XCOM’s semi-recent reboot was met with massive success in the last several years, introducing a whole new generation to turn-based tactical combat with squads of soldiers facing off against an alien invasion.
Meanwhile the original designer of X-COM: UFO Defense, Julian Gollop, has been busy creating a new X-COM-like strategy game. Phoenix Point was successfully funded via Fig in 2017 with his company Snapshot Games. It’s launching today elusively on the Epic Games Store on PC and Mac.
Like X-COM and the newer XCOM series, players need to manage a global fighting force. Instead of invading aliens, players need to combat the monstrous mutations unleashed by the Pandoravirus, which has decimated most of the world’s biosphere.
Squads of customizable soldiers will deploy onto battlefields to wage tactical war on the procedurally generated maps and mutant abominations. The campaign features branching paths, multiple human resistance factions, and several different endings.
Thanks to successful crowdfunding (and a lucrative deal from Epic games), Snapshot Games has several DLC’s planned out. The first, Blood and Titanium, is expected to release early next year. A season pass is available that includes five upcoming DLC packs, and is included in the Ultra Edition ($79.99). A Deluxe Editions ($59.99) is also available which includes several digital bonuses such as art, wallpaper, and in-game items.
Phoenix Point has not yet been rated, but looks very similar in theme to the XCOM games, which garnered T ratings.
