Tactical espionage game Phantom Doctrine gets new trailer

Phantom Doctrine

Phantom Doctrine has been confirmed for a console release and Windows PC, along with getting a fancy new trailer. The game is being published by Good Shepherd Games, and developed by indie team CreativeForge Games. You may know this same team as the twisted minds behind Hard West.

This will be CreativeForge games biggest project to date, This new IP is being billed as XCOM-like, with tactical espionage elements, in an alternate history Cold War. Phantom Doctrine is set for release later this year on PS4, Xbox One, and PC; Steam and GOG.

Set in 1983 during the Cold War, Phantom Doctrine is an alternate history thriller in which players lead The Cabal, a secret organization dedicated to fighting a global conspiracy committed to controlling the world by pitting world leaders and nations against one another. Throughout secret missions, classified files investigations and enemy agent interrogations, peel off layers upon layers of a sinister plot and save the world from a somber future. If you can.

The Developer

Creativeforge Games is a Polish development company and been in business since 2011. Made up of veteran Polish games developers, the team now numbers 50 and is still growing. They even have an email address for people interested in working with them here. Hard West was their most successful game to date, critically and commercially. With this new IP, they’ve timed their campaign well to get some nice exposure at e3 2018.

The Trailer

So the style of the game is apparent from the outset. It’s all dingy 80s browns and greys. The characters dress like they’ve been plucked from an East German border crossing. It’s delicious. The action is frenetic and violent. Moves are set up and executed, with either stealth or loud breaches being available. The management aspect will be familiar to Xcom fans. Base management, mission selection, up-skilling your team members, weapon load-outs, research, and development, it’s all in there. Check out the trailer below, and after that have a read of the full list of features in the game. This is one of GamEir’s ones to watch for e3 2018.

FEATURES

• A unique point of view: A rich alternate history plot anchored by historical events and characters, bringing the chillingly relevant Cold War reality to life.
• Next-generation turn-based combat: Unprecedented flexibility of movement and actions, variable overwatch modes and assault-oriented Breaching ability
• Expanded battlefield: Position assets around the world and call for assistance in the middle of battle when you need it most. Just remember, the enemy can bring their own reinforcements, heavy weapons or even air support and their toy box is much bigger than yours.
• Knowing is half the battle: Scout mission locations ahead of -me, infiltrate with undercover operatives and improve your odds. Elite enemy agents with their own agenda are always ready to spring their own ambushes.
• Go loud or go home (stealthily): Fully-fledged stealth gameplay with silenced weapons, silent takedowns and cutting-edge Cold War-era security technology. All this makes completing entire operations clandestinely a viable option.
• Run your own counterintelligence organization: Recruit subjects of top secret government experiments, operatives of the world’s secret services, KGB & CIA included, or even criminals. Manage a global operation, securing weapons, resources, and contacts. Command from a distance or go hands-on to fight for the real stakes.
• Actively pursue the truth: Research cases, locations and individuals in Investigation Board gameplay mechanics to uncover new missions, resources, and technologies.
• Employ technology ruthlessly to your advantage: Learn from the enemy or research your own methods for brainwashing, interrogation, body engineering and chemical enhancement.
• Customize your operatives: Customize your operatives and then do it again once they need a new identity: forge documents, change appearance, retrain them for lethal effect and send them back into the fray.
• A highly replayable, story-driven campaign with meticulously designed and adaptable maps.: Enjoy modular campaigns with an array of mechanics to ensure unique and markedly different breakthroughs: generated character names and backgrounds, modular algorithmically populated maps and randomized intelligence snippets.
• Two stories to choose from: Be a KGB counterintelligence operative or a CIA wet work commando who have to come to grips with the truth and challenge the conspiracy, with an additional New Game Plus protagonist.
• No mission too big, no mission too small: Enter a bustling government facility undercover to assassinate a target with surgical precision or mount a heavy frontal assault on an enemy staging base. With optional objectives closely linked to a mission’s complexity and opportunities like loot and intelligence to collect, there are decisions to be made at each step.