The Phantom Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Cartoonishly Beautiful

Rating: 7.4
Author: Jim Smale

by Jim Smale · March 25, 2025

Step into the action-packed world of our The Phantom review, a visually stunning side-scrolling beat ’em up that promises an exhilarating blend of stylish combat, vibrant cartoon-like graphics, and immersive gameplay modes. Whether you’re curious about its unique mechanics, unlockable content, or cooperative features, this review delves deep into what makes this game tick, both its triumphs and its challenges. Keep reading to uncover everything you need to know before diving into this 2.5D adventure and find out if The Phantom truly lives up to the hype!

The Phantom Review Pros:

Beautiful cartoon-like graphics.
1.67GB download size.
Six trophies.
Screenshake on/off.
The Vault lets you look at Artifacts from the game and get a brief description of them.
Three game modes to unlock – Story, Arcade, and Outlast.
3 save slots.
Three game difficulties – Easy, Normal, and Hard.
Two playable characters – The Phantom and Diana.
Supports two-player coop locally.
2.5D game World.
Side-scroller beat ’em up gameplay.
A combo counter that also shows damage.
A wide variety of attacks and combos that are relatively easy to pull off.
End of level breakdown showing kills, marks, longest streak, total hits, and time taken.
Cutscenes are integrated into the game and are seamless.
The cutscenes are comic book style with pop-ups.
Many breakable like crates, that can drop money and weapons.
Pick up and use weapons for a short time.
Environmental hazards can trigger when playing a level.
A voiced cast in the cutscenes.
Fast loading times.
When resuming a save, you can change character if you want.
You can see enemy health bars and names when attacking them.
Cutscenes can be skipped.
Aside from melee combat, you can also call forth help from the animals, and some heavy hit combos can trigger a comic book pop-up that looks really cool. You have a gun with limited ammo.
Cool locations.
A bit of variety with auto-scroller stages.
Big boss encounters.
Once you get into a flow with the combat, the game opens up quite a bit, and it’s really fun due to cool animations.
A Game over will restart the current level.

The Phantom Review Cons:

No Platinum trophy.
You cannot remap the controls.
No online con op.
Arcade mode is locked and needs to be unlocked.
You cannot pause the game and look at the controls.
Movement is slow and kind of sluggish when combining it with combat.
Crowd control is quite tricky and can be frustrating.
Sometimes it can be hard to block attacks.
Lining up attacks can be a game in itself.
Hitting downed enemies isn’t always ideal.
There is little enemy variation, so you see the same enemy type over and over.
Boss fights are the same but just reskinned.
I got to a level and quit out, but when I came back, it put me a level before the one I got to.

The Phantom:

Official website.

Developer: Art of Play

Publisher: Art of Play

PlayStation

8/10

Graphics - 8/10
7/10

Sound - 7/10
7/10

Accessibility - 7/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
8/10

Fun Factor - 8/10

7.4/10

Summary

The Phantom game boasts a visually striking presentation with beautiful cartoon-like graphics and a seamless integration of cutscenes in a stylish comic book format. Players can explore the 2.5D side-scrolling game world, engaging in beat ’em up gameplay featuring a variety of attacks and combos that are easy to execute. Cool animations enhance the combat experience, making it satisfying once you find your rhythm. Additionally, the game offers three different modes—Story, Arcade, and Outlast—and three difficulty levels to suit various playstyles. Features like The Vault, where you can view and learn about in-game artifacts, add depth to the experience, while three save slots provide convenience. Other positives include fast loading times, detailed end-of-level breakdowns, and local two-player co-op for shared fun.

Players have the option to play as The Phantom or Diana, both of whom can call forth help from animals or perform heavy-hit combos that trigger impressive comic-style pop-ups. The game also has big boss encounters, environmental hazards, and the ability to pick up weapons for short-term use. Additional touches like the ability to view enemy health bars and change characters when resuming a save add to the player experience. The diverse locations and variety, including auto-scroller stages, keep things engaging.

However, there are some drawbacks. The movement can feel slow and sluggish, especially during combat, and crowd control mechanics are tricky and frustrating at times. Blocking attacks and lining up combos can be challenging, while enemy variation is limited, leading to repetitive encounters with reskinned bosses. The inability to remap controls, pause the game to check them, or play in online co-op is a noticeable oversight. Some progression issues can arise, such as being placed at the wrong level after quitting. Moreover, the absence of a Platinum trophy might deter completionists.

In conclusion, the game shines with its charming art style, fun combat, and creative design, though its flaws—such as sluggish movement, limited enemy variety, and progression glitches—may hinder the overall experience. Despite its shortcomings, the game is an exhilarating ride that delivers thrilling moments and vibrant visuals. As the back-of-the-box quote might say,

“A kaleidoscope of colors and chaos—action-packed fun that punches above its weight!”