Phantom Doctrine

Released

Release Date: August 14, 2018

Strategy, Turn-based, Cold War, Tactics, Espionage, Polish, Indie Games, 80s, Multiplayer, Singleplayer, Internet

Phantom Doctrine is an espionage strategy game developed by the Polish developer CreativeForge Games. The action of the game is set in the 1980 and depicts an alternative version of the Cold War. The player spearheads a secret intelligence agency with the objective to stop a global plot to take control of the entire world. One has to recruit new agents, train and equip them, and provide them with false identities.

7.4

Steam

6.2

Users

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Ratings

 Videos: 2 

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Plot
Mechanics

Phantom Doctrine is an espionage strategy game developed by the Polish CreativeForge Games – a studio known for creating such games as Hard West and Ancient Space.

Plot

In the Phantom Doctrine, the action is set in 1983. A player gets to lead The Cabal – a secret intelligence organization set up to stop a worldwide plot designed to take control over the world by causing local conflicts between certain countries.

The authors have developed a rich story, which presents an alternative version of the Cold War; however, the campaign features also a number of real events and characters, which increases the sense of authenticity in the game.

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Mechanics

In the Phantom Doctrine, a player is bound to spend most of the time completing the turn-based missions, during which they commands a team of over a dozen secret agents. The game offers a significant leeway when it comes to strategizing, by providing a player with a wide range of available actions. One can mount frontal attacks with heavy weaponry as well as assume the covert approach to complete the assignments.

Between the missions, a player has to manage The Cabal by dispatching agents on reconnaissance missions, recruiting new operatives from different intelligence agencies and criminal syndicates, training them, and assembling teams, which have to placed all around the world – this allows a player to call for reinforcements during a mission, when necessary.

It is important for a player to acquire weapons, establish new relations, and conduct investigations, which might grant him access to new missions, resources, and technology – this not only includes diverse pieces of gear but also interrogation techniques, brainwashing methodologies, and chemical boosters of agents' physique. As befits an espionage game, it is necessary to forge documents and provide one's subordinates with fake identities as well as appearance alterations.

Phantom Doctrine has been designed in a way allowing the player to replay it multiple times without feeling bored. The gameplay is dynamic – the global situation tends to change rapidly as a result of player's actions. Moreover, many elements, such as the characters' bios, names, intelligence data, and enemy locations on maps are procedurally generated. Upon starting his adventure, a player has to choose whether his character has worked before for CIA or KGB – this decision affects the gameplay significantly. After completing the game for the first time, players get at their disposal a third character, with which they can start the New Game Plus mode.

Platforms:

PC Windows August 14, 2018

PlayStation 4 August 14, 2018

Xbox One August 24, 2018

Nintendo Switch June 13, 2019

Developer: CreativeForge Games / MegaPixel Studio S.A. (Switch)

Publisher: Good Shepherd Entertainment / Gambitious

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Game Series

2GAMES

Phantom Doctrine Game Series

Features

Guide

Last update: August 14, 2018

Phantom Doctrine Game Guide

Our guide to Phantom Doctrine contains a comprehensive source of information about this built-up turn-based strategy. Find out what mechanics rule the gameplay, how to expose foreign agents, how to earn a lot of money and how to use the tactical map.

Phantom Doctrine Game Guide

News

Polish game sales on Steam: Thief Simulator beats Thronebreaker

We looked at Steam sales of recent Polish games. The list contains no shortage of hits (such as World War 3 or Thief Simulator), but also some flops (such as Dying Light: Bad Blood and My Memory of Us).

video games

Adrian Werner

November 19, 2018

Polish game sales on Steam: Thief Simulator beats Thronebreaker

Downloads

Top downloads for Phantom Doctrine Video Game:

All Downloads

System Requirements

System Requirements for Phantom Doctrine Video Game:

PC / Windows

Minimum System Requirements:
Intel Core i3-2100 3.1 GHz / AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 GHz, 6 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce GTX 550 Ti / Radeon HD 5770 or better, 35 GB HDD, Windows 7/8/8.1/10 64-bit.

Recommended System Requirements:
Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4 GHz / AMD FX-8320 3.5 GHz, 16 GB RAM, graphic card 4 GB GeForce GTX 960 / Radeon R9 290X or better, 35 GB HDD, Windows 10 64-bit.

Ratings

Game Ratings for Phantom Doctrine Video Game.

74%

STEAM Score

All Reviews: Mostly Positive (4,589)

STEAM

User Reviews Summary generated by AI

The main pros of the game

Unique Concept: The game combines turn-based tactics with espionage and stealth mechanics, appealing to fans of both genres.
Replayability: Many players find the game infinitely replayable due to its depth in character development, strategy, and various ways to approach missions.
Atmosphere and Setting: The Cold War setting is praised for its immersive atmosphere, with many users enjoying the aesthetic and narrative elements.
Deterministic Combat: The combat system is entirely deterministic, meaning attacks always hit, which some players appreciate as it removes RNG from tactical decisions.
Character Progression: Players enjoy the depth of character customization and the ability to upgrade agents and their gear.

The main cons of the game

Balance Issues: Many users feel that the game is unbalanced, especially regarding stealth mechanics that allow players to clear missions without engaging in combat.
Repetitive Gameplay: Several reviews mention that missions become monotonous over time, with a lack of variety in maps and objectives leading to tedium.
Technical Issues: Numerous players report crashes on startup, particularly on modern systems, and many express frustration over bugs that disrupt gameplay.
Poor AI and Enemy Mechanics: The enemy AI can be inconsistent, with issues such as enemies being able to detect players easily or the game forcing confrontations that feel unfair.

The features or elements that are missing from the game according to users

More Engaging Mission Mechanics: Players desire more dynamic mission objectives and ways for things to go wrong, especially in stealth scenarios, to prevent the game from feeling too easy.
Improved Investigation Board Rewards: Users want the investigation board to provide more meaningful rewards, such as lore or tech upgrades, rather than just recruitment options.
Better UI/UX Design: Many reviews highlight issues with the user interface, including unclear action point indicators and confusing menu layouts that hinder gameplay.
Balanced Difficulty Levels: Players suggest a need for more balanced difficulty settings that provide a middle ground between too easy and excessively hard gameplay.

Summary

Overall, while Phantom Doctrine has a solid foundation and enjoyable gameplay for fans of tactical espionage, it suffers from significant balance issues, technical problems, and a lack of engaging mission variety, which detracts from the overall experience.

Summary generated on: October 29, 2025

6.2

USERS Score

Average score from votes.

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