This new reticule targeting system also comes with the added choice of having to decide not just who to shoot, but where to shoot them. How accurate your shots are, or how large or small your reticule is, depends on how far away you are from the target, your weapon’s effective range, as well as what armor your soldier is wearing, as heavier, more protective armors, reduce your soldier’s aim. All of your shots are guaranteed to land within the larger circle, and half the time they will land within the smaller one. Instead of having a percent chance to hit based on your soldier’s aim and the enemy’s cover, you now have a targeting reticule made of two concentric circles. The actual act of shooting is also handled differently than from its predecessor. This difference also lessens the importance of sticking to cover that was present in X-COM, as it is possible to move, shoot, and then move again to duck back behind cover. For example, you could shoot and then move, or shoot twice and not move at all. This opens up a lot of different tactical possibilities. Each soldier has 4 action points to use every turn, and every action has an associated action point cost. Gone is the “move and shoot” action system of X-COM and the Firaxis reboot, XCOM. Tactical combat is handled differently in Phoenix Point.

It brings enough new ideas to the table to stand out on its own. X-COM has become the gold standard for such games and for good reason: it’s great.įortunately, Phoenix Point is not just a carbon copy of X-COM. As a result, Phoenix Point was always going to be compared to X-COM, as is any other turn-based squad tactics game. Snapshot is headed by none other than Julian Gollop, the creator of the original X-COM: UFO DEFENSE, released in 1994. Phoenix Point, released December 3rd, 2019, was developed by Snapshot Games.

Phoenix point faction classes