As the gaming community eagerly anticipates the potential announcement of XCOM 3, the absence of news surrounding this beloved franchise leaves many tactics enthusiasts yearning for a strategic fix. Approaching the ten-year milestone of XCOM 2, the landscape has shifted, with many of its original designers having departed from Firaxis Games. However, a beacon of hope emerges in the form of Phoenix Point, a spiritual successor crafted by Julian Gollop, the original creator of X-COM, and his team at Snapshot Games. Recently, they unveiled a significant overhaul known as the Firebird update, designed to rejuvenate the gameplay experience while offering it at a celebratory discount of nearly half price.
Innovations and Enhancements
Phoenix Point stands strong on its own merits, yet it is the Terror From The Void mod that has garnered immense admiration, prompting Snapshot Games to acknowledge its contributions. The development team has collaborated closely with the mod creators to ensure that the Firebird update is fully compatible with ongoing campaigns, allowing players to seamlessly integrate the new features.
The Firebird update introduces a range of enhancements aimed at refining campaign pacing and progression. Snapshot Games recognized that the mid and late-game phases could become tedious, leading to a sense of repetition. To address this, they have significantly reduced research times and halved the construction times for major faction-ending projects. This adjustment allows players to encounter pivotal decision points more swiftly, enhancing the overall depth of gameplay without sacrificing strategic complexity.
Resource management has also been re-evaluated, with adjustments made to alleviate the pressure players face in the early game. The costs associated with ammo production and facility construction have been lowered, promoting meaningful strategic choices rather than tedious resource loops. Additionally, Haven Defense missions have been fine-tuned to ensure a consistent challenge, providing players with logical and fair battles while enhancing the defensive capabilities of havens.
Moreover, various encounter types have been refined to elevate their significance within the game’s structure. Rescue missions have been recalibrated to maintain tension without the risk of sudden, unjust soldier deaths, while Ambush missions have been made more frequent and rewarding, offering loot crates and skill points as incentives.
Snapshot Games has also prioritized a smoother and more intuitive strategy layer. The manufacturing screen has undergone a redesign, improving the presentation of information regarding storage and clearly displaying partially used magazines. Furthermore, hidden enemy scaling in the late game has been eliminated, ensuring a fairer difficulty curve as players approach the campaign’s conclusion.
Each of the five DLC packs for Phoenix Point has received attention and rebalancing, particularly Festering Skies and Corrupted Horizons. The former now provides players with more meaningful interactions to disrupt and counter the Behemoth’s behavior, while the latter focuses on balancing the Acheron support units, ensuring they remain challenging yet manageable during battles.
The Phoenix Point Firebird update is now available, with a remarkable 60% discount on Steam until Thursday, December 18. This means players can acquire the game for just .99 / £7.79. For those seeking a strategic experience that involves alien encounters, now is the perfect opportunity to explore what Phoenix Point has to offer. Snapshot Games also encourages players to delve into the Terror From The Void mod for an enriched gameplay experience.
