Phantom: Covert Ops seems to have paddled its way to success, according to the CEO of developer nDreams.
In a tweet earlier this week, Patrick O’Luanaigh noted that he was “really pleased with the reaction and sales of Phantom so far. And incredibly proud to have hit #1 on both Quest and Rift.” Phantom was developed with the help of Oculus Studios, the publishing arm of Facebook’s VR team.
O’Luanaigh didn’t reveal sales statistics for the game, but Phantom has amassed over 500 reviews on the Quest store, which is a pretty encouraging sign.
And it’s well deserved, too; we think Phantom is a brilliant bit of VR sneaking. In the game, you play as an elite agent tasked with dismantling a Cold War-era Russian Naval base over the course of a single night by paddling through the surrounding waters in a kayak. Though the game’s mechanics are on the simplistic side, its VR-first design puts immersion right at its heart.
We said the game established solid footing for a stealth franchise for VR to call its own, so hopefully, we’ll be seeing more in the future.
“Far-fetched as it may be, Phantom’s fantastically immersive design makes for a VR mission well worth accepting, even if its campaign is shorter and simpler than hoped for,” we wrote. “But what it lacks in gameplay complexity, it often makes up for in its giddy role-playing, going a step beyond many other VR games to convince you that you’re really in its (admittedly daft) world. A deeper sequel with more advanced gameplay would elevate the series to essential status, but Phantom already navigates the rough waters of VR stealth better than most.”
What would you want to see in a Phantom: Covert Ops sequel? Let us know in the comments below!
