewhat rough around the edges.

Although the first look of Phantom Doctrine reminded me XCOM, I still think it has some different advantages. At least, if you are a fan of spy movies, I am sure you will enjoy this game. Right now it has many flaws indeed, but developers are listening to community's opinions, and working hard to repair.

It is an interesting alternative to XCOM, which might be even more appealing for some players. It still has some rough edges, but it is a very solid debut.

The campaign itself can feel drawn out at times thanks to a less-than-stellar story and some obviously recycled content, but there’s a real thrill in executing covert missions and putting all the pieces together like a master spy.

You might well find the evocative, smoke-damaged backdrop of ‘80s espionage fresh enough to carry you through a satisfying playthrough. But even with the plates changed and the serial number filed off, there’s no mistaking XCOM 2.

Phantom Doctrine is a game that can pull you in so hard that you won't notice where the night has gone. It generates lots of fun thanks to cool ideas and good implementations but it can also be frustrating at the same time. If not for the cheating AI we would be taking about a truly wonderful game.

CreativeForge tries to present a larger and more complete turn-based experience, compared with Hard West, but some hiccups show up along the road. The welcome addition of stealth is marred by… immersion issues, as well as feeling over-powered after half-point of the campaign, whereas the lack of any feeling of urgency on the overworld map makes this part of the game feeling somewhat like an afterthought. Nonetheless, it has enough competent elements in its action as well as the presentation of its spy theme which will probably hook fans of the genre for hours.