Some games are just December games. When the air turns biting, I hear their siren song in my bones. They Are Billions. Frostpunk. Phoenix Point. Factorio. None of them are exactly what you would call a Christmas-y game. In fact, they're all pretty bleak and threatening in tone. But they're also amazingly comforting.
Just imagine: sitting down in your favourite chair, electric heat pad on your back, cat on your lap, mug of hot chocolate or coffee by your side. Legions of undead roiling at the gates, trying to break through your cosy little town's defences. Ahhhhh. It's Christmas.
]]>Do you ever feel like you're sitting down with a game like a worried parent, saying "I just don't know what to do with you?" Because that's how I feel about Phoenix Point after the last few months of playing it on and off. I’ve definitely enjoyed it more than on its release in 2019, and its DLC adds more to think about and manage during what were once long lull periods. There's a lot to like about its final form. There's also a lot to... I don't quite want to say hate, but I'm also not quite sure why. It's one of the most evenly mixed bags I've ever rummaged around in.
]]>X-COM creator Julian Gollop’s turn-based tactics sci-fi strategy Phoenix Point has seen its final official update on PC to coincide with the release of a complete edition of the game. Out now, Phoenix Point: Complete Edition includes all six DLC released to date. You can take a look at everything included in the package by watching the trailer below.
]]>Phoenix Point's fourth DLC is due on October 1st. Corrupted Horizons adds a new corruption mechanic which can sap the will of your squad, as well as new Mutoid soldiers, pictured above. The Mutoids are immune to corruption, can learn any class's skills, but are unable to heal.
]]>I hope when earth is finally assaulted by an enormous cosmic monster, we as a species come up with a more original name than "Behemoth". That's what Phoenix Point is calling the big fella in the header image, who is added to the game in its Festering Skies DLC, out today alongside a free v1.1 update also called Behemoth.
]]>You wanna murder some big ugly mutant crabs? Of course you do! It's a Christmas tradition that you cannot question me on because you don't know my life. We've done it for years - well, one year, at least, seeing as that's how long it's been since Phoenix Point launched. The XCOM-like post apocalyptic crab-shooting game sheds its Epic and Xbox Game Pass exclusivity today, and arrives on Steam and GOG with a couple of new expansions to boot.
]]>With Phoenix Point, I always find myself in the curious position of recommending a game for the very thing that most other people dislike about it: the stuff between the battles.
]]>Like generations of dwarves and weird west prospectors before it, Phoenix Point has dug too deep. Arriving tomorrow, the second DLC for Snapshot Games' bug-shooting strategy delves into the Legacy Of The Ancients - unearthing a trove of new story missions, environments, and enemies wrapped around a long-forgotten faction of bronze robots at the center of the Earth.
]]>Sometimes, when I'm bored, I panic over the fact we're all basically meat tubes waiting to expire. Whether through harm or decay, our organic bodies will all fail eventually. Phoenix Point's new villains must've gotten the fear over all that because, gosh dang it, they've replaced their bodies with iron parts and are violently insisting everyone join them in a new cyborg future. Launching earlier this week, Phoenix Point's Blood And Titanium DLC asks you to take on these tech zealots by giving them a taste of their own steely medicine.
]]>Phoenix Point is just one of many Phoenix Project bases that you'll bring back online over the course of your campaign to save humanity from the mutant-birthing Pandoravirus. And each of these bases must be carefully maintained and structured in order to give you the best chances of success.
Our Phoenix Point Base Management guide will walk you through how base-building works in Phoenix Point, along with useful explanations of every single building in the game, and which are the best builds to prioritise for your bases.
]]>Vehicles and Aircraft are your greatest weapons in Phoenix Point. They are your transport, your artillery, and your speedy getaway all rolled into one. But with each faction offering up their own unique airship and land vehicle to compete with the Phoenix Project's own starting Scarab and Manticore, it can be a challenge to know exactly which vehicles are the best choice. Our Phoenix Point Vehicles & Aircraft guide will compare stats and offer our take on each of the different vehicles in the game, both on land and in the air.
]]>Phoenix Point enemies are quite the colourful bunch of mutants. Each one is a patchwork of arthropod, annelid, human, and alien DNA all rolled into one by the Pandoravirus; and each enemy has different strengths and presents different threats - some far more than others.
In this Phoenix Point enemies guide we'll walk you through each Pandoran enemy in turn, along with detailed sections on how to counter the Siren, Terror Sentinel, Chiron, and Scylla - four enemies that seem to be giving players a great deal of trouble.
]]>Phoenix Point classes soldiers into seven types, giving players a surprising amount of scope for customising your armies and your overall playstyle during tactical missions. From the initial three soldier classes to the unique specialists acquired through the three different factions, our Phoenix Point Classes guide will walk you through the abilities, skills, strengths, and weaknesses of each one - along with some useful tips and tricks on equipment, multi-classing, and more.
]]>Phoenix Point DLC will be an exciting prospect for many, whether you love the game already or think (as many players do) that improvements are needed before it can realise its full potential. Our Phoenix Point DLC Roadmap guide will explore Snapshot Games's roadmap for this ambitious turn-based tactics game over the next year, with details on the first three major expansions: Blood and Titanium, Legacy of the Ancients, and Festering Skies.
]]>Phoenix Point has arrived at last! From Julian Gollop, creator of the original X-COM, comes a new turn-based tactics game which tasks players with reviving the defunct Phoenix Project to save humanity after the emergence of a deadly alien virus that mutates human and animal alike to wipe out all of humankind.
Gripping stuff, and also very challenging - which should come as no surprise to veterans of the XCOM series. But never fear! I've been playing the game for a grand old while now, and I've put together the below Phoenix Point guide, filled with my 20 top tips covering every aspect of this ambitious strategy title, from combat to diplomacy and much, much more!
]]>The three Phoenix Point Factions dominate the remains of human civilization after the emergence of the deadly mutant-birthing Pandoravirus; and how you govern your interactions with each of them is entirely up to you. Our Phoenix Point Factions & Diplomacy guide will give you an idea of how diplomacy works in Phoenix Point, along with useful details on the three main factions in the game: New Jericho, Synedrion, and the Disciples of Anu.
]]>The XCOM and X-Com like Phoenix Point is out now and players seem to be having a good time tactically defending the world from monsters. You can find it on the Epic Store as planned but Xbox Game Pass subscribers are still waiting despite plans for the game to launch on both simultaneously. Snapshot Games say they "dropped the ball."
]]>Please stay in your seats if, at times during this review, you notice a presence in the shadows. Don’t be alarmed, in fact, should you notice a silhouette wearing a suit and tie - he’s just here to make his influence known. And if he seems familiar, there's a good reason: the council of XCOM looms over Phoenix Point, and they won’t let you forget it. This is a game about resuscitating an intergovernmental military force dedicated to stopping a global invasion. Where researching the adversary and its weapons gives you a fighting chance to turn the tide. Where the only way to meet the threat is down on the ground, with a few good soldiers arrayed against enemies unknown.
Phoenix Point would be easily dismissed as mimicry, were it not directed by Julian Gollop, the designer of the original, 1994 X-COM. After all, it’s difficult to begrudge a man leapfrogging the developers he’s inspired. What elevates this game beyond a victory lap, however, are the ways in which it undoes the streamlining of the turn-based tactics genre.
]]>Ranged combat in Phoenix Point utilises several innovative overlapping systems to give players an unprecedented amount of control and flexibility in games such as this. This Phoenix Point guide will cover two particularly important aspects of ranged combat: body part damage, and the Free Aim system. An understanding of both these systems is essential to getting the most value out of every single shot - so without further ado, let's get started!
]]>One of the many things that Phoenix Point doesn't do a great job of explaining is the process of capturing live Pandorans. Many of the research projects available to you are locked until you have the correct Pandoran specimen contained and ready for dissection - but how do you actually go about making this happen? This guide will explain exactly how to capture enemies in Phoenix Point, along with all the prerequisites you need to sort out along the way.
]]>Phoenix Point puts you in charge of the near-defunct Phoenix Project - an organisation meant to kickstart the recuperation of mankind after the emergence of the deadly Pandoravirus. But to do that, you'll need recruits - and the game really doesn't explain the recruitment process all that well. But hopefully this quick guide will explain to all the newer players how to recruit new soldiers in Phoenix Point, and what you'll need to keep track of in order to successfully expand your army.
]]>With just over one week to go until Phoenix Point launches, the developers have explained what they've been polishing and tweaking since the last build for backers. It sounds good! Some changes reduce frustration, such as making Haven attacks less frequent so commanders have more time to explore, while others sound just plain desirable, like a "complete rework" of faction weapon stats. Phoenix Point has always seemed fascinating, as you might expect from X-Com co-creator Julian Gollop directing a new tactical worldwar about defending Earth from an ever-mutating menace, so I'm glad to look now and nod "Ah yes, almost here, just a bit of polish, that's just lovely, good."
]]>What's more Christmas than crabs? Don't answer that - this year, the festive season is one for crustaceans. Big crabs, small crabs, crab queens with great big slimy heads. Monstrous great ones, crawling out of the briny depths to do battle. Bin that turkey, the strategy games have spoken. This December is crab season.
Phoenix Point, eh? The poor thing's gone from being due in December 2018, then to September 2019, and now it's found a little more time to fit in one more delay before launch. Snapshot Games yesterday confirmed that our trip to Phoenix Point has been delayed by another three months, putting mutating crab on the menu just in time for the holidays.
]]>Turn-based post-crabpocalyptic strategy game Phoenix Point is on track for a September 3rd release, announced during yesterday's Inside Xbox presentation at E3. The X-COM-alike is due to launch simultaneously on the Epic Games Store and now the Xbox Game Pass for us PC folks, but won't hit Steam until a year later. It looks like it's coming together nicely too, after a few bare-bones early backer builds. It seems that Snapshot Games head Julian Gollop (of the original '90s X-COM) still has a few tricks to teach the young'ins. Below, a new trailer and a peek at the most recent backer build.
]]>Trying to keep up with E3 2019 is a fool's errand, and the foaming river of content streaming down the internet's face doesn't always make it easier. So here's a round-up of every news story from the show we think matters to you, with links to our full stories (and bantful liveblogs) where relevant. We'll be updating this hourly, so keep coming back.
]]>EGX Rezzed 2019 kicks off today: all the best games will be there, and all the best people will be schlepping to London to see 'em. Except you. You're the best person, clearly, but London? No way, mate.
Good news! You can watch the RPS video team playing a bunch of the most exciting and/or charming games from the show, live from the comfort of whatever you prefer to gawp at a monitor or phone from. That's thanks to the RPS Sessions, powered by XSplit and supported by RIG Gaming and GamesPlanet. Today's line-up includes Julian Gollop's X-COM heir Phoenix Point, the Double Fine-published Knights And Bikes and Samurai Gunn 2, Inkle's Heaven's Vault and many, many more. (Alright, nine more. And even more tomorrow, yeah?)
]]>Epic Games are getting serious about going head-to-head with Valve with their store, and have the war-chest to prove it. They've just announced a slew of exclusives, including Obsidian's highly anticipated The Outer Worlds, and Remedy's upcoming horror shooter Control. Frogwares's cthulhoid detective mystery The Sinking City will be making its debut on the upstart storefront too. This is on top of Epic's surprise announcement that Quantic Dream's formerly PlayStation-exclusive library is coming to PC via their store. See the list of announced exclusives below.
]]>Phoenix Point - the upcoming humans vs. aliens tactics game from Snapshot Games and original X-Com brain Julian Gollop - will be making its debut exclusive to Epic's rapidly growing store. This is one of the few deals which seem to have worked out well for potential players, too. Epic's backing has allowed Snapshot to confirm a full year of paid DLC, all of which will be free for those who backed the game's crowdfunding via Fig or otherwise pre-ordered it up until now. The game may be available elsewhere after that first year, but for now the planned Steam and GOG launches are off the cards. Below, an explanation video from Gollop himself.
]]>Good news, friends: you will get to go outside and see the sun this summer, because Phoenix Point has been delayed again. The new turn-based tactics 'em up directed by Julian Gollop, the co-creator of ye olde original X-COM games, was previously delayed to June 2019 and now Gollop says it'll be here in September. The delay is for the usual reason: because they want to make it better. And hey, this means we can escape the siren song of battling terrors from the deep this summer, then Phoenix Point will be waiting for us when the weather turns.
]]>Even in the midst of a genre renaissance, Phoenix Point remains the tactics game I'm following closest, thanks to its mutating monsters, Valkyria Chronicles-esque shooting and X-COM Apocalypse inspirations. Snapshot's game (directed by original X-COM lad Julian Gollop) is really starting to take shape now, and the upcoming third early access build for backers will include an early version of its global strategic layer. Take a look at its shooting, its monsters and its strategic interface in the new trailer below.
]]>There's just one week left until a borderline-biblical plague of developers descend upon Birmingham to showcase their up-and-coming games to all. This great gathering shall be known as EGX 2018 and starts on September 20th, running until the 23rd.
There's going to be hundreds of games on show there across all platforms, featuring developers of all shapes and sizes - both physically and business-wise. While I'll be sadly missing out on the fun (someone's got to man the news desk), here's a few choice PC games that'll be at the show, and everyone should be checking out.
]]>When I first saw Snapshot Games' apocalyptic strategy game Phoenix Point in action, I was with Brendan in thinking that it was orbiting XCOM's star a little too closely, but after playing it at Rezzed I was struck by just how different it really is. This week's new gameplay build (available to backers today) further differentiates the game, including mid-mission inventory management and driveable vehicles, and you can see some developer gameplay footage below.
]]>Delay time, gang. The sci-fi shellfish of XCOM bodysnatcher Phoenix Point won’t be scuttling out of the development ocean in December, as developer Snapshot Games once estimated. Instead, the crab-killing strategy game will now emerge in June 2019, says studio head Julian Gollop. This is so Snapshot can “expand the team and maintain our focus on quality”, as he explains in an announcement and in the video below.
]]>Snapshot Games, lead by David Kaye and X-Com creator Julian Gollop, is a runaway success. Or at least I would think $100k a month in pledges would give a game studio some breathing room. But Snapshot isn't sleeping at night. The prevalence of cheap games and promotional bundles has the studio spooked because, while this is a time of incredibly bounties for consumers, not every game can have the financial safety net of, say, Sea of Thieves. This makes creating a game of the scale of Phoenix Point exceptionally perilous.
]]>The mutant spider queen ripped through another building and I knew my team was dead. This didn’t bother me, I’ve played enough of nu-XCOM to accept the loss of humanity’s last hope. But there’s something more unsettling than being impaled by a large arachnid in Phoenix Point. Its the game’s uncanny and unnerving resemblance to its XCOM cousins. It’s like seeing a doppelgänger of your mate suddenly appear behind him, walking to the bar. You sit there stuttering, looking over his shoulder, wondering who's really sitting in front of you.
]]>Our corporate siblings who run EGX Rezzed go on about how it's a games show with all sorts of video games to play and talks to hear, but in reality it's a front. Rezzed exists because we believe you will pay money to breathe the same air as RPS staffers, getting some of our air inside you and some of yours in us, but both sides are too embarrassed to publicly acknowledge that. So sure, okay, let's keep up the facade. For example: Rezzed today announced more of the games playable in London this April, including X-COM co-creator Jullian Gollop's fine-looking grid 'em up Phoenix Point.
]]>I was at the PC Gamer Weekender last week, and my highlight had to be lead Phoenix Point developer (and X-COM: UFO Defense co-creator) Julian Gollop commentating as I played the game on the show floor. He appeared behind me part way through the demo - just as I moved a unit one tile too far, and managed to alert six angry crabmen to my presence at once. He told me I was doomed, but 20 minutes later that last crabmen had fallen and I emerged victorious.
If that all sounds very XCOM, that's because it absolutely is. Phoenix Point swaps out aliens for horrifying sea-life based pollution monsters and throws around some interesting new ideas, but it's very similar to XCOM at its core. It's about sending small teams of soldiers to fight that threat using turn-based tactics, while orchestrating the broader fight on a board-game like strategic layer. That similarity is no bad thing: as you'll see in the footage below of Gollop playing his game, Phoenix Point is shaping up rather nicely.
]]>As we lay 2017 to rest, let us remember all of the wonderful games that flickered across our screens and occupied our hearts and minds. But now we must promise never to think of them again because times have changed. This is 2018 and if we've learned one thing from the few hours we've spent in it it's that there are games everywhere. Every firework that exploded in the many midnights of New Year's celebrations was stuffed with games and they were still raining down across the world this morning. We cannot stop them, we cannot contain them, but we can attempt to understand them.
Hundreds of them will be worth our time and attention, but we've selected a few of the ones that excite us most as we prepare for another year of splendid PC gaming. There's something for everyone, from Aunt Maude, the military genius, to merry Ian Rogue, the man who hates permadeath and procedural generation with a passion.
]]>What do you mean there's a whole month of 2017 left? Well, the disembodied mouths of the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show, are tired of waiting. This week the team look at some of the most exciting upcoming games of 2018. Adam is looking forward to smashing big robots with other, bigger robots in Battletech. Matt wants to make trousers from dinosaur skin in Monster Hunter World. And Brendan forgot all about how much he's excited by surreal isometric detective game No Truce With The Furies.
We've also got some chat about Viking strategy game Northgard and yet more love for FTL follow-up Into The Breach. Plus, our Patch Adam quiz is back!
]]>The original X-COM (UFO: Enemy Unknown), Julian Gollop tells me, "succeeded in spite of itself". I asked him how he felt about the game now, twenty three years after its initial release, and particularly about the way it's often placed on a pedestal. He didn't expect it to be a success and certainly didn't think he'd be making a game heavily based on its legacy almost a quarter of a century later.
Yet here we are. The crowdfunding campaign for Phoenix Point [official site], a sci-fi horror strategy game about an alien onslaught, has just begun. Gollop is back where many people feel he belongs, and this time round he seems extremely confident in his game's design.
]]>Phoenix Point [official site], as I explained in detail last year, is a very exciting proposition. It marks the return of Julian Gollop, creator of the original X-COM, to alien-themed strategic combat, but it's far from a nostalgia project. With dynamic factions taking sides in the war, a strong horror element and procedural monstrosities, it sounds fascinating.
A new teaser trailer gives very little away, but does arrive alongside news that John Broomhall, composer of X-COM's superbly creepy music, has joined the team as audio director and composer, and that Jonas 'Talos Principle' Kyratzes has joined the writing team.
]]>E3 2016 has been finished for a couple of weeks, giving us time to wash the taste of LA smog from our mouths and reflect upon the games we saw there. This seems like a good time to talk about what we want to see from those games next, when they no doubt appear at Gamescom 2016 in August. What games are we most hoping to play, to see new trailers of, or hoping will reveal a different side of themselves in Cologne?
]]>Julian Gollop might be returning to strategic and tactical extraterrestrial combat with Phoenix Point, but the designer of the original X-COM has already rebooted one of his creations from yesteryear. Chaos Reborn [official site], based on 1985's Chaos: The Battle of Wizards, is a game about lobbing spells at opposing mages, with an emphasis on summoning creatures to do turn-based battle. The game has been out of Early Access for a while but an update has just landed and it's a big one: a new (optional) Law mode has been added, which removes most of the probability checks that are central to combat and casting.
]]>One of the most exciting games in Los Angeles this week won’t be featured at press conferences or on the showfloor. Phoenix Point [official site] is the new tactical-strategy hybrid from Julian Gollop, the creator of the original X-COM, and we met yesterday to discuss its procedurally generated alien threats, simulated human factions and much more. Here’s the world’s first in-depth look at the game.
]]>Yer actual breaking news (by which I mean I currently have few details but wanted to inform you as soon as possible because I am very excited). Julian Gollop, legendary co-creator of the X-COM series, plus Laser Squad, Chaos and most recently Chaos Reborn, just revealed the next game from his Snapshot Studios. We only have a name, Phoenix Point, and the following description:
"Turn based tactical combat - world based strategy."
Please tell me that means what I think it means. Is Mister X-COM doing a new, if unofficial, X-COM? Have approximately 37 Christmases all come at once?
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