Arriving at the speed of light

Produced and distributed by Blowfish Studios, Phantom Galaxies is a sci-fi adventure where space combat dictates who is the strongest. Scheduled for release on November 15, 2023, the game will be available on PC via Steam and Epic, Xbox and PS4. Get your mecha ready and destroy the alien menace in deafening clashes (even though sound doesn't propagate in a vacuum).



Sha'Kari your enemies

If you'll pardon the joke, in Phantom Galaxies you'll face the fanatical Sha'kari, a priestly caste of the Sha'Har race who are still determined to destroy humanity by desecrating their ancestral planets. 

To avoid annihilation, the Neoterra factions, who were historical adversaries, realized that to defeat these space priests, an alliance would be the only viable solution. So, by allying themselves with the other peoples, these factions built a social and military structure that allowed them to handle the logistics and confront these enemies, albeit against their will. 

In early access, we aren't introduced to the game's plot in any substantial way, but we manage to locate ourselves in the conflict and our role as a member of this guard. On our first day on the job, we're taken on a few missions that show us the size of the universe we're in and the size of the threat we'll be facing. 

Between defending cargo, collecting materials, and destroying space pirates, our place gradually takes shape and legitimizes our role in the game. But at this early stage, there is still little exploration of the game's narrative conflicts and possible plots, which is something important to present in early access, so that the player is aware of what to expect once the final product is available. 

I missed some striking characters. Although we are guided by an interesting and well-voiced senior military officer, it seems to me that he only serves as a talking version of a poorly done tutorial. And yes, this game needs a better tutorial, since at various times the player can feel disoriented about what to do or where to go next.



Aimed at Eve, hit the Jetsons

Of all the space combat games I've ever played, Phantom Galaxies manages to be the most confusing and mind-boggling of them all. The movement of the ship is not very fluid and will often disorient the player, as the speed at which the aim moves is far removed from the movement of the camera, which will lead the user to get lost in space or struggle to maintain a stable course of movement.

In combat, the sensation is that even with the sights well positioned on the target, the ships aren't hit correctly. But this probably has something to do with the very "perfect" physics for a game of this type. 

In a game where the speed of movement in combat is always high and acrobatic, it will be a Herculean task to keep the cursor on the enemy's hitbox. The level of challenge, at more complex stages of the game, will probably be so high that it will frustrate new players. So, in early access, this is a crucial point that needs to be revisited. 



My suggestion is: to think about "unofficial" targeting assistants like in Everspace or the old Star Wars games to make combat mechanics more natural and solid. 

The game also needs to rethink its loading screens. Numerous and poorly optimized, the game burdens the player with loading times and the sensation of jumping from one lobby to the next. As it stands, the game is completely rhythmless and uninteresting.

At this point, Phantom Galaxies also has numerous performance issues, with frame drops and constant crashes, especially in the interaction hubs. These hubs are an interface model reminiscent of Warframe's personal ship, which will apparently be shared. 

The game features unclear menus and icons in the world that are not always clear and understandable. The color markings, such as the one that points out the direction of the enemies, are also too discreet and not always efficient, since sometimes the enemies simply disappeared from my radar, even though they were close to my ship.

I believe that in terms of gameplay, Phantom Galaxies still has a lot to improve if it wants to consolidate its position as a competitive game. However, if we look at the product as a whole, we can see that the game has a powerful core, which could take it to the next level, especially when compared to other web3 games. 

It's too early to make any definitive conclusions about the game, especially as the problems presented are not fundamental game design issues, and can be dealt with in a better way. I hope the game can revisit its most sensitive topics and learn from others who have come before it. In this way, I look forward to seeing a game that can establish itself in the web3 market with a lot of quality. 

The space is beautiful, but it's empty.

Despite the gameplay and performance issues, Phantom Galaxies has interesting graphics, with a space theme reminiscent of games like Eve and anime like Gundam Wing and Neon Genesis Evangelion. These references appear in the mechs, the ships, but above all, in the atmosphere that encompasses everything from the characters and their issues to the construction of the menus and gameplay logistics. 

The appearance of the ships is satisfactory, and the combat could do with more "action" since at the moment I couldn't feel that sense of epic battle that you expect in games where even the sky isn't the limit. 



The characters are also well-built and the settings of the ships and other places to visit have a touch of Cyberpunk and Star Trek. I liked what I saw, but I hope for more in future versions of the game.
Para essa review, Phantom Galaxies foi jogado no PC, através da Steam

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