An innovative turn-based combat with Mechs! | First Impressions - Phantom Brigade

Set in a dystopian future, the game puts players in the shoes of a team of customizable mech pilots fighting against a powerful military. This team is the titular Phantom Brigade.

Phantom Brigade is turn-based, but it is also real-time, combining the best of both worlds. The tactical aspect of turn-based combat is mixed with the cinematic and high octane appeal of real-time battles. The overall feel of the gameplay, despite being a mixed strategy genre, feels VERY similar to the modern XCOM games.

The game's combat mechanics are just simply addicting. The battles take place on a grid-based map, and the almost always out-numbered players must carefully maneuver their mechs to outmaneuver their opponents and gain the upper hand by way of smartly leveraging each of the units strengths and abilities, as well as the environment, to their advantage.

The battlefield is fully destructible and is highly dynamic — both visually and mechanically. Buildings and structures can provide cover, but can be destroyed and also penetrated by powerful weapons. Seeing beam weapons piercing through multiple buildings to hit a target across town is just mind-blowingly spectacular.

Thanks to their obtained highly prototype tech, the Phantom Brigade can peer into the future five seconds at a time, able to predict and see enemy movements mapped in this “timeline system.”

Accordingly, every turn consists of planning out moves in a five-second span, running, attacking, and using abilities are all mapped in a timeline system as if you’re editing a video and splicing commands in instead of clips. After you’re done, clicking Execute will play these moves out in a real-time manner, resulting in some intense cinematic-style action-packed moments.

Players can build and customize their own mechs, choosing from a wide range of weapons, armor, and other upgrades. This allows players to tailor their lineup and loadout to their specific playstyle, whether they prefer long-range snipers, medium ranged assault mechs, or up-close brawlers. The customization options are deep and varied, and experimenting with different builds is a lot of fun, especially when the game starts to settle.

In the players’ campaign to liberate their homeland, there is an Overworld element that functions like a pausable real-time grand strategy game with a fast forward option where you take over points of interest in the map, taking you to countless battle instances. You roam with your brigade throughout the massive landscape across 30 provinces to take and involve 4 enemy factions. There are also more than 70 unique narrative events like defending locations, rescues, and assassination missions.

During my initial playthrough, Phantom Brigade takes a while to settle because there’s so much going on, especially with the various gameplay elements from the novel combat system to the overworld campaign map. The timeline system is also a lot confusing to use at the start, even while slowly going through the tutorial section. However, once you get the feel of how it controls, it becomes a non-issue after the first hour or so, and you discover just how addicting this game is.

Full Review will be posted soon here on Taptap! Stay tuned!