Phantom Fury

A first-person-shooter that sometimes falters but makes up for it with strong devotion to detail.

But regardless of what caused the project to get derailed, it still means that Phantom Fury is a disappointing result. It’s a mash of ‘00s FPS cliches without reprieve. I spent most of its runtime wishing it was over. Or, at least, wishing it was what it promised to be. Its overall blandness has done the impossible and made me appreciate Duke Nukem Forever just a little bit more.

Phantom Fury simply doesn't feel like it's ready yet, with too many bugs and nowhere near enough polish to become the game that it could be. Too many encounters are designed to only be beatable once you memorize enemy placement and a giant-mech boss shouldn't be an easier, more enjoyable encounter than a handful of guys in a hallway. Bugs are also abound, with enemies zipping between cover points while stuck in the kneeling position, music that you can almost hear playing in the background despite the volume being maxed out, or getting trapped in an elevator when its doors won't open. "Reset to checkpoint" is always an option, but in this case it was an open service elevator, and while sticking to the '90s/early-2000s gameplay convention of a hero who can't hop over a waist-high obstacle is authentic, it's the wrong kind of authenticity. Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison has the potential to be a great 90s throwback character, but Phantom Fury is nowhere near what's needed to see her reach her potential.

3D Realms missed a great opportunity with Phantom Fury. Serious gameplay and technical problems drastically lowered the quality of a title that had the potential to be a good shooter. Luckily the plot and the artistic level save the title from a complete and much more serious rejection. Although Phantom Fury is a courageous title, it shows the consequences of the incorrect balance between graphics, narrative, level design and gameplay.

Phantom Fury - albeit with more than a few reservations - is a decent sequel to Ion Fury. The maps, aside from the disarming linearity in the first few hours of play - feature sprawling layouts that intertwine and require adequate exploration and even a decent memory in terms of exploration, the gunfights, although the gun system did not fully convince us, manage to entertain just enough by alternating between a few divergent sections that also require driving vehicles, the interactive environments that wink at illustrious works of the past and the “old style” graphics make up for the shortcomings in terms of performance (definitely many) and several questionable choices such as the save system, which uses classic checkpoints and which does not always work very well forcing the player to replay rather extensive portions of the game, and an AI that to say seesaw is putting it mildly. In short, all elements that as disorienting as they are in 2024, can be easily fixed with a corrective patch. At the moment The title from Slipgate Ironworks and 3D Realms is just a good game that barely exceeds sufficiency. If you are a fan of boomer-shooters you certainly cannot fail to give Phantom Fury a chance; if, on the other hand, you are looking for a qualitatively superior product, we advise you to direct your attention elsewhere!

Phantom Fury is a fun throwback to classic shooters from the 1990s. It’s action packed with a decent variety of weapons at the player’s disposal to create a bit of chaos. While the core gameplay is enjoyable, it’s the few things around it such as the piss-poor weapon wheel, lack of aiming and the true to the classic formula: where do I go type of gameplay. If you can get over these like quirks, you’ll find a fun, challenging and fast paced shooter.

Fans of the shooter genre will find a good time with Phantom Fury. While not perfect, slipping a bit with map design and pacing among some other smaller things, Shelly "Bombshell" Harrison's latest outing still hits more than it misses.

Phantom Fury unfortunately doesn't work as it should. The levels are unimpressive, confusing and packed with an inflationary number of enemies. The weapons are really fun and there are lots of nice little gimmicks and attempts to add some variety to the game, but it remains an average shooter that falls well short of its potential.

Phantom Fury attempts to be a love-letter to retro shooters like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D, but only ends up disappointing with its plethora of bugs, poor level design and frustrating enemy AI.

Phantom Fury satisfactorily fulfills what it promises to be. With fluidity in gameplay, constant action and a plot that serves as the basis for continuous progression, the game overcomes a dubious level design to deliver one of the best boomer shooters today.