First Impressions (3hrs Playtime)

[SimonSays]

So I bought this game in spite of the negative press - partly because I am a huge fan of Ion Fury, and partly because I have been interested in this game since the first trailer release way back when.

So far (I am about 3 or 4 levels in) - and I have been having a lot of fun with this title. I have not got stuck in any level geometry and the only immersion breaking invisible wall I have encountered was when I couldn't swim in the fishing hole (I'd personally remove this interactive scene for this reason - or make it a swimmable area).

I have encountered physics glitches (road pylons seem to be what sends me flying), some animation inconsistencies (sliding enemies, when some characters talk they have lip synching applied others seem to not have any lip sync applied).

I have also noticed some item placement that seems a little rushed (garbage cans clipping into environment, crates stuck halfway into a rock, etc.)

The thing is those are really minor glitches so far - and I have actually enjoyed the game quite a bit in these first few levels. It may be that by the end of the game I am not as happy with it - but at the moment, it is shaping up to be what I was looking forward to when I saw the trailers. Like Ion Fury was to mid 90s build games like Duke3d, Blood and Shadow Warrior - Phantom Fury feels like the late 90s shooters (Quake 2, SiN, Half-Life, etc.).

The graphic style is great - although I would have preferred that they went for higher resolution explosion/smoke particle effects as the current effects feel just a little too solid and chunky. But the texture work, lighting, modelling, etc. is all really good (seriously these levels look great).

The music is not bad - it isn't great, sometimes it feels like it matches the situation and others it seems slightly out of place, the instrumentation/orchestration doesn't seem to be very defined. The music itself is well performed for the genres I have heard used so far - but it lacks identity in comparison to Ion Fury.

It doesn't help that there appears to be a ducking effect applied whenever you shoot your gun (I have to see how it sounds with headphones - but out of the Steam Deck speakers the gun definitely seems to override whatever music is playing).

If this is the case - I imagine it was done to make the guns feel more weighty in combat, but it has the opposite effect in practice making the game feel less impactful over all.

It appears at times like they are going for the Half-Life approach where music is queued to play for an event or moment, and then it dies down to let the ambient soundscape take over.

Unfortunately - the ambient soundscape in this game is not extremely detailed in this game (it still sounds good for what is there), I think this game actually works better when there is a looping theme for whatever is happening on screen (similar to the music in SiN or even No One Lives Forever).

So far I am happy I listened to my gut and took a chance on this game after seeing the negative reviews, because it is so far a really good 7/10 experience.

The level interactivity is off the charts - but I would have done more with it, for instance every file cabinet I open seems to be empty or devoid of purpose. It is cool that they are interactive but it serves no purpose other than immersion. I would have randomly placed collectable documents in these similar to No One Lives Forever - a way to build the narrative of the world, with a collectable component that scratches the itch for wanting to open these objects.

[R4Z0R]

Yep have fun man;thats what its all about. I know I plan to after I beat Wrath.

[SimonSays]

Originally posted by R4Z0R:

Yep have fun man;thats what its all about. I know I plan to after I beat Wrath.

100% - back in the day I put up with a lot more jankiness in games, people look back fondly on games like SiN now but it was completely broken on release and still has many issues with late game levels feeling unfinished too.

Mind I think the rock paper shotgun review solidly lists some of the issues that I hope the devs resolve with regards to how the game plays at the moment.

[SmilingBerserker]

I agree on this 100%. I see this as the Duke Nukem Forever we never got.

[Khanwolf]

i also agree on this 100%, except for the whole part about the sound. i think it simply lacks Volume, i had to make it REALLY LOUD and then mix all the ingame stuff again in the settings. After that it was fire.

but this maybe completely subjective, ignore that point please.

Originally posted by SimonSays:

So far I am happy I listened to my gut and took a chance on this game after seeing the negative reviews, because it is so far a really good 7/10 experience.

+1

[SimonSays]

Originally posted by SmilingBerserker:

I agree on this 100%. I see this as the Duke Nukem Forever we never got.

Have you been following the 2001 restoration project, it is pretty cool to play it right now but there is a good chance we see a really cool completed version of the 2001 build.

Originally posted by Khanwolf:

i also agree on this 100%, except for the whole part about the sound. i think it simply lacks Volume, i had to make it REALLY LOUD and then mix all the ingame stuff again in the settings. After that it was fire.

but this maybe completely subjective, ignore that point please.

Originally posted by SimonSays:

So far I am happy I listened to my gut and took a chance on this game after seeing the negative reviews, because it is so far a really good 7/10 experience.

+1

With the sound I have everything cranked - as I said I need to check with headphones but it does feel like there is a subtle ducking or gating effect on the weapons.

I am an audio engineer (mainly working in music), and I hear and use these effects in production all the time to avoid things like clipping.

As for the actual musical content - definitely just some purely personal subjective notes that I have had while listening.

All that said, the game is fire for sure so far for me.

[Shinji]

Glad you're having fun, the first half of the game is seriously fun. I think without spoiling, there's two really bad levels after the grand canyon but that's really the only parts I disliked but it will vary from person to person.

[SimonSays]

Originally posted by Shinji:

Glad you're having fun, the first half of the game is seriously fun. I think without spoiling, there's two really bad levels after the grand canyon but that's really the only parts I disliked but it will vary from person to person.

That’s good to know - but I mean so many of my favourite games have this issue. System Shock 2 being a good example.

I think it helps to have lived and grown up on the games that influenced this new generation of games especially with smaller dev teams as it helped (me at least) in building a tolerance for glitches, etc.

And not to diminish those who aren’t having fun with this game - as there are plenty of games or entertainment in general that I have passed on in my time too. You’re 100% right that it is subjective and will vary person to person.

[SimonSays]

Quick update on my experience with the sound in this game - it isn’t ducking it near as I can tell with headphones. Rather what I was hearing in the deck was the sub frequencies on the shotgun, loverboy, turrets, etc. are pretty deep and loud and were overloading the speakers on my deck in a way that flattened the sound across the board (the reason it sounded like ducking to me).

After playing with headphones I set the sound effects setting much lower in the overall mix as such in the settings:

Master Volume: 1.0
Music Volume: 1.0
Effects Volume: 0.5
Dialog Volume: 1.0
UI Volume: Volume: 0.8

I am sure I am going to tweak those settings a little more over the next couple hours of gameplay, but I played through a big fire fight with a turret and it sounded very good in my headphones and on the deck.

I was really surprised to hear how deep the subs were on the shotgun.

In any event - I am still not 100% in love with the soundtrack, it does the job for sure but it sometimes hasn’t matched the action on screen (the firefight I just was in was paired with music that feels more in place with explorative or even stealth pacing).

But as it stands - the music is well produced and fits the overall tone of the game, I’d hope that if in the overall polishing that comes within the next few months to a year of patching they take a look at the soundtrack and how it is applied to the game and spend some time on tightening it up with regards to matching scenarios and pacing.

I know I am only a few hours in but this is one of the common complaints across all the negative press that I can kind of understand, I think if the game had more of a pumping action soundtrack like Ion Fury - or in fact many of the games it takes inspiration from (SiN has a great hard hitting soundtrack, and the gameplay in PF is most inline with that game in my experience so far) - that some of these critics may have been less critical of some of the more slight issues in the game had the soundtrack been more lively.

I find (in my subjective life experience) that I am more forgiving of a piece of entertainment or art if I like how it sounds - I absolutely adore Omikron: Nomad Soul which is by all measures not a great game in terms of gameplay - but it is one of the best sounding games I’ve ever played (even without the David Bowie song performances).

Phantom Fury actually overall sounds great (especially now that I have mixed the effects lower), the UI sounds (and looks) fantastic, the guns all sound meaty (if a little sub heavy), the voice acting is well recorded, the ambience is good. But the soundtrack is a little underwhelming at times not necessarily because of the actual musical content but more just because of how it is placed.

[R4Z0R]

@SimonSays. Check this out! https://youtu.be/K23Y0fOCRGQ?feature=shared

[SimonSays]

Originally posted by R4Z0R:

@SimonSays. Check this out! https://youtu.be/K23Y0fOCRGQ?feature=shared

Well that is just awesome - might be gearing up for another run of DX again soon as this is finished. Wonder how compatible it will be with Revision… lol

Edit:

Also quick impressions update - I’m about half way through, maybe a little further (I’m at the first big mech boss).

The soundtrack is hitting more often than not and matching the action on screen suggesting to me that it just needs a little tightening up towards the start of the campaign.

The weapons are just fantastic in this game - same as they are in Ion Fury, the gameplay loop has had me using most of them except for the foam gun.

The driving mission level feels a little undercooked, everywhere I explored was usually just bare set dressing (unfurnished building) and the AI didn’t seem to engage very often at the start. It is visually stunning though, and the action sequences near the end were great.

The helicopter mission is the same - it felt a little easy, but it was an exciting set piece. I feel like it just needs a little tightening up with regards to both player hit feedback and enemy hit feedback.

Both sequences still felt fun to play and reminded me more of GameCube era James Bond titles like Nightfire.

I also think that the swimming needs to be looked at - not sure if anyone else experiences this but I get no water interaction sound when I walk through water pools or swim, and while swimming I can hear the ambient sound effects that should be replaced with an underwater ambience.

I am pointing these minor issues out in hopes that these things eventually get ironed out. But even if they don’t - the amount of fun I am having with this campaign has been unreal, and can see this getting multiple plays from me the next few years.

[skeep]

Originally posted by SimonSays:

The driving mission level feels a little undercooked, everywhere I explored was usually just bare set dressing (unfurnished building) and the AI didn’t seem to engage very often at the start. It is visually stunning though, and the action sequences near the end were great.

The helicopter mission is the same - it felt a little easy, but it was an exciting set piece. I feel like it just needs a little tightening up with regards to both player hit feedback and enemy hit feedback.

Both sequences still felt fun to play and reminded me more of GameCube era James Bond titles like Nightfire.

I also think that the swimming needs to be looked at - not sure if anyone else experiences this but I get no water interaction sound when I walk through water pools or swim, and while swimming I can hear the ambient sound effects that should be replaced with an underwater ambience.

100% all of this!
Would be great to auto climb ladders like half-life instead of pressing use key.

[SimonSays]

I didn't mind the use to ladder system - but I was playing on steam deck with gamepad controls. Not sure how hard it would be to make it an option... could be it is tied to the physics, etc.

In any event - I finally beat it today, I did experience some bugs all the way through but they were minor and none of them prevented me from playing the game.

I am going to review this game for sure and put down some thoughts there - overall, I had a lot of fun with this game and I think that many reviewers had the wrong take and were overly critical due to prior bias from their experiences with previous SlipGate titles or reasons I guess...

In any event, glad to have it in my library - it fulfils a modern day itch for a certain type of FPS game from the late 90s / early 2000s that hadn't really been scratched for me yet. Hopefully it gets a couple more patches to iron out the few remaining bugs.

[R4Z0R]

[Elwing]

Originally posted by SimonSays:

for instance every file cabinet I open seems to be empty or devoid of purpose. It is cool that they are interactive but it serves no purpose other than immersion. I would have randomly placed collectable documents in these similar to No One Lives Forever - a way to build the narrative of the world, with a collectable component that scratches the itch for wanting to open these objects.

yeah, one of my biggest grip so far... the major one being the story... I really enjoy the game otherwise, it feels really sin like...