Almost a year ago, following up on the success of 2015's Hard West, CreativeForge Games announced Phantom Doctrine, a Cold War espionage-themed turn-based tactics game. Phantom Doctrine's unique setting, interesting-sounding mechanics and impressive production values made it one of our community's more anticipated games, outshining numerous other similar titles. The frequent presence of friendly lead designer Kacper Szymczak surely helped too. The game's not really an RPG, but it's close enough to deserve a release post from us. Here's the launch trailer:


Unfortunately, despite positive early previews, Phantom Doctrine has not reviewed very well. Among the faults cited by reviewers are its unusual deterministic combat system, line of sight issues, an underwhelming story, and poorly balanced mechanics. But does the Codex feel the same way? Well, some of us do. Yeah, this game is going to be one of those controversial flawed gems - although CreativeForge are working hard to improve it. If you want to give it a try, Phantom Doctrine is available now on Steam and GOG for the price of $40, with a 10% launch discount until next week.