Phantom Doctrine

Phantom Doctrine is a turn-based strategy game from Polish developer CreativeForge Games, released in 2018 by Good Shepherd Entertainment. Its style draws from classic spy cinema and conspiracy theories.

Plot

Set in an alternate 1983, the Cold War features real brainwashing threats and secret organizations controlling world events. The player character, a former CIA, KGB, or Mossad agent, uncovers a global conspiracy called the Beholder Initiative. Beholder’s Project Iceberg aims to use computers to intercept and alter government communications in real time, enabling effortless societal control. The protagonist forms a team called the Cabal to oppose Beholder, recruiting members, investigating leads, and sabotaging Beholder’s operations while being hunted in return.

The Cabal eventually allies with a Beholder defector codenamed Cardinal, who reveals Project Iceberg is nearly operational. The Cabal locates its headquarters in Grenada.

Cardinal manipulates U.S. President Reagan into invading the island to occupy Beholder’s forces. The Cabal infiltrates and destroys the Iceberg HQ, killing Beholder’s leader. However, an epilogue shows many of Beholder’s goals—like the Soviet Union’s collapse—still come true, leaving the organization’s true fate ambiguous.

The Extended Campaign, unlocked after the first playthrough, reveals Beholder was a splinter group of the Komplex, a larger conspiracy that fuels military–industrial complexes. The Komplex covertly helped the Cabal destroy Project Iceberg. The minor villain Tai-Pan seizes control of Beholder’s remnants and reconciles them with the Komplex. The final mission, set in 1991, involves tracking and killing Tai-Pan, but the Komplex remains active.

Hideout

Gameplay combines global strategy management, intelligence analysis, and tactical missions. The hideout lets players manage resources, build facilities, hire agents, and assign tasks like crafting, forging money, training, healing, or analyzing intel.

Later facilities enable radio monitoring and brainwashing captured enemies. Danger level indicates how close Beholder is to finding the hideout; it cannot be reduced, only controlled. Activities like abandoning agents or recruiting double agents raise it, eventually triggering a raid unless the hideout is relocated.