Insurmountable
Insurmountable
Game
Game2018
Phantom Doctrine
Developer CreativeForge Games
Phantom Doctrine is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Polish studio CreativeForge Games and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment in 2018. It is inspired by classic spy films and conspiracy theories. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
208 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
60
Fresh
112 positive · 74 negative
95% range 53–67%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 112 | 74 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
1,907 of 2,586 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
62% recommend · 114 yes, 71 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 185 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (3,473 of 4,704 positive).
Players praise the game's Cold War spy atmosphere and investigative mechanics. [1][2][3] Many reviewers note the game is flawed but has interesting systems. [4][5][6] Several players report game-breaking bugs that prevent launching. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [14]
Imagine XCOM, but set in the Cold War, 5,000% longer, and nothing you do matters. You can collect intel during missions, but it doesn't matter, because the game will withold the last piece until the right story mission, and if you don't have any intel, it will give it all to you at once as soon as the game decides to progress the story. You can kill enemy agents, but the enemy faction (Beholder) will hire new ones …
- [8]
well...reloaded this game after some time away now it crashes at start..over and over and over...great job breaking a game that did work... DON'T BUY IT till they fix it which I'm guessing will be never about now... Found the fix in discussions using "set OPENSSL_ia32cap=:~0x20000000 && %command" add under properties, general tabs
- [1]
It brings the cool, restrained style of Cold War espionage to a turn-based tactics game. Its real weapon, though, is not the gun but the intelligence you gather. More than flashy action, its real appeal lies in piecing together clues and making sense of that intelligence, a quiet, methodical thrill that lingers.
- [6]
phantom doctrine is a isometric espionage tactical RPG that is a tad too long. it's a really cool game and concept but it does wear out its welcome because of the fact that you don't really get anything new introduced after like ten or fifteen hours, which is NOT good when the main story is at least three times that length, if not more. a lot of the stuff you do in the gameplay loop feels extremely tedious and …
- [2]
When people say "hidden gem" they are talking about this game. This game is a masterpiece, I love it so much. The atmosphere is top notch and the graphics are really good. There is so much to do, and so many ways to upgrade your little spy base and its amazing. 10/10 game.
Summarised from 34 of the 208 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Phantom Doctrine talk about atmospheric Cold War spy setting; those who didn't talk about game-breaking crash on startup bug. Which matters more to you?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Mike Epstein from IGN enjoyed feeling "like a genuine spymaster". He considered "weighing the risks and rewards" of the player's actions exciting, however he finds investigating intelligence provided by informants "somewhat less exciting". He both appreciates information-gathering in the game and finds it the game's weakest component. He believes good preparation for the mission gives satisfaction. The IGN reviewer agrees that the game creates "a paranoid, desperate experience which feels pitch-perfect for a spy game." GameSpot reviewer also praises the feeling of paranoia in the game: "Tension and suspicion are ingrained throughout Phantom Doctrine to great effect. Its isometric turn-based…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 208 · most liked firstImagine XCOM, but set in the Cold War, 5,000% longer, and nothing you do matters. You can collect intel during missions, but it doesn't matter, because the game will withold the last piece until the right story mission, and if you don't have any intel, it will give it all to you at once as soon as the game decides to progress the story. You can kill enemy agents, but the enemy faction (Beholder) will hire new ones as fast as you kill them. You can go the stealth route and equip your…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Screw all the nay-sayers - is this game the same engine/gameplay as XCom 2? Kinda. IS it XCom 2? No, so don't treat it that way. Y'all are gonna do to this game what was done to Alpha Protocol and sink spy thrillers for all of us - comparing that one to Mass Effect, or this one to XCom, because you can't be happy with something different, killed it. I bought this for $3 on sale and had never heard of it, and I'm loving it! The gameplay is pretty decent for an isometric, turn-based game, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Worked fine for years, now crashes on open, no mention of this bug in the game news.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good game, but the balance is... off. It has a lot of interesting twists on xcom. Combat is completely deterministic; attacks always hit, but units have a pool of Awareness points that are spent to mitigate or avoid damage. Henchmen die en masse while enemy agents take coordination to bring down. Weapon classes have distinct advantages and weaknesses; machineguns excel at covering fire and whittling down agent awareness, while SMGs excel at breaching rooms, etc. The issue is that, if you're…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Weekend PC Game Deals: Bundles for multiplayer mayhem, storytelling discounts, and more. Big Deals - Remnant II – $39.99 on Steam - Elden Ring – $35.39 on Fanatical - EVERSPACE 2 – $34.99 on Steam - No Man's Sky – $29.99 on Steam - Old World – $29.99 on Steam - Xenonauts 2 – $29.99 on Steam - Terra Invicta – $27.99 on Steam - Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – $25.99 on Steam - Sherlock Holmes The Awakened – $23.99 on Steam - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 – $19.99 on Steam - Transport Fever 2 –…
neutral · AI labelView post →well...reloaded this game after some time away now it crashes at start..over and over and over...great job breaking a game that did work... DON'T BUY IT till they fix it which I'm guessing will be never about now... Found the fix in discussions using "set OPENSSL_ia32cap=:~0x20000000 && %command" add under properties, general tabs
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Stupid Bug - game worked fine on release played for months here n there / off for few years now cant play coz every time i load game it starts then shuts down / DEVS NEED TO FIX THIS CRAP / should not be on us the players who pay for this ♥♥♥♥ to find a fix for the game devs broke after release / only fix that has worked for me is to unplug from modem to start in offline mode / unplug modem cable plugging back in after game boots up crashes game soooo broken ! will change to thumbs up if…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It could be a great game with original X-COM and JA style in unique spy atmosphere. The idea is really great. And the game UI looks familiar to fans of X-COM. But then it seems that someone in management thought that their game would look like a clone of X-COM and decided to destroy the good things of X-COM and add their own unique logic. Unfortunately, this logic does not work properly and works stupid. I expected to have a solid squad-based missions like in X-COM. Indeed, we have agents here…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game Crashes when trying to boot up, unable to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A Game with potential, but many letdowns and missed opportunities. I had 2 playthroughs, 1 on easy as CIA and one on Medium as Mossad . While i had a good enough time on the first playthrough to start the second, the second "extended" one was quite the dissapointment and i cannot recommend going for a second playthrough for the things you "missed" The bones of the gameplay are solid but are hampered in many aspects. While the mechanics work pretty fine, for the first 2/3rds of the game your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game has a progression breaking bug in the 6th chapter of the CIA campaign that causes the game to get stuck in a logic loop and be unable to progress. It's well documented and random who it happens to. I'm not going to reset several hours of progress to go back a chapter and pray it doesn't happen again. Sad the developers abandoned this game and didn't fix main story bugs like this. Otherwise, it's a solid X-com style game with some fun spy/espionage elements to it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It brings the cool, restrained style of Cold War espionage to a turn-based tactics game. Its real weapon, though, is not the gun but the intelligence you gather. More than flashy action, its real appeal lies in piecing together clues and making sense of that intelligence, a quiet, methodical thrill that lingers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →as of this writing I have 2,290 hours played in Phantom Doctrine. It is infinitely replayable. This is perhaps my favorite turn-based game of all time, and that's saying something, as I'm 54 and been playing since Castle Wolfenstein. The depth of the game's character development, the myriad ways to buff characters, get cool weapons and gear, just wow. Then the whole investigative angle where you physically connect clues to advance the story is epic and has been copied in other games I've played…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game was mediocre at best but it doesn't work on PC's with Windows 11 lol. It worked on my old PC now it doesn't. I saw other steam reviews say the same thing. tragic and shameful, they should of patched this AGES ago. Souless rats
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First all I like the cold war setting and X-com-like approach to this game. I liked the managing of your agents and flying them across the world. but this is where the positives stop for me. For me, the game doesn't even load past the initial splash screen and hard crashes to desktop every attempt to try and play it again. I've already logged 32 hrs on the game during it's initial release and unable to refund the game. For context, the game was 'playable' at release. I uninstalled it due to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm going to say recommended, but don't draw too many conclusions. The game is pretty flawed. It's clear they didn't quite get to make what they had in mind, and so basically every aspect of the game is left short. But, the game has some interesting systems. Wish someone made a better version of this idea. Also, the game is nowhere near worth 40€. Get it for maybe 10 and you won't feel ripped off. Basic flow is like this: Open world map, pass time, get notification of some event, send people,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Phantom Doctrine is a game that came so fucking close
neutral · AI labelView post →Really tried to like this game. The topic and style are quire well done, however I think it has a few major issues that ultimately resulted in a 'not recommend': - The investigation board: by far the biggest issue and the reason I ultimately gave up on this game is that the investigation board is not rewarding. Basically all missions, interrogations and most informers give you puzzle pieces to use in something called the 'investigation board'. The board is supposed to feel like you're…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game was good for years, would have recommended. Now it's broken and crashes at start up. Seems to be no interest in fixing it. Waste of money, don't buy and give anymore money to Steam/Valve and their growing habit of refusing to keep what they sell working.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gamebreaking bug after 40 hours that made me lose my entire progress. Be careful when you reach chapter six and you are looking for "Undertow", look it up, it can break your game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A Shadowy Masterstroke with Noticeable Cracks Phantom Doctrine aims high—an ambitious blend of tactical espionage, Cold War paranoia, and strategic base management. At its best, it’s a deeply atmospheric, intellectually stimulating experience that makes you feel like a spymaster pulling invisible strings across a tangled global conspiracy. Particularly those drawn to cerebral turn-based tactics, it delivers a slow-burning thrill with a satisfying payoff. But its charm is not without its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It will not run on modern systems. That is a critically bad thing. Before, back when it worked, I enjoyed it. I am surprised it said my hours are so low as I felt I played it much more than that. It had an x-com feel but was more about stealth. On a grander scale you had to position your agent meeple so they could respond to different events or tasks in time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has some of the coolest vibes I've seen out of a lot of tactical RPGs like this, yet mechanically it just seems... really shallow and unintuitive. Why is all the marketing for this game about all the cool spy espionage and infiltration stuff if the stealth is this basic? One civillian sees you in a spot you aren't supposed to be for 1 second and instantly the entire map knows your exact location for the rest of the mission. You're playing as an intelligence agency at the height of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →im totally pissed i have 32 hour in game so i know my rig can run it fine ,,... its a crash at launch no fix posted i want my money back last pos i buy from this company
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game should be marked as playable on the Steam Deck, as it runs without issues, and controls work without any problems. Text is a little small but readable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When are they going to drop the Epstein Doctrine for the US side
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's interesting ideas here--including a genuinely good turn-based stealth system--but the bulk of the experience is "what if XCOM was more granular and less satisfying?"
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some guy said "What I got was a buggy mess of overly complicated mechanics that required consulting Youtube videos and AI assistance to do even the early game tasks" - Never had to do any of that LOL this guy has brain damage or something
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love the premise and the work that has gone in to this. This is my third attempt to get in to the game but I just can't. Even on easy the tactical aspect of the game is simply insufferable. Save scumming 20-30 times this early in to a game just isn't for me. I absolutely get that I could get better with time but getting vectored in across the map constantly by guards is not a fun introduction to the game. My time is better spent with other games that don't leverage weird damage calculations…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For those who have experienced crash on boot up: https://www.reddit.com/r/PhantomDoctrine/comments/14gmqys/a_fix_for_the_bug_thats_plagued_many_players/ Note, this is a Reddit post from two years ago. Two years ago. I'm pleased they are making another sequel, but damn, ideally you should make sure there isn't a game breaking bug that kicks in when you try and load it while also being connected to the internet. 10/10 - no other game has ever forced me to learn about inbound and outbound…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Getting into this game is just too unclear for me, it TAKES a lot of want to, so many facets that are not clear or understandable. For example, I still don't fully understand how training works entirely. I will continue to try and slog through it for a bit more, but I kind of regret the purchase and will likely abandon - disappointed as I really like the the genre and concept of the game .. Edit: Learning Cruve needs to be over come
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Enjoyed my weekend with the game, but wont probably pick it up again. Gameplay feels clumsy and monotonous. Mechanics get repetitive quite quickly and there is notting to keep you playing really.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I absolutely love Phantom Doctrine, but it is not an overall fast-paced game. It rewards you for taking your time to investigate things, collect data, and solve its information board puzzles before going to fights. The combat is probably 60% of the game, with a lot of it being exploring and investigating. Be ready for that when you pick it up. BUT there's nothing better than doing a covert mission, with intel you're gathered on your target's exact location, pre-planed a look out and a sniper,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Imagine playing XCom, but the world map is the main gameplay loop. First, it gives me the tutorial mission. Then there was a second, very easy mission. Both were completed in a short time. Then I get to the world map, and I stayed there for I don't know how long. I was sending agents from site to site without getting a single, real mission. During this time, I crafted every upgrade for the base. After what was probably half an hour, I finally got to play a real mission with my agents, and it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cant even get pass the start screen now
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an XCOM game that emphasizes stealth over combat. The stealth game play is horrible. You walk around blind all the time unless you get characters with one specific skill that allow you do to a small area scan. Enemies are constantly coming around corners in your face because the AI knows all the time where you are. The combat is equally bad. The you got shot through walls type of bad. The enemy that never had visual contact with you, comes across the entire map and pops up right next…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →phantom doctrine is a isometric espionage tactical RPG that is a tad too long. it's a really cool game and concept but it does wear out its welcome because of the fact that you don't really get anything new introduced after like ten or fifteen hours, which is NOT good when the main story is at least three times that length, if not more. a lot of the stuff you do in the gameplay loop feels extremely tedious and repetitive as a result of the game not introducing anything new. it really captures…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played it quite a while back in the day, entertaining and hoping to see the sequel soon. unfortunately i cannot play it anymore keeps crashing on start-up. Googled it apparently quite alot of people have this issue all over sudden and besides speculation there isnt a fix for it. Be aware before buying this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1) Hitman series as an X-Com or Jagged Alliance style turn based strategy. I think that's pretty easy to imagine and self explanatory. 2) FIFA or Pro Evo as an ascii turn based tactical roguelike. I don't mean running through dungeons etc, I mean still playing football, just that it's controlled on a grid, with you controlling a single @, and the other players moving when you move a tile etc, keyboard shortcuts for pass/lob/shoot/skill manoeuvres etc. 3) Rugby League Live series in the…
neutral · AI labelView post →Loved the game, shame the extra faction is the Mossad. Actually made me uninstal the game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Won't run (win 11)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one of those games that has so many good elements, but just doesn't come together how it should. For the first many many hours, you actually can't do any stealth or strategy, because your characters do not have the slightest ability, and the actions of the enemies are random at each move. For me, it took about 30 hours of play to even get to the point where I could strategize anything, and that's mostly just saving at each move so I can retry once the enemy does some other random…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is extremely tedious to complete even on normal difficulty. Story progression is locked behind the investigation system where the player has to uncover clues and link keywords on the conspiracy board. Clues can be obtained passively via world events or mission rewards and it takes time for your team to unlock keywords for each clue. Then you need to link the keywords on the board but you don't know how many you need. When there are multiple boards, the story board may not progress at all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Enjoyed it a lot. Stealth oriented espionage turn based tactics. 5/5. Noone makes spy games anymore.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is one ugly game even for 2018, looks more like a game that would come out in 2005.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First mission is already bs, your squad sucks , you have three agents and they can't kill a single enemy in a round, and there are ten enemies just tearing you apart. NO balance, but I guess all the edge lords love it, because after minmaxing and retrying each single round 50 times they get it done and feel compelled to tell everyone who rightfully points out the bs to "git gud" because they think repeating a bad joke for a decade makes it somehow funnier. Terrible game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Some, "What to play if you miss XCOM?" videos led me here and I'm glad I found this game. It's a great mix of XCOM-style combat with Invisible Inc.-style stealth mechanics and the mix works! It feels like the best of both worlds. This game really caters to different play styles. If I want to take my time on a map (completionist) or rush a map to get to the next thing, it's my choice. If I want to go full-stealth, push the envelope, or go in guns blazing... that's my choice too. I hope…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When people say "hidden gem" they are talking about this game. This game is a masterpiece, I love it so much. The atmosphere is top notch and the graphics are really good. There is so much to do, and so many ways to upgrade your little spy base and its amazing. 10/10 game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The idea is fantastic, a cold war spy game but suffers heavily of being poorly executed with stuff that ranges from a lack of balance favoring a "pacifist route" which while it makes sense for a spy game to don't have a heavy focus on combat is handled rather poorly, with very few ways to distract civies that while sure you can have an agent that speaks the language its a 1 turn skill that is kind of useless even in the early game nevermind in big city missions where there is A LOT of civies in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I abandoned the game partway through a few times over a couple of years before finally powering through on my latest attempt. While it wasn't terrible, I can't really recommend it. The turn based espionage was interesting at first, but the AI was nonsensically stupid, which kept things from being as engaging as they could have been. I mean, your spies can faceplant through windows right in front of civvies or guards, and they don't give a damn. They only react if they see a body, someone…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game has no head or tails, it is completely arbitrary; recommend not to buy this. It has excellent mechanics but suffers from tremendous balance issue. Everything looks to be scripted, no matter what you do except for what the game wants you to do, it will not work. Very very dissapointing, no variation, not worth playing, you have to do exactly how the devs set it up. Not a game it is a disater.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish I liked Phantom Doctrine more than I do. Its atmosphere, vibes, and story are impeccable, really bringing that gritty Cold War espionage movie feeling to the forefront of the game. Unfortunately, the gameplay is simply ‘we have XCOM at home’; very basic turn-based tactical gameplay, with a big emphasis on incredibly rudimentary stealth. It’s not difficult, it’s just clunky and rapidly grows dull, and all of the potential that the premise has feels very wasted.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game. The cold war is one of my favorite eras and XCOM is one of my favorite strategy games. Sadly this game falls flat. Everything is very jank and I even had a game breaking bug during a tutorial for the intel board that forced me to task manager kill the game. Never did learn how that worked. The narrative is told extremely poorly, I had no clue what I was supposed to be doing. Which is absurd because isnt cold war espionage all about interesting stories? I was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like spy theme, but I must admit that this game is garbage. Xcom parody that you should avoid. xD > Headshot doesn't work even if you stand up close right behind your target and target has no armour.. Do devs expect me to use a sniper rifle from up close distance to get a kill, really? Or, are we still fighting aliens?? > Quiet incapacitation available and it is way more effective than all firearms, but you need to reroll lvl-up rewards for 10min to unlock it.. xD Devs didn't think at all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →XCOM 2 but with more stealth aspects, game is definetly janky at times but if you enjoy xcom you'll enjoy this
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a little XCOM 2 with a little 1990s commandos. Very complex for ironman settings. Nice overall, I recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For me this game hinges on the border between a thumbs up and a down. It would be very simple to say it is X-Com with spies, but if it had X-Com’s gameplay it would be nice, however it ends up with a washed-out version of it. So, what this game does bad is the spy stuff, it feels like the devs wanted to make an X-Com clone but at the last moment they remembered “Ohh crap, we need to add spy stuff!” The way the tactical combat works; first of all, it relies on Infiltration, meaning you sneak…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crashes on start.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish I could play this game but it doesn't work on Windows anymore and the devs cant be bothered to patch it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →- SWEET BABY INC DETECTED - ☑️ No 🔲 Yes 🔲 Massively here - DIFFICULTY - 🔲 My 95 year old grandma could play it 🔲 Easy ☑️ Normal 🔲 Hard 🔲 "Dark Souls" - GRAPHICS - 🔲 "MS Paint" 🔲 Bad 🔲 Meh 🔲 Graphics don't matter in this game ☑️ Good 🔲 Beautiful 🔲 Masterpiece - MUSIC - 🔲 Bad ☑️ Not special 🔲 Good 🔲 Beautiful - STORY - 🔲 This game has no story 🔲 Like playing "Temple Runners" for the story ☑️ It's there for the people who want it 🔲 Umm…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
Posts are quoted from public profiles with links to the original. Want yours removed? Contact us.
