When Julian Gollop, the legendary creator of the original X-COM, announced a spiritual successor, the strategy world held its collective breath. We didn’t just want another tactical shooter; we wanted the complexity, the tension, and the simulation-heavy “weirdness” that made the 1994 original a masterpiece. Phoenix Point is exactly that—a sprawling, ambitious, and often punishing reimagining of the global invasion trope that chooses depth over streamlined simplicity.
The Mist and the Mutants
The premise is pure Lovecraftian horror. A prehistoric “Pandoravirus” has thawed from the permafrost, mutating the world’s oceans into a soup of chimeras. As the mist rolls inland, it brings with it the Pandorans: crab-legged horrors with organic shields and mist-spewing behemoths that evolve in real-time to counter your favorite tactics.
Unlike its modern peers, Phoenix Point abandons the binary “hit-or-miss” percentage system. In its place is a ballistic simulation where every bullet is a physical object. If a projectile clips a piece of cover, it breaks. If it hits an enemy’s shield, it deflects. This system enables the game’s standout feature: Manual Aiming. You can zoom in and personally target a monster’s pincer to disable its melee attack, or aim for its head to induce panic. This level of granular control makes every encounter feel like a puzzle rather than a dice roll.
A World Divided
On the Geoscape, you aren’t just fighting aliens; you’re navigating a political minefield. Three human factions—the militaristic New Jericho, the tech-obsessed Synedrion, and the mutation-embracing Disciples of Anu—vie for the future of the species.
Their ideologies are mutually exclusive, forcing you into a delicate dance of diplomacy. Do you steal their research to survive, or play the peacemaker to unite humanity? The diplomacy isn’t just window dressing; your choice of allies dictates your tech tree, your soldier classes, and ultimately, your ending. It creates a “sandbox” feel where no two campaigns play out the same way.
The Weight of Ambition
However, Phoenix Point is not without its scars. The game’s sheer complexity can occasionally lead to balance issues, where the late-game becomes a grueling war of attrition. Managing multiple bases, dozens of soldiers, and several aircraft can feel like a full-time job. While the “Behemoth Edition” polished much of the initial “jank,” the game remains a title that demands your total attention and a high tolerance for steep learning curves.
If you find the modern XCOM games too restrictive, Phoenix Point offers the freedom you’ve been craving. It is a game that respects your intelligence, punishes your laziness, and offers a level of tactical satisfaction that few other titles in the genre can match.
Expanding the Horror: Terror from the Void
For many veterans, the base game was merely the foundation. To experience the definitive version of Julian Gollop’s vision, one must look to the Terror from the Void (TFTV) overhaul mod.
TFTV is a total reimagining of the campaign that leans heavily into the sci-fi horror roots of the series. Developed by a dedicated team of fans and modders (some of whom have since worked with the developers), it fixes the “balance mishaps” of the vanilla game while injecting a massive amount of new content.
What Terror from the Void Changes:
- The Oneiric Delirium: The mod introduces a “sanity” mechanic where the Pandoravirus affects the minds of your soldiers. This creates a sense of creeping dread as your veterans struggle with the psychological toll of the war.
- Class Reworks: Every soldier class has been meticulously balanced to ensure they remain viable from the first mission to the last. No more “useless” Heavies or overpowered Sniper combos; every unit has a distinct, necessary role.
- Void Omens: These are semi-randomized global modifiers that can change the rules of the Geoscape, forcing you to adapt your strategy on the fly.
- The Revenants: One of the most chilling additions—your fallen soldiers can now be “recycled” by the Pandorans and sent back to haunt you on the battlefield as mutated shells of their former selves.
TFTV transforms Phoenix Point from a great strategy game into a cohesive, haunting epic. It integrates all DLCs into a smoother narrative flow and introduces dozens of UI improvements and bug fixes that the original developers never quite reached. It also adds Casual and Story difficulties for those of us that desire a more relaxed experience or were daunted by Phoenix Point’s initial difficulty.
Final Score: 8/10 – Great
Final Score with TftV: 10/10 – Awesome
How to Download
If you are playing on PC and want to experience the most accessible and atmospheric version of the apocalypse, you can download the mod and view the installation instructions on the Terror from the Void GitHub page.
