New Strategy Game from X-COM Creator

Modern XCOM series from Firaxis Games is great. It’s got wonderful visuals, great mechanics and so much other great stuff. However, it’s still not as great as the first XCOM. The first game in this series (also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown) was released back in 1994 and it will forever hold a very special place in our hearts. But enough of this nostalgic crap, Julian Gollop has returned to big game development with a new project Phoenix Point. It’s a technical strategy with aliens and it’s beautiful.

The story premise is simple. There’s an unusual virus, which transformed the seas into something completely alien. They these strange alien mutants tart to invade the land. The human population has been decimated. Some survivors gather in isolated havens. A few factions control most of the havens and resources, and they constantly fight each other. A new initiative is being introduced – the Phoenix Project. It’s a got the world’s best scientists, engineers and soldiers. You stand at the helm of this project and fight with the alien oppressors.

The game is very similar to the classical style and atmosphere of XCOM and Incubation. A squad of four soldiers get into some corner of the earth, accompanied by aerial or ground based drones. all the battles are turn based, with overwatch and return fire. Soldiers have a willpower stat as well as endurance. There are also special abilities, which will help them in action. It’s safe to say, that you’d better be ready to die a lot in this game.

The game is very modular. By changing some of the assets, developers can instantly create new characters and powerful enemies, including horrible bosses. The other cool thing is that the mission sister in this game is completely procedural, so it generates random battle layouts, so no two maps look alike. It’s very smart too, taking into consideration the the facilities and structures located at havens, phoenix bases and alien bases. And you can pretty much destroy everything.

Overall it looks like an awesome mix with some beautiful visual style and some very clever world building. The game is currently gathering funds on Fig. Overall they need $500K, but it seems like the development team will reach this goal pretty soon.

If you like tactical strategy games, make sure to check out the official page of Phoenix Point.