Phantom Squad review

For years, Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six series established a benchmark for tactical shooters. Their early titles were known for their deliberate pacing as players moved their squads with tactical coordination. But Rainbow Six Siege steered the franchise in a different direction, with its constant updates, esports integration, and a lack of storyline. As someone who followed Ding Chavez’s exploits for a decade, seeing R6 become yet another live-service, esports-focused franchise left me dispirited.

Yet, when corporations abandon their accomplishments to chase larger profits, independent developers are habitually ready to pick up the slack. And largely, that’s the case with Ctrl Freak’s Phantom Squad, an ambitious effort aiming to rekindle the thrill of tactical, close-quarters combat. Rendered in top-down perspective, the title tasks players with prudent planning, precise execution, and expertly synchronized teamwork. When enjoyed with a group of up to three cooperative partners, the title captures the challenges of coordination and the confusion caused by chaos. But when played solo, the game can feel punishing.

Breach and Clear (with Buddies)

The game’s eleven missions are all satisfyingly intricate but also crafted with teamwork in mind. If you’re tackling them as an individual, there’s no additional assistance. There are no AI companions to order and no checkpointing beyond a pair of two defibrillator revives, providing little margin for error. Even when playing with humans, objectives such as hostage rescues and synchronized breaches can require trial and error, especially if you’re trying to meet each mission’s secondary objectives.

Largely, encounters are unforgiving and edgy, punctuated by heated firefights as hostiles react to your team’s actions. You can deploy tools that mark foe locations and crack doorways to ‘pie the corner’ and thin out enemy numbers with a stealth takedown. Expectedly, rushing into a room is persistently precarious, habitually drawing enemy fire. Moving through Phantom Squad’s campaign rightfully feels like an uphill battle, with plenty of pulse-pound moments such as when stray opponents attempt to flank you.

ACE in the Hole

If you’ve new to the genre (forgivable, since it’s been seven years since Rainbow Six Vegas 2), know that Phantom Squad emphasizes scrupulous planning over run-and-gun reflexes. Like classic Rainbow Six, the game captures the deliberate pacing, breaching mechanics, and room-clearing techniques of the Tom Clancy titles. But the shift to an overhead perspective means there’s no cover system. Although you can use walls and obstacles to avoid taking fire, Phantom Squad lacks the ability to lean around a corner for a swift aim and fire.

Instead, you’ll use the game’s Assault Coordination Engine (or A.C.E.) to shape your squad’s assault, drawing up a plan-of-attack with a whiteboard-style interface. Success involves strategies like staggered entries or precisely synched breaches from multiple entry points. But given that Phantom Squad models friendly fire, you’ll also want to avoid an overlapping line of sight. Additional advantages can be gained from building specific loadouts for your operators, with at least one teammate carrying non-lethal tools like flashbangs or taser in hostage rescue missions.

Steer Clear, Soloists

The near-requirement for different loadouts means that Phantom Squad won’t be enjoyed by soloists. This is an experience of shared tension that often rewards team synergy. And when played with others, the game is at its best. As such, it’s difficult not to wonder how a team of AI bots might have made things more gratifying for soloists. And while we are on the topic of suggestions, Squad desperate needs a procedural mission generator, like Rainbow Six’s old Terrorist Hunt mode.

Despite these shortcomings, Phantom Squad deserves praise for what it accomplishes. Visually, the game is atmospheric, delivering environments that create a sense of immersion without sacrificing tactical clarity. Meanwhile, weapons and gadgets are responsive, and their use provide some solid sonic accompaniment.

While engaging with a group of friends, Phantom Squad channels the intensity of being a SWAT operative, as you coordinate actions on the game’s maps. However, the game is frustrating and a lot less fun as a single-player experience. Here’s hoping that Ctrl Freak considers adding bots in a future update. Phantom Squad deserves to be experienced by more than just online fireteams.

Phantom Squad was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.