Phantom Doctrine is the cold war spy thriller of my dreams, spinning an intricate web of intrigue and conspiracy. The game has you staring at a world map, trying to unravel the increasingly complicated plot while sending your agents all over the globe, doing spy stuff in turn-based encounters. It's a moody, highly atmospheric game that perfectly captures the essence of spy flicks and novels, but sadly, it also has a few issues.

Creative Forge, developers of turn-based Weird West tactics game Hard West, certainly hit all the right beats here. Most of the narrative developments take place in the strategy mode, where you pull the strings of your covert organization - this includes literally connecting documents with strings on a Pinboard to uncover new plot elements, which is all kinds of amazing.
You can develop your headquarters, add facilities to forge money and documents, improve your agents via questionable implants, or brainwash captured opponents. If you mess up too often in the field, your operatives' covers will be blown, requiring new identities. Likewise, if you let your enemies operate without foiling their plans, your headquarters' location will be compromised, requiring you to destroy all traces of your organization and setting up shop elsewhere.

The spy business is not a straightforward affair, so you will be tasked with managing your different operations. There's always someone travelling somewhere, working on something, or performing duties in yo...