Because that’s how I feel aboutPhoenix Pointafter the last few months of playing it on and off.
There’s a lot to like aboutits final form.
There’s also a lot to…
I don’t quite want to sayhate, but I’m also not quite sure why.
It’s one of the most evenly mixed bags I’ve ever rummaged around in.
When I (very quickly) got sick of theXCOMgames, I uninstalled them.
When I got sick of Phoenix Point, I started a new game.
This is no remake.
With the world already wrecked, there’s no sitting around waiting for invaders.
Some offer a side quest or recruit for hire.
Base management is surprisingly lacklustre.
Overall, Phoenix Point feels more active on thestrategyside.
There’s less of the waiting around, although there is a lot of repetition.
But on the tactical side, things are more mixed.
Despite its retro influences, Phoenix Point isn’t an appeal to nostalgia.
It takes notes from the Firaxes XCOMses too, but customises rather than copying them outright.
Even using up one AP on movement doesn’t have to be done in one stroke.
Aiming a gun displays a radius within which each bullet might land, and each projectile will hitsomething.
Taking cover isn’t abstracted either; things protect you only if they intersect a bullet’s path.
you might shoot through thin gaps or the tightest of angles for full damage.
The Pandorans get more powerful, and irritating over time.
Butyourweapon technology is mostly sidegrades.
Reverse engineer Synedrion’s lasers and you get more range but less power than Jericho’s gauss guns.
Some weapon categories are minimally useful.
Shotguns and assault rifles quickly become outclassed, and heavies in particular are largely dead weight.
Their weapons are slow to fire, extremely inaccurate, and they move too slowly to compensate.
Which you’re free to’t when one of your guys is rendered useless by panic.
Every unit has willpower points, which deplete when friendlies die or enemies fire off special attacks.
Running out causes panic, which is fair enough.
But some enemies can add viral damage to all their shots, which deplete willpower as well as health.
I dunno about you, but I think I could drag someone by the arm.
It’s honestly less frustrating when they die.
I have a heap of similarly esoteric complaints.
Like most of Britain’s problems though, the fundamental problem is the class system.
As they level up they access new abilities, but most will be redundant, or too situational.
Your best weapon by far is cross-training.
Phoenix Point’s battles are too much of a hybrid.
I hate having so many negative things to say, because I love Phoenix Point some of the time.
It’s too inconsistent to wholly recommend and too good to condemn.
