Phoenix Point - new Julian Gollop turn-based strategy game

Oh! Thanks for your detailed response!

Ok, so maybe I won’t throw my save into the trash and just let the aliens do their festering thing.

By no means I’m winning! But the minigame, at least for now, it’s very shallow and tedious, or it’s just not for me. You just have to shoot when in range and defense when attacked, it could be automated (indeed it is, but I don’t trust auto-resolve in games). My main problem is that I’m behind the aerial tech, and I have very few resources.

Yes, Kaos Engine for now I like it a lot. Those acid shotguns are very helpful (until they jam in the worst possible time)

Corrupted Horizons I like it too. My main worry is about the Legacy of the Ancients. Is as grindy as I’ve read?

By the way, I’m playing Iron man (always do in this kind of game) so save scum is not an option for me. So maybe is a good idea to experiment the game without some of the most unforgiving DLC’s?

This indeed is a favourite of mine alongside XCOM2: WOTC. I’d like a Phoenix Point with the production values of XCOM. One thing I miss from XCOM2 is the variety and quality of maps and mission objectives, in Phoenix Point very fast all the maps look the same.

On the other hand the last time I’ve tried XCOM2 I was missing with all my heart the ballistics and localized damage of Phoenix Point.

It sounds like you’re not “playing” the aerial game yet, at least not fully. I promise the “minigame” will feel less tedious once you’re actually able to take advantage of the different systems (targeting components, matching countermeasures to weapons, and using different types of weapons from different ranges, for instance). Right now you’re probably just plinking their recon flights with your default weapons. There’s a lot more than that to come!

In the meantime, you just kind of have to watch the Behemoth have his way with the settlements. :(

In my current game, after I drove him back into the Indian Ocean, he rampaged all over North America before I even got over there. “Have fun, dude! Knock yourself out, since it’s not like I’m going to be able to do anything about it!” He eventually slinked back into the sea, but I’m not sure if it’s because he ate his fill or because the North American settlements actually fought him off.

Same here. On Veteran, I’m pretty sure we can roll with setbacks, but don’t quote me on that. I just had a very painful party wipe after my first substantive mind control encounter, and I lost my three main dudes. I wouldn’t dream of restarting!

Yeah, Phoenix Point only has the four distinct biomes and then all the alien stuff. You do get used to it pretty quickly. There’s a sense of “oh this building” or “ah, these map tiles”.

But I feel like the architecture and layouts of the biomes are different enough that they offer distinct gameplay. The cramped favellas with their rickety walls play differently from the sleek high-tech Synedrion homes with all their glass and windows and winding stairs, as opposed to the wacky Anu temples with big open interiors, or the hulking Jericho fort towns with their cramped rooms and halls. It might not have as much splash as the XCOM settings, but I do feel it plays pretty tightly into all of Phoenix Points’ systems for mobility, line of sight, destructibility, and ballistics.

Honestly, I’m not sure I can go back to XCOM at this point. I haven’t tried, and I’ve been meaning to jump into the Long War mod again, but I think Phoenix Point might have spoiled me. :(

-Tom

I should replay this. I gave up last time on the mission where you have to capture someone or something. Was tedious.

Not with one of the vehicle types. Synhedrion’s maybe? Someone has a vehicle that just stuns everything like crazy. I had a lot of fun with it until it got wrecked.

I remember getting this vehicle and struggling to work out how to use it, then it subsequently getting wrecked! :)

The Synedrion Aspida!

She is quite the beast until you figure out what she does…at which point she’s an even greater beast! The vehicles – ground and air! – in this game are so cool for how distinct they are.

The Aspida is exactly what I was talking about in the thread about Old World’s undo feature, and how I’ve added my own undo to games like Phoenix Point. The Kaos DLC makes sure you get to play with all the different vehicles and having never used Synedrion’s ground vehicle, well, we’ve all been there, right?

“How does this thing shoot? What’s that? It doesn’t even shoot? Then what good is it???”

Five moves later you’re loading up your Manticore with a half dozen captured specimens, the Aspida’s cargo hull full of salvage, and nary a scratch on any of your soldiers. :)

-Tom

Ooh! Does Kaos Engines buff the already existing vehicles?

It’s like you were watching me play it.

It adds a bunch of new equipment you can swap onto already existing vehicles. However, as far as I could tell, none of the upgrades address the ridiculously small amount of ammo the vehicles get loaded with.

You will no longer recognize them!

(Okay, maybe it’s not that dramatic. But considering that the four faction vehicles were pretty bare bones before, there was plenty of room for the stuff added in the Kaos Engine DLC.)

The trick to Kaos Engine’s goodies is preserving balance. Vehicles were already pretty powerful. As I’ve said before, I think the biggest problem with vehicles in Phoenix Point is that everyone assumed they work like they did in XCOM when that was never the case! So when Snapshot added a new progression system to vehicles – basically a set of missions to let you test each vehicle in a live fire situation – they’re kind of re-introducing vehicles for the first time.

And one of the things you have to learn is that you’re never going to be able to just sit in a vehicle and drive around, blowing stuff up and playing the mission as if you were a tank commander. One of the ways this is enforced, one of the ways vehicles are balanced alongside your soldiers, is by making the very powerful vehicle attacks limited. So when vehicles get even more powerful, flexible, and readily available with Kaos Engine, it’s usually by adding additional tricks, gimmicks, and abilities rather than just turning them into more powerful artillery with more ammo.

That said, if the upgrade path you want is for vehicles to hit harder or even more often, Kaos Engine will give you options.

-Tom

Tom, whatever issues you’ve had with the stealth mechanics, are they solved already?

I started playing this instead of buying 40k Chaosgate because Phoenix Point has been on my backlog for ages.

I’m playing with all DLC, and I’ve gotten pretty far along, the Behemoth is flying around. I’ve started the corruption mechanic. Starting to get vehicles etc.

There is just a lot going on here. So many squaddies to level up and equip. So many. Xcom doesn’t get near this.

Oooh, I am so glad you asked, because I’ve been meaning to say: My problems with stealth in Phoenix Point have been 100% resovled!

Which is kind of important, because this was one of my main complaints when I played (and reviewed!) the game before. But somewhere along the way, Snapshot patched into the game a bright orange line that marks the limits of your target’s perception. The line is dynamic based on your currently selected unit. Skirt the line and you won’t be seen. It’s simple, thorough, and exactly what you need to efficiently manage the game’s stealth system.

One important issue! Because of what the interface reveals, I discovered that stealth can be very specific to time of day. Basically, because of the size of the maps, stealth isn’t going to get you very far on the average map during the day. It seems like it’s mostly at night, when perception levels are reduced, that stealth will let you sneak around to much effect. Of course, stealth builds will be an exception to this based on how well they’re built. And alien nests are, of course, always dark. But I’ve discovered that the stealth system in Phoenix Point is mostly a day/night system. Which I think is pretty cool. Not quite “creeping around by flarelight in X-COM” cool, but still cool.

But, yes @Baconsoda, one of the main reasons I’ve been getting back into this so much is because one of my main objections vanished into thin air with the addition of a simple but powerful interface tweak.

-Tom

So I see this is on sale on Epic, but there doesn’t seem to be a “complete edition” with all the DLCs. What is the right way to buy this? Base game + season pass? Year one edition? Everything seperate?

Yikes, I actually don’t know the answer to that question and I hope it’s not as convoluted as it sounds. But ideally, you want the package with all six DLCs. I was assuming the Year One edition gave you that, but I see now it only comes with three of the six DLC.

So on Steam, it looks like the best option for the whole package is to buy Year One ($30) and then buy the $15 “Expansion Pass” that adds Corrupted Horizons, Kaos Engine, and Festering Skies (which would cost $5, $5, and $10 respectively if bought separately). So on Steam, $45 gets you the whole shebang. I’m not sure if there are better options on Epic.

-Tom

On Epic it appears that Phoenix Point: Year One Edition is £12 (includes Blood & Titanium DLC, Legacy of the Ancients DLC, and the Living Weapons Pack) + Season Pass at £8 (includes Kaos Engines, Corrupted Horizons, Festering Skies) will get you everything for a mere £20. If you do buy from there, be sure to grab an Epic Coupon too for a further 25% off. £15 is crazy good value. You’re probably looking at 20-25 USD?

But do you need the base game plus year one edition? I think those are separate things

no year one edition includes the base game.

Thanks!

Ok, after all of Tom’s comments, I just had to buy this, and I bought it on GOG, since it was on sale. I hope you’re happy, @tomchick !