Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition, developed by Snapshot Games and published by Prime Matter and Koch Media, has me conflicted. I’m a big fan of strategy games, and Phoenix Point follows in the footsteps of the XCOM series. Tactically maneuvering through maps, building up your resources, and researching how to stop mutants from destroying the planet is engaging, and Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition adds new, intriguing elements to the classic XCOM formula. However, I think it may add too much, as the complexity of its systems and the sheer amount of information the player has to manage can really bog the game down.
The tactical battles of Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition are reminiscent of XCOM: you’ll try to position your soldiers as best you can behind cover while taking advantage of their class-specific skills to defeat your enemies. However, there are certainly combat features that are unique to the game. The most important is that guns now fire real projectiles that could hit enemies, nearby structures, or miss entirely, instead of having a percentage chance of hitting or missing. You can also freely aim your weapon to focus on specific body parts (disabling a leg, for example, would lower an enemy’s movement).
While the free aim is interesting, and disabling certain parts can be useful, I think I would’ve preferred a random chance of hitting or missing. While RNG can be frustrating, taking the time to aim each shot for the chance of a minor bonus really slows down the gameplay. Your weapons also fire on random points within a certain range, so there’s still uncertainty. The game does display your chance to hit through how light or dark the enemy’s health bar becomes, but these only give general ideas. The calculated risks you often have to take during strategy games just felt a little less satisfying when you can’t calculate anything.
Outside of combat, you’ll explore the world to find resources, allies, and an answer to the mysterious Pandoravirus, which has turned most of humanity into murderous mutants. You accomplish this by flying to various interest points on the map, either finding random scenarios or havens, which are the only remaining settlements. These havens are divided into three factions and interacting with them was my favorite part of Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition. Each faction is radically different from the others, and none of them hold perfect solutions to deal with the Pandoravirus. Managing your relationships with each of them stood out to me as Phoenix Point’s most interesting innovation.
With that said, the exploration and preparation stages of Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition are also quite slow. Inputs to move through menus have just a little more lag than they should, but the extra time really adds up when upgrading and equipping half a dozen soldiers in between each mission. The abundance of information also contributes to slowing the game down: there are lots of weapons to choose between, havens on the map, and potential projects to juggle that I never felt fully sure of what I should be doing. Phoenix Point’s complexity is definitely a hurdle to overcome, but some players will likely enjoy that challenge.
And finally, the game did crash on me after completing a mission but before autosaving. Twice. Losing progress after a game crashes is frustrating, but having to redo a half-hour long tactical sequence is a lot to ask. I really hope this issue is fixed in the future, because Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition has a lot going for it.
I’ve spent most of this review criticizing the game, but I want to emphasize that Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition has many good qualities. The factions are really interesting, and I was very curious to learn more about each of them. The system for upgrading your soldiers is also engaging, as you can spend their individual skill points to give them new skills and better stats, as well as communal points which you have to use carefully. I also enjoyed exploring the world and seeing how it changed as the Pandoravirus grew stronger and stronger. Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition has a lot of potential, and parts of it do hit the mark.
Despite this, the slow gameplay, abundance of information, and performance issues make it hard for me to recommend. If you’re a fan of the XCOM series and are looking for a game to really sink your teeth into, you’d probably get some fun out of Phoenix Point: Behemoth Edition. Patient players who are willing to really master a game’s systems will likely get a lot out of playing this again and again. If that doesn’t describe you, consider skipping this one.
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Gaming has always been a huge part of my life. I've always appreciated how they can test an individual's skills as well as bring people together. In particular, The Legend of Zelda franchise has some of my favorite games of all time for the sense of wonder I get each time I return to them.
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