Phantom Brigade Screenshot
Image: Brace Yourself Games

I firmly believe that one of the best things about games today is that nothing is set in stone. Whether it's the original developers realizing their vision, new talent bringing fresh ideas to the table, or just a dedicated community with an eye for improvements, yesterday's also-ran games can become must-haves. Final Form is where we circle back on the games that weren't quite there at launch but have grown into something fully worthy of your time and money. Today, we start with solo mech tactics game Phantom Brigade from Brace Yourself Games, the team behind Crypt of the NecroDancer.

Originally launched in early 2023, it mirrored its own mech designs a little too closely - a functional but skeletal framework from which some nice visuals and concepts were hanging, but there wasn't much to chew on. One gigantic overhaul in late 2025 later, plus several more updates (including a major one beginning with the 2026 summer sale) have transformed it into a radically different game. One I wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who enjoys giant humanoid robots beating ten shades of metal paint off each other.

Phantom Brigade has you leading a small guerrilla force operating out of a mobile mech-carrier, liberating the Nordic-esque Republic of Fyrland from their resource-hungry neighbors, the Kaskad Dominion. So far, so XCom, and while deep and character-driven it ain't, it works as a fine hook to hang an escalating campaign from, starting with just two scavenged mechs fighting for a foothold in the furthest outskirts and working your way up to challenging the opposition's greatest superweapons at the nation's capital, including some big setpiece boss battles that weren't in the original release at all..

Those returning after the original release will find the campaign wildly reworked. Each province requires several guerrilla strikes at softer targets to unlock a chance to raid the regional HQ. While previously your mechs repaired themselves constantly as you traveled, now you have to stop and set up camp for a few hours to patch up your machines and pilots. With only a couple sets of camp supplies per sortie, deciding when to slow down becomes a smart strategic decision.

Speaking of, the most recent update to the game allows you to take on bonus missions controlling scrappy local militia forces on high-stakes missions that can bring in great rewards. It all adds up to a satisfying progression loop of upgrades, looting, mech-buildcrafting and adaptation, but solid strategy can't carry the game by itself if the tactical side falls short. Good thing the combat is fantastic.

The part that has changed least was that solid core of the game. The turn-based tactics play out in five-second slices of time controlled via a clean, readable timeline interface, tracking every physically modelled projectile and unit for the next five seconds. You and your enemy both give your orders, you pull the ripcord and watch those robots go in glorious slow-motion, everything playing out with all the heft and power you'd hope from a game about giant robots. Buildings crumble, mechs tumble through houses as their legs give out, beam cannons cut holes through whole city blocks. And every underlying number, from mass on mech components to the stats on the pilots, has a tangible effect on the combat.

Your one big advantage is that the enemy always places their orders first. This gives you a near-perfect idea of what the enemy is doing during their next turn, which really allows the game to lean into the 'heroic guerrillas' angle. You will almost always be outnumbered and outgunned (a maximum of four mechs vs multiple, larger waves), but knowing exactly when to dodge for cover, activate shields, or charge your heavy units to bowl over enemies just before they have a chance to fire makes for some spectacularly choreographed battles. Especially now that the game lets you play back the entire battle in a single replay, instead of just your most recent turn.

What has changed about the combat is the variety of missions you'll be tackling, the quality of the enemy AI, and how much pilot abilities factor into the action. The moment-to-moment time manipulation stuff is almost unchanged, but there are so many more pieces attached to that core now that make tangible differences. The very latest update even added a whole new and very satisfying weapon class - heavy spear rifles that knock enemies flying or (if landing a finishing blow) impale them to walls, making terrain even more important. All the more reason to watch those end-of-mission replays.

While I still have some minor critiques of Phantom Brigade, they really do feel like nitpicking at this point. Even after a major rewrite, the story is a bit thin. That same story rewrite meant they had to ditch the few bits of voice acting the game initially had. And if there's one feature I'd put at the top of my wishlist, it's perhaps another mech chassis type or two, perhaps with movement options beyond bipedal. But even with those grumbles and wishes in mind, Phantom Brigade is now an excellent game where previously it was just the outline of something potentially great.

Phantom Brigade is available on Steam for £25/$30, with additional discounts for owners of MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, Mechabellum, Tactical Breach Wizards or Invisible, Inc. All games that I also recommend. It's also certified as Playable on Steam Deck, but that might be outdated info after the most recent update, which added full controller support.