Phoenix Point

If you’re coming from modern XCOM thinking you’re just getting a reskin, brace yourself because this game is an absolute beast. I have sunk so many hours into it, and honestly, it completely ruins percentage-based shooting games for me now. The biggest thing that hooks you is how actual physics and ballistics dictate the combat. Instead of a dice roll telling you that a point-blank shotgun blast somehow missed, you have this incredible manual aiming system with simulated bullet trajectories. You zoom in, look down the sights, and physically target specific body parts. If a massive mutant crab-monster is sprinting at your squad, you don't just shoot its general torso—you target its arm to blow its organic grenade launcher clean off, or you blast its legs to slow it down. The level of granular control on the tactical layer is incredibly satisfying. But what really sets it apart is the sheer scale and complexity of all the moving parts. It feels like a massive sandbox where you are constantly spinning a dozen plates at once. You aren't just managing one base and waiting for a timer; you’re activating a whole global network of old Phoenix bases, building up multiple distinct squads, and managing an absolute mess of logistical nightmares. The resource economy is brutally tight, and you have to think about everything down to manufacturing individual magazines of ammo for your troops. Then you throw the human factions into the mix, and the game goes to a whole new level. New Jericho, the Disciples of Anu, and Synedrion are all running around the Geoscape fighting each other, trading, and dynamically reacting to the alien threat while you're trying to figure out who to ally with. Do you play nice and try to buy their tech, or do you just say screw it and launch a night raid on a faction's hangar to steal their airships and research? The game gives you so much freedom to choose your own path, but it will absolutely punish you if you make sloppy decisions. It's incredibly deep, beautifully complex, and if you love strategy games that actually make you use your brain instead of just relying on luck, you need to play this.

After years of patches and DLCs it finally became an enjoyable experience.

i like the idea of the game but its just so unbalanced. the armor you get at the start of the game is pretty much the only armor you get. The pandorans always out number you by at least 3 to 1 wich wouldnt be a problem if their units didnt scale to be much better then you own units very early on in the game all the way into the end game, by mid game they can 1 and 2 shot your units and there is no way to stop them as you are still stuck using the same armor from the start of the game thats not even good at the start of the game.

I bounced off Phoenix Point at first due to confusion with the map strategy, and I am SO GLAD I returned to the game a few months later. I figured the strategy out, focused on the tactics I love so much, and it's been one of my all-time favorites ever since. I love this game so much that I've never even played any of the DLC; I'm afraid the changes would ruin the game I love. I only allow myself to play this game once a year because it completely dominates my free time once I start a campaign. For anyone who enjoys turn-based tactics, this game is a must.

FWIW: I'm writing this as someone who hasn't played X-com, so I'm probably not the target audience. It's a tedious game. Sometimes the combat is decent but overall it just throws too many roadblocks at you to be fun. Most routine missions have semi-random layouts and objective locations. These maps don't have any forcing momentum and often causes boring situations. Sometimes enemies spawn right next to the thing you're supposed to protect and you're on the . Civilians you're supposed to protect don't show up on radar. A single weak enemy goes into stealth and can't be found dragging out the mission for turns. The map is LONG and you need to walk all the way top the other end to grab a thing and then walk ALL THE WAY BACK with long AI turns and multiple party members. The game features an overworld that you'll spend a lot of time in. You have to slowly expand your reach exploring node by node, activating bases rather than just going from story mission to story mission. You constantly have to go help NPC factions if you don't want your gameover timer to accelerate and get optimal faction rep. Que up some research and build timers. Go do a mission and then queue up some more research and build timers. I get the developers were going for a feeling of "You can't do everything, choose carefully" but it ends up feeling more like a time-gated list of chores. Inventory system UI is annoying. You have to match ammunition to the specific weapon equipped but the game doesn't grab the right ammo for you; you have to search through your inventory for the right AMMO type of dozens of items in your inventory and equip it manually. Ugh. The combat is usually fine but not good enough to make suffering through the rest worth it.

Xcom on drugs, and mods from the workshop add the customization it needs in the difficulty department, without mods still good just not as good.

Doesnt even let you pick where you want to start on the map prepare to restart the game 100000 times. Just not worth the headache.

This ain't it gang. I give it a 4/10.

I'm sure you're looking at this game because you're a huge fan of XCOM 2. If you're looking to scratch that itch, this will work for a little bit. If you buy it on sale, the price isn't bad. I played a few of the DLC, but in some ways they make things harder instead of easier. This game has a lot of issues or aspects that aren't enjoyable. The game has almost no real score or background music, and what it does have is very repetitive. The time it takes your troops and enemies to move is frustratingly long. I played the game for 80 hours and feel like I didn't come close to finishing the game. Any sense of fun I got from this game left long ago. My recommendation: skip this one and get Star Wars: Zero Company when it comes out.

Reading through some of the reviews, there are a lot of complaints about valid older issues. Out of nowhere, a new patch dropped in 2026 and addressed a lot of these issues. DLCs got more streamlined and rebalanced as well as general pacing of the game was improved. Overall, very good game from the original creator of XCOM. More complex than Firaxis XCOM, and if you liked that, you will like this one.