Phoenix Point. New deep strategy

Phoenix Point is a new turn based strategy game being developed by ‘Snapshot Games‘. It is coming out in June 2019 on the Xbox One and PC. Phoenix Point is being developed by not just any group but by the original creator of XCOM. So we just have to check this out. Let’s take this out.

The story in Phoenix Point is sort of complex but we like how they are doing it. Listen carefully. An unusual virus was discovered. Discovered in melting permafrost. It’s described to have a very large genome. The weird part is that only 1% of it’s genes match anything in existing databases. Basically 99% of this virus is completely knew stuff to humanity. Once again humans never learn. If you find something that’s clearly alien, then have nothing to do with it. Destroy it!

Later within the 10 years, after research and all that good experimenting that scientists love to do, the seas transform into something living… something not natural… something “totally alien”. Now aliens called mutagens started invading the land through the means of an airborne microbial mist. These aliens definitely aren’t friendly (when are they ever friendly). They are hostile and must be handled. Now if the Earthwalkers were there, we would handle the situation easily within some hours. 

Since the original creator of XCOM is behind Phoenix Point, we know that the tactical side is going to be real deep. Matter of fact we are expecting more than what’s in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. We even want it to be complicated and have many layers that clearly separates those who have deep skill and those who are beginners. For starters players will be controlling different soldiers, taking turns, hiding in cover, taking shots, blowing away cover and all that good stuff but there’s more.

In Phoenix Point, players will be using the Geoscape. The Geoscape is what we use for a strategic view of the world and the different situations going on. It’s also from this that you make your plans and decisions. So research, operations, missions and construction is done from here. As you play make sure to search and make contact with scavenging sites for resources and new things, phoenix project sites for the real good stuff and havens where surely more humans are located and possibly some soldiers. 

Let’s focus on more things that stand out. Your soldiers will have endurance and willpower. Will power points are used for heavy physical or mental exertion, meaning that pushing your soldiers too hard will have consequences. You can also use will power points to activate special abilities. This means there are now more stats and resources for players to manage in Phoenix Point. Also there will be times where your soldiers will not go out alone. They may be joined by drones, both aerial and land based. These will make a difference on the field. 

The soldiers in Phoenix Point have deeper mechanics going on. Your soldiers do gain experience during missions and combat. They also gain experience through certain facilities like in XCOM. They gain skill knowledge through interactions with the other human factions like alliances, trading and even conflict. There are skill trees that affect and cover a large amount of stuff in this game. So think careful about your soldier development.

There’s now more equipment and weapons than before. They are based on different technology so don’t expect the same old research. Some of the stuff you develop will be based of old stuff while others will be brand new stuff while some will be alien in nature. In this war, nothing seems to be off limits. As expected you can develop and combine technology through your own research. Who doesn’t want a shoulder mounted missile launcher. Also each human faction has their own technology as well which you can get from them through trading (the nice way) or conflict (the mean way).

Now let’s talk about the enemies in Phoenix Point. The Pandoravirus has the ability to mutate living forms. This means sea creatures will get some alien upgrades and come for us. The Pandoravirus can incorporate DNA from multiple species and clone them at a fast rate too. This means expect more enemies than naturally would be in the sea if they are left alone. The aliens will mutate into new forms depending on the tactics you are using. So some enemies won’t be simple melee anymore since you keep your distance, meaning you will then face ones with ranged attacks, increased defence etc. So combat will be different and  dangerous each time. Phoenix point also has a procedural generation system for the aliens meaning, players must expect a whole lot of different surprises and situations up ahead on the battle field. 

There’s more. Players can expect to face bosses in Phoenix Point. These huge bosses are completely new. They have multiple abilities. Expect multiple defensive abilities and offensive ones. Some can generate mist and some can even spawn larvae, which off course means more enemies. This is also where the body part targeting system really comes into play. Players can target a specific limb to disable a certain weapon or reduce their combat effectiveness or for whatever reason. Strategic is just as needed when it comes to the bosses too.

We checked out some early gameplay and it’s looking good so far. From the Geoscape you can monitor the thick microbial mist’s approach from the sea indicating where the alien activity threats will come to. The Alien crabman, mindfragger and mist sentinel are definitely new and interesting enemies. Watch out for those grenades. Almost everything is destructible. So blow up the buildings, structures and more to bring your enemies down. This applies to your soldiers too so be careful where you hide. There’s obviously a lot more to come and that’s good to know.