I first played mech-based tactics game Phantom Brigade back in 2019 when it was in Early Access on the Epic Games Store, then I reviewed it when it hit 1.0 in 2023. Now here I am, in January 2026, somehow writing about the game again, because it's managed the rare feat of getting a 2.0 release.
I thought the 1.0 game was really good! It was a bit thin in parts, but only in the way we've come to expect smaller games from smaller teams to be, so I never saw that as a problem. It was a great game, I had a great time with it, then I got on with my life. I never once thought "man, Phantom Brigade was good in parts, but it really needed some more work".
So it's been a pleasure reacquainting myself with the game over the last few weeks, as its surprising 2.0 release– which came out in November 2025--has banished any notion that this was in any way thin. The team at Brace Yourself Games have spent the last two years fleshing out every corner of this game, so while the time-based tactics stuff is still there and excellent, a lot of the campaign content, from pilots (who now have classes and traits) to improved menus to a much weightier overworld and mission roster, is now vastly improved.
Some of these tweaks and additions have come from the team, but others have come from implementing player feedback, like:
New salvage and debriefing menus, new mission previews and reward generation, reworked workshop and crafting, improved damage logic and prediction, new options and difficulty settings, comprehensive weapon balancing, subsystem reworks and much more!
If you never heeded anyone's advice to try this game out, and you are in any way into mechs, tactics games and/or the passage of time, you may as well now that it's even better. But even if, like me, you had played the game and liked it, it's a rare pleasure to get to experience a proper 2.0, No Man's Sky-like release like this, so Phantom Brigade's second time around (which is a free update for existing owners) is absolutely worth revisiting.
(I don't wanna get Steam salesman-y here, but it's also available as part of a bundle with Invisible Inc, one of the greatest video games of all time.)
