Turn-based strategy games are having something of a renaissance right now. Buoyed in large part by Firaxis’ stellar reboot of the XCOM franchise, we’ve seen all sorts of new takes on the traditional turn-based game, from cowboy-inspired Hard West to the more recent Children of Zodiarcs. Among the latest is CreativeForge’s spin on the genre: Phantom Doctrine.
Set in the Cold War, Phantom Doctrine puts players in control of The Cabal, a secret organization attempting to unravel a worldwide conspiracy threatening mankind. You’ll be responsible for expanding the group’s operational capabilities, including recruiting agents from some of the world’s top intelligence agencies. Luring special operators away from the KGB and CIA won’t be your only job, though. Players will also need to lead these agents on the field of battle. The goal is always to remain undetected for as long as possible and learning to hide in plain sight is one of the most valuable skills in Phantom Doctrine. But there will still be many occasions when the guns come out.
Gameplay is divided into two segments. Players manage The Cabal’s day-to-day operations between missions. The management screen wasn’t shown during our PAX West demo, but CreativeForge says players can recruit new members, edit loadouts, manage their support team (more on that later) and research/acquire new gear from Cabal HQ. It’s also where players will establish new contacts, accept contracts and dispatch agents for field assignments.
But the meat and potatoes of Phantom Doctrine is the time spent in the field. Some assignments don’t require direct oversight, with outcomes determined by the assigned agent’s skills, but most missions play out in real time. It’s here that Phantom Doctrine sets itself apart from other turn-based strategy titles. Few things are more important than your ability to remain hidden from enemy forces, for as long as possible, and the game gives players plenty of tools to keep conspirators unaware of The Cabal’s presence.
Stealth segments aren’t just limited to avoiding vision cones as you work your way across a level. Phantom Doctrine lets you place undercover agents behind enemy lines and guide them through heavily-guarded facilities without alerting your enemies. Undercover agents can even disable security systems (like IR beams and CCTV cameras) without detection, provided they can find a way to silently eliminate any guards who might notice their actions. In the demo, we used our undercover agent to clear almost half the guards of the facility we were tasked with infiltrating. He also disabled several security systems, giving our other field agents silent access to the building, and was instrumental in the breach and clear that let us snag the target briefcase without raising any alarms.
Stealth is important in Phantom Doctrine, but you won’t always be able to remain undetected for the length of each mission. Sometimes you’re going to have to shoot your way in or out of the mission area. Fortunately, The Cabal has a back-up plan for when the shit hits the fan. Support Teams are groups of agents you can send to monitor the battlefield before your team embarks on its next mission. The only support agents shown at PAX West were a scout and a sniper, but both proved invaluable during our demo mission. CreativeForge says placement of your support forces will be important. Snipers and scouts must have line of sight on their targets. Otherwise they can’t eliminate enemies or provide intel on areas obscured by the fog of war. They won’t always have an outsized impact, but properly preparing supports for each mission will mean the difference between success and failure from time to time.
Even with all of those tools at your disposal, CreativeForge says players should expect an uphill battle when Phantom Doctrine hits PC next year. The Cabal has more resources than the average government agency, but the conspiracy will have access to what seems like an endless supply of agents, weaponry and support. Our demo ended with a military helicopter strafing the battlefield, raining missiles down on our team as it raced to the extraction vehicle. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the conspirators’ capabilities.
Our hands-on time with Phantom Doctrine was brief, but it’s clear that CreativeForge still has a wealth of ideas for expanding the turn-based strategy genre. And we can’t wait to see how many more can fit into the game by the time Phantom Doctrine debuts next year.
Phantom Doctrine is in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game is currently expected to release sometime in 2018.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Phantom Doctrine news in 2017 and however long CreativeForge supports Phantom Doctrine after launch.
