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Phantom Trigger Review


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598dcb2e1cfd6_PhantomTriggerlogo.thumb.jpg.dbb334ec32d404b5aaafad732d8ca03c.jpgPhantom Trigger from developer Bread Team and publisher tinyBuild Games brings stylish action in a neon-colored world to the Switch eShop. The game mixes combo-driven combat, labyrinthine level design, and a surreal and mysterious storyline into one adventure. The final result though is somewhat lacking in depth. A bit more polish could have helped transform Phantom Trigger into a must-have action game rather than a decent but repetitive one.
 
The story opens with Stan, an average married man who suddenly collapses in his kitchen one morning. An unknown illness has afflicted him, and he'll need either an expensive surgery or experimental treatment to survive. Meanwhile another character, The Outsider, awakens in a surreal world of anthropomorphic creatures and bizarre monsters, and he may be the only one able to drive back the darkness. There's not a lot of explanation for either of these characters initially, but gradually the details fill in to explore Stan's character and the heavy burden weighing on his mind. It's a dark plotline and it does make you feel for Stan, though the disconnect between gameplay and storytelling can make some of the cutscenes feel jarring. The dark fantasy motif makes for an interesting setting but it's not always fully engaging when cutscenes literally interrupt the gameplay. There are multiple endings to find but it's hard to say whether or not they're worth the effort.
 
The developers describe Phantom Trigger as a "hardcore neon slasher," which more or less covers it: hack 'n' slash gameplay, colorful neon environments, and you'll probably die a lot. In fact the default difficulty setting is hard (you can turn it down to normal at any time). But unlike games where the difficulty comes from complex or intelligent enemies, a big part of the challenge in Phantom Trigger is just feeling somewhat ill-equipped for dealing with waves of enemies. It doesn't help that there are no tutorials in the game so the first thirty minutes or so feels particularly aimless as you try to adapt to the fast gameplay but slow attacks of Phantom Trigger. Each time I died I'm not sure what I really learned, aside from the fact that my attacks are a lot slower and weaker than I had expected so I'd better keep my distance as much as possible.
 
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It doesn't help that the combat starts feeling repetitive pretty quickly. You have three weapons in Phantom Trigger: a whip which is mostly used for pulling enemies in close, a sword for basic attacks, and claws which are slightly slower but stronger than the sword. Since the whip doesn't technically deal damage (though it can kill particularly small foes) you have to rely upon the sword and claws, both of which are pretty short ranged. What's really tricky is just the fact that enemies can easily dodge attacks simply by walking away. Your attacks feel just a little too slow to really get into a groove or flurry of attacks, so combat turns into a lot of striking a couple times, repositioning, and repeating. You can also dash to evade enemy attacks but something to block with would be even more useful since you have to chase down enemies again after dashing.
 
Phantom Trigger wants you to use a variety of combo attacks to dispatch enemies with a little more style, but the actual value of combos is mixed. For one thing, they are even slower than normal attacks since you need to string together three attacks to execute a combo. Enemies rarely give you the time to do this, and too often the enemy simply walks away while you're executing a special explosion. Part of the game's challenge is finding your window of opportunity to dish out a string of attacks, but it never feels quite rewarding in Phantom Trigger. Secondly, combos don't actually do that much more damage than normal attacks, so oftentimes you're better off just attacking normally–at least you can move around more when you're only doing one or two hits at a time. Combos are unlocked by leveling up each weapon–the more you attack with a certain weapon the more experience it gains–so at least there's a sense of progression as you unlock new abilities. It's just a shame they aren't that useful. It probably would have been more useful for weapons to deal more damage as they level up instead.
 
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It might be easier to forgive the repetitive combat if the level design was a bit more engaging. Each level is practically a labyrinth, which is fun to explore at first but pretty soon you'll find there isn't actually much to see. The levels are procedurally generated so there aren't many landmarks or significant set pieces to enjoy–there are a couple of unique aspects to each level but not enough to alleviate the sense of repetition as you wander through one hallway to the next, fighting the same enemies over and over. On the plus side there are a handful of side quest items you can find which can add a bit to the story as well as the gameplay, though the latter is hard to discern initially. The elaborate connected rooms of the labyrinth levels may keep you busy but they don't keep you particularly well entertained.
 
The game takes around six or seven hours to complete–not bad for this kind of action game, but it's all the more surprising and disappointing that the combat can get so repetitive in that time. Since there are no variations on how you level up your weapons there isn't much gameplay incentive to replay the game but the multiple endings might entice some players. There are also a couple of extra features in Phantom Trigger. Upon completing the game you can play in Arena mode which is just waves of combat–not the best reward. However, there is also a drop in/drop out co-op option throughout the entire game. Both players share one health bar so they'll need to be careful but co-op can be an interesting way of spicing up the gameplay.
 
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Visually and aurally there's a lot to enjoy in Phantom Trigger. There isn't a huge amount of variety in the environments or monster designs but the retro pixel artwork still looks great. The human characters in particular nail the classic look that stirs up memories of 80s classics. Phantom Trigger also features an excellent soundtrack, although the game doesn't give it many opportunities to really shine. While playing the audio tends to fall into the same repetition pitfalls as many of the other elements in the game, but it's worth taking a bit of time to listen to the audio on the title screen just to appreciate it.
 
Phantom Trigger starts off with a lot of promise: a mysterious story, challenging combat, gorgeous retro design, but then fails to keep that energy up throughout the game's length. The combat quickly flounders as the fast-paced gameplay doesn't have much of a payoff when your attacks feel slow and ineffective, and dodging enemies to get in one or two hits before dashing away again gets old pretty quickly. A bit more polish could have made the combat and combo system more engaging or rewarding, but as is Phantom Trigger never quite finds its rhythm.
 
Rating: 6 out of 10 Phantoms
 
Review copy provided by the publisher
 

Phantom Trigger is available now on the Switch eShop for $14.99.

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