ActionRPGStrategy
Phantom Doctrine
Give it 10 hours
Gets good by 10h then rated almost like by veterans
Fully opens up by 35h rated like by long-time players
Reach the ending at least 19% of players who started
Started playing 44% of owners
Steam reviews 74% positive of 4,708
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 2 reviews are negative (63%); after 35h it's 1 in 9 (11%).
- Fully opens up by hour 35.
- The opening is criticised more than in 91% of games we track.
- At least 18% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” (Escape the Glasgow trap): only 43% of starters get there.
- Only 44% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 4,723 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 297 reviews: 35.2h for positive, 7.8h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (44.4% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Once Bitten, Twice Shy Escape the Glasgow trap. Most players quit here 43% −57
- Rock the Boat Recover the Marquis cargo. 27% −16
- Communication Noise Attempt to save 269 lives from an aviation disaster. 24% −3
- Explosive Measures Destroy the Broadsword facility. 21% −2
- Tip of the Iceberg Get a taste of Beholder's real power. 20% −2
- The End? - Easy Dismantle the conspiracy on Easy difficulty. ≥19% −1
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (47)
story milestone ending side
- Conspiracy Revealed Solve a secret file. 100%
- Lootcrates are Forever Collect all loot and documents on a single tactical level. 96%
- Tailor Change an agent's identity. 89%
- Bite the Bullet Survive an ambush. 70%
- Soldier Kill 100 enemies. 52%
- Tactical Plunder Loot 50 containers on tactical levels. 51%
- US Intelligence As an agent of the CIA, verify whether your mentor's suspicions were correct. 47%
- Tactical Espionage Find 50 secrets on tactical levels. 46%
- Once Bitten, Twice Shy Escape the Glasgow trap. 43%
- Fully Operational Unlock all facilities. 36%
- Blank Slate Successfully brainwash an agent. 35%
- Licence to Kill Kill 15 agents. 30%
- Veteran Kill 250 enemies. 28%
- Rock the Boat Recover the Marquis cargo. 27%
- Step into the Breach Breach a room using four or more agents. 24%
- Communication Noise Attempt to save 269 lives from an aviation disaster. 24%
- Pacifist Finish a level in infiltration without hurting anyone. 24%
- Comrade Spy As an agent of the KGB, execute your top secret orders. 22%
- Explosive Measures Destroy the Broadsword facility. 21%
- Tactical Support Own at least one of each Support Power type in a single playthrough. 21%
- Tip of the Iceberg Get a taste of Beholder's real power. 20%
- Calculated Risk Implant and successfully use a trigger phrase to your benefit. 19%
- The End? - Easy Dismantle the conspiracy on Easy difficulty. 19%
- Spy Extract security data from Chicago's tallest tower. 18%
- Scientist Apply 50 chemical compounds. 17%
- Misplaced Trust Witness an agent betrayal during a tactical mission. 16%
- Sadist Kill six enemies in one turn. 16%
- Tinker Craft 50 items. 15%
- Blessing in Disguise Rescue the Opposition leader with the help of a disguised agent. 15%
- Merchant Buy 50 items. 14%
- Silent Power Mod a shotgun with a silencer. 14%
- Syndicate Engineering Engineer an agent with all stats at 140 or above. 13%
- Inside Job Destroy 5 enemy cells using sleeper agents. 11%
- The End? - Normal Dismantle the conspiracy on Normal difficulty. 9.7%
- Airborne Extraction Purchase helicopter evac for a tactical mission. 7.7%
- Combined Arms Use four support powers in one turn. 7.0%
- No One Noticed Kidnap the Triad boss without raising alarm. 6.8%
- The Institute As the Israeli Nazi hunter, pay retribution to an old enemy. 6.5%
- Same, but Different Recover the Marquis cargo from a different safehouse. 5.6%
- Counterfeit Fortune Forge $500,000. 5.6%
- Well-equipped Research all tech upgrades in a single playthrough. 5.0%
- Death of a Citizen Kill the Beholder mastermind in Munich. 5.0%
- Top Tier Have an agent reach maximum level. 4.7%
- The Whole Truth Tie up the very final loose end. 4.3%
- Trust No One Complete all secret files manually in a single playthrough. 3.8%
- Cold Truce Start a tactical mission with agents from CIA, KGB, Mossad, Stasi and SB in one team. 2.7%
- The End? - Hard Dismantle the conspiracy on Hard difficulty. 2.7%
Steam page Updated: 2026-10-19.