Phoenix Springs

Phoenix Springs is a surreal, sci-fi point and click adventure about a journalist looking for her younger brother. The reserved and minimalist tone created by the outstanding use of negative spaces in the striking art direction and sound design created one of the unique experiences I've played in the genre.

The story brought Lynch's Lost Highway to mind where it leaves you with more questions than answers by the time you reach the end. You can see there's enough clues left about that someone more intelligent than myself could piece together. Definitely needs multiple playthroughs if you want to do that.
Or you can just enjoy the trippy ride and maybe get the jist of things.

The puzzles were on the easier side. You connect concepts in the character's mind to things on screen. Was generally "logical" enough. There's an in-game guide in the pause screen if you get stuck.

My only gripe was that due to the art style not everything clickable was easy to see or just see at all. I had to hover the cursor over everywhere on the screen to see if there was something invisible I could interact with. A cycle or show-interactables key would be greatly appreciated.

So yeah, I do recommend this game to those who enjoy more experimental games.

This is a work of art, the animations and sound design in particular are absolutely stunning, I recommend playing this with your headphones to get the best effect.

Mechanically this is a traditional point&click adventure, some puzzles are a bit obtuse, but the devs provided a link in the game to a complete, spoiler-free walkthrough. Don't hesitate to take a peek if you get stuck, so as not to break the flow of the narrative. Treat it like a 4,5hrs experimental sci-fi film.

dreamy, gorgeous, smart

A somewhat abstract, unique point and click game that finds you investigating a mysterious oasis.
It was a really great play, would definitely recommend it.

A mesmerising game — from the core idea to its details, from the voice to the meaning of eternal re:birth. After the first playthrough, it seems as if I've only touched the surface of what lies hidden in its dark waters.
In my opinion, the inability to return to a certain moment is what makes this game so valuable.

I just finished this and loved it. It’s more like an deconstructed sci-fi novel than a game; for fans of Phillip K Dick, Gene Wolfe and anything quantum…

Huge respect and admiration to all at Calligram fStudio or making such a brilliantly absorbing, beautifully mysterious world.

Highly recommend for fans of Kentucky Route Zero and Norco.

This game absolutely rules. Cool art style, music fits the story and imagery very well, interesting twist on typical adventure game mechanics (having concepts of things that you use rather than actual items), an obtuse but compelling story set in a fascinating vision of the future. Weird as hell, and if you don't like ambiguity in your storytelling this may not be for you, but I loved it.

Okay, so I’ve read a few other reviewers’ opinions and as someone who has been obsessed with cracking the mystery of this game, here is what I would recommend:

DO NOT PLAY IF

• You want all your answers neatly wrapped in a bow
• You can’t deal with frustration and the odd obtuse puzzle
• You hate the pace and mechanics of classic point and click games

DO PLAY IF

• You want to experience something that no other game has ever done before
• You want to immerse yourself in a stunning work of art, including words, images and sounds
• You want to dig deep into the fan theories and layers and layers of meaning people like myself and others have found in the game…

Hope this helps other players here. All in all this is probably one my favorite gaming experiences of the year and I'll be first in line to buy whatever this team is cooking up next.

This is a bit of a mixed bag but ultimately end on the positive side. Gorgeous artstyle and great music but a gameplay system that's equal parts innovative as it is fiddly. On paper it's a great idea for a investigation game, but it's also slow and a bit cumbersome.

The writing is on point and tells a interesting mystery but the game also lack some things that are just baffling that they where left out. There are no manual saves (seriously devs, there is NO reason to not let the players save whenever they want). You can't even restart the game from the begining if you have started playing, yes you read that right. There is no way outside of manually deleting the save file from your computer to start from the beginning. Why? A chapter selector after you finished the game would help a lot if someone wants to pick up achievements or replay one specific part of the game to explore some more.

The game also automatically moves you to a new area (often when you have found the address of a new object in your investigation) and there isn't any way to go back. This is annoying for two reasons, first the games achievements consists of using one of your clues on something else, again, great idea for a mystery game. But they are pretty random (unless you read the names of the hidden achievements) and since you can't make manual saves you will have to start from the beginning (and you can only do that after you finished the game), but even if you don't care for achievements you do lose out on some background information if you accidentally trigger the scene transition before investigating everything.

So to summarize, it's strong points are what matters the most, (art, sound, writing) and the weaker parts are mostly about the UI, some quality of life issues and to some part the mechanics for the gameplay. A perfect example that a game needs not only artists, but also people who focus on the "boring" technical parrts of a game,

I have no idea what I just played. I couldn't tell you a single thing about the story after the 3rd chapter. At that point, the game goes downhill quick. The story is so hard to follow, I don't even think the developers know what the plot is. The game-play is painful. Iris moves incredibly slow across the screen, it discourages you from backtracking at all. The art style is very interesting but after about an hour the constantly moving texture elements give me a headache. The ending of the game makes no sense either since the story is so hard to follow. I'm not sure what sort of underlying message or theme the developers thought they were conveying but they missed the mark completely.

TL;DR - Story hard to follow. Makes no sense at all. Headache inducing textures.

I had been waiting to play Phoenix Springs for a long time, and I wasn't disappointed.

I love how the game foregoes a traditional inventory system to focus on topics instead, which makes all the sense considering Iris is a journalist. The premise of using said topics (or thoughts) to gather more information or unlocking new topics and realizations is also very fresh, just like the game's superb visuals.

I especially liked Iris's dry narration. As the game progresses, the droning of her voice becomes a companion to the story as much as the character of Iris herself. That the dialogue from other characters is also filtered through her point of view, as we never hear another voice during the entire game, is a stroke of genius. I also like that Iris's dry delivery prevents the game from getting too verbose, a fault I find to be too common in too many games these days.

The story gives the player ample room for consideration and interpretation. I'm not sure I got all of it myself, but I greatly appreciate that the game respect's the player's intelligence, trusting that the player will engage not only with the text, but with the environments and every other aspect of the work.

In short, I'd say we need more games like this, and I'm glad Phoenix Springs exists. I'll be thinking about it for a good time.

Beautiful. Haunting.
Will be thinking about it for a while.

The puzzles aren't logic-based so the game ends up being largely trial-and-error.

A beautiful and very strange game. Some locations you can explore more but if you find the way forward before doing so, exploring is lost. You can replay the game but it doesn't seem worth it. Very inetersting story but you are left with many many questions marks.

Fever dream with a great atmosphere. Wish the story was much lengthier, would enjoy getting lost in that world 2-3 times as long.

A gorgeous game that poetically neglects player’s time. Aka “How to Trick Humans by Brilliant Visuals and Extravagant Prose into Forgetting that They are Doing Nothing of Essence but Savoring Those Elements”. You’re going to like it, too. Cheeky developers.

There’s a simple set-up here – you’re an older sister, Iris, that’s in search of long-lost brother who might be involved in a serious scientific undertaking of a rather questionable character. That’s the only simple thing you’ll get in this game, the rest will be so lyrically/philosophically distorted that clinging to this simplicity of a set-up will be something you’d need to take a stab at what’s actually going on. It’s a dreamlike, surreal journey that leaves you in an almost permanent “what the hell is happening” state. I’m still not sure what happened. And I’m still not sure how I managed to enjoy it.

The puzzle element is part of a trickery. While classic in nature, it is somewhat unusual in implementation. We use Iris’ mind/memory as an inventory bar, and the “items” themselves are pieces of information we can combine with environment and other characters for dialogues. It’s quite clever, as the topics fade out once we find a solution, and new ones pop up when we learn something, circumventing the unavoidable awkwardness of carrying 54 items in our pockets or backpacks, as our trained adventure backs accustomed to do. The novelty of having thoughts about things and places instead of crowbars and keys is refreshing. It all comes together logically as well, and you’ll find plethora of options to combine thoughts with anything you’d like and get a unique response.

But here comes the question – do any of the things you do matter? Is there any purpose to all these ever-stylish combinations? Once a relatively intriguing first segment (that you’ll get to discover in the demo and a following chapter) passes, you’re hitting a full-on, liminal Wild West. Did all this gigantic map exploration in pursuit of solving an odd, but at least coherent task, navigating a band of peculiar inhabitants lead anywhere? Or is it a masterful and ruthless design that leads to you understanding of a total futility of everything you’ve just done? Is it trying to tell you something by analogy? The answer, like the truth, is out there. Subjective is the nature of the game.

What is not subjective, I hope, is the gorgeous picture presented in front of you. Deep hues of yellow and red and green frame the retro-like silhouettes with brilliant artistry. Unusual, captivating angles show you eye-stopping visuals with gusto. Combined with going-out-of-your-way cryptic prose, where nothing is remotely helpful (which Iris is aware of) and everything is so poetic that it comes across as a bit self-indulgent, it hits hard over your senses and makes you momentarily forget that you’re running around in circles, obliging borderline-psychopaths (are they even real?), getting nowhere fast. It also appears as too serious about its own self, and a bit of humor – deadpan, irony, absurdity, you pick – would have helped to make it more palatable. Alas. The tone is somber, melancholic and bleak, and it does give a perception of slight artistic pretentiousness despite trying really hard to “invoke something”. Or maybe because of it. Regardless, have you seen that rave scene? It’s magnificent. Here I go, being tricked again.

Speaking of rave – you’d think the game will pull all the stops into roping music to serve its artistic force, but it opts out for leaving you in silence (besides wholesome sound effects) quite often. Too often, in my opinion. I suppose, it’s meant to leave you contemplate - nothing can distract you from what you see and hear from Iris, it’s way too complex already, but I’d rather would’ve gotten distracted, though. It would take an edge off “all too serious” tone of the game, but I was left to ponder in silence. When it comes to Iris, by the way, it’s perfect. Her always tired, resigned and matter-of-fact voice is marvelous. Despite being the only speaking character in the game, she matches the tone of everything that’s happening to a T. Bravo, well-done.

Phoenix Springs, man. I played it, I marveled at it, I questioned it, I raised my eyebrow at it, I raged at it, and I was still largely satisfied with it. It’s peculiar and captivating, and it’s not for everyone. You know, I’m not a huge fan of abstract expressionism, but I can still divide it into two categories. One is where you stare at a painting of two blue lines on a white canvass, or a black square, a red triangle, paint simply spilling over white… And you think there must be a backstory to it, perhaps, something an artist experienced on some acid trip back in the days alone at home, and you’re left to decipher it not knowing any details. And then there’s a complex picture of shapes and colors and gradients and forms that all flow into each other and make you stop. Sure, you might not understand much of it, because you were on your way to marvel at classics, like Rembrandt, but you stop nonetheless, and you look and look, and you start pondering on something that wasn’t in your mind just a second ago… And now you’re successfully tricked.
Congratulations, Phoenix Springs, that’s exactly how you got me.

Haunting, fractured, brain-massaging. Interesting story that you can really dig into, even if it ends before any proper conclusion (which I guess is part of the point). Something to do with memories and personality transplant into new bodies - hence the name Phoenix Springs.

The inventory system of ideas or topics as items is pretty neat and makes you feel like a reporter - asking the right questions and gathering the right information open the way forward. Less about banging things together to see what works, and more about conversation and figuring out connections between things.

The visuals are beautiful and striking, and the music is haunting which really suits the vibe of the game. It makes you feel relaxed, confused and on edge at the same time, and I really dig it.

Great cerebral game that I wish lasted a little bit longer.

A mind bending funky adventure game with a heavy emphasis on the story. Instead of an inventory you carry words and concepts allowing you to interrogate the world, the people around you, and your own internalised thoughts. The only thing with it which caused some frustration is that the game has a habit of zooming you to the next location as soon as you figure out some critical information without you having any say about it. This made the narrative flow nicely but it also meant I constantly had to leave behind a lot of unexplored threads I had intended on following up on which made me feel like I missed a bunch of the story just because I combined concept A with X before I combined B with X for flavour. I assume it is meant for multiple playthroughs but it feels a bit annoying since from what I can tell nothing actually changes and I would have rather exhausted it in one go.

All in all though, well worth it in my opinion, it is a point and click that really tries something different.

love the artstyle and story. some point-and-clicks fall into the trap of feeling very hand-holding but, this one felt like you had a lot of freedom and room to breathe, as if you were actually in the story with Iris.

An amazing experience in all senses. The atmosphere is stunning thanks to the sparse sound design, the stylized visuals and the strangely detached but incredibly effective voiceover. The clue/concept system is a clever twist on the tradicional point and click inventory mechanic, and the story... well. The less said about it, the better, since the whole point is to discover it little by little and try to make sense of all the fragments. "Are games art?". When they are like Phoenix Springs, yes. Yes, they are.

Audio and visuals are beautiful. Vibes are off the charts. Story is compelling. Puzzles are solid for the most part (there were one or two instances where I felt I didn't know exactly what the game wanted from me, but I got through them with a bit of perseverance). Overall a great experience.

Great game

Please don’t ask me to explain what is going on in Phoenix Springs. Sure at surface level it’s a detective story about sometime trying to find answers about their brother’s disappearance. But about half way through there is this cracking of the egg moment where it is becomes obvious that everything is not what it seems.

The overall presentation in Phoenix Springs is fantastic. The art for every single scene feels unique and is always interesting to look at. The main character’s dialog is recorded with this slight digitized bite to it that pairs perfectly with the art. As you play the game you’ll pick up all these weird details and clues that suggest different things about the story being told. Even if you have an eagle’s eye and really pay attention it’s unlikely you’ll have a fully formed theory about what happened in Phoenix Springs even after your first full play-through. But it’s a story so mysterious and captivating that reading and talking about the game is almost as interesting as the actual gameplay.

The art direction on this game is insanely well put together, after a handful of minutes of playing this game I had to turn off all the lights in my room to ensure I didn't find myself pulled out of the experience.

a haunting, dreamlike, achingly cryptic poem of a game

stunning art design and backgrounds, striking use of colour and sound, superb narration from alex anderson crow

if you don't like wandering around, not sure what to click next, beware

the wandering is part of the contemplative tone

often almost frustrating with how obtuse the narrative can be, it's a trip worth taking and thinking about

8/10

Beautiful and unique

This is definitely Art to me. And very impressive art as well.

Though, I think it falters on one painful point: The UX/Feedback is poor to the point where frustration diminishes the quality of the experience sometimes.
It's minimalistic, which is nice and more immersive, but often also very unclear. It's often slightly confusing where you can walk to, like they're random invisible spots on your screen, no path, door, arch, whatever. But worse, interaction sometimes feels like randomly trying things until something goes 'click'. Not too often, but you'll get stuck for a while.

An example: At a point you'll need to do something twice or more, but the game never shows any clue that you should, and you can't progress if you don't.

This happened a few times and I think it may have been done on purpose, to emphasize certain components of the story. I'm on the fence. I think even in Art, you don't want to discourage or impede the player to much by breaking the basic rules of your own game.

Buuut the good devs were aware of this and provided a wonderfully mostly spoiler-free walkthrough on their website. Super nice, thanks you guys!

That said, I think Phoenix Springs is a fantastic work and I will probably play it again, because I don't think I fully understood what I just saw...

Highly recommend, but I gotta admit, my journey with the game didn't start so smooth: I was stuck at the very first screen. A familiar feeling from playing Point&Clicks years (decades?) ago emerged, as I caught myself brute forcing my way forward. I wanted answers and I wanted them fast, and that's really not what the game is asking of you. It seems to want you to be patient, to listen, to pause & come back, and I couldn't help but oblige. It felt very fresh, even though it's such a classic mechanic.
The art style is incredibly compelling to me, but I also loved the voice acting, the music & the setting of the story. Finding a solution is always rewarded with a gorgeous cut-scene. It also doesn't make things clearer than they need to be. I highly recommend surrendering to it and trying not to find meaning in every little corner.

Striking and strange. A game that maybe is more on the "artsy" side but has seemed to worm its way into my brain. I think about Iris and Leo CONSTANTLY. I think about the crying one and the silent one. I think about the DJ and the people dancing for 53 hours straight.

Although it's short on a single play through I can tell I missed a billion things. The atmosphere is weird and beautiful and I wish only to spend more time figuring more out. Understanding more of the world both in and out of the Oasis. It's all so strange.

I love it. 10/10

The voice over is perfect for Noirvember, and the visual style is stunning. Story so far is intriguing as well.

Phantasmagorical. Oneiric. Less of a point&click and more of an art house piece where the further down the rabbit hole you go the more the conventions of the genre fall apart. Seduced by the stylistic choices, I felt let down by the premise at the beginning, got frustrated by the gameplay by the middle and became extremely puzzled by the end, but at no point was I anything less than enthralled. I still don't know whether the game become more streamlined by the third act or if the rules of its narrative finally clicked for me to start making a twisted sort of sense. However, I do know that this is the cleverest thing I have seen in the medium lately, and I was happy to see the story become increasingly more surreal while never becoming pretentious - a tough balancing act. The game says very little outright and that might not be for everyone.
But it is for me.

Reminds me a lot of Kentucky Route Zero in the way in which it presents you with a reality that's just different enough from ours to feel completely engrossing, but also in the way it unfinchingly tells its story. Great environments (special mention to the transitions from noon to sunset) and outstanding voice acting. The writing is also impressive. Great game overall.

excellent game, really embraces the dream-like logic of classic point and click adventures and uses it to great effect. excellent voice work and artstyle as well

Really neat game. Having memories and ideas instead of an inventory is such a cool idea and I had a great time settling into the game play. The medium really served this story well.

I absolutely love this game. It hits a really specific place in much of what I love, from ambience and tone, to setting and story. The narrative of this game is absolutely fantastic, the way it is told is fantastic.

I have seen and read some criticism of this game that, to me, feels rooted in a real lack of curiosity and at times that's been disappointing to see. I feel like there is a great deal for a lot of people to love in this game.

Sure, there are moments "puzzle wise" that I think don't work as well as I'm sure the Devs would hope, but there is an included guide. Some may see that as a bad thing to need to include but I personally see it as a good thing, allowing you to enjoy the game at your own ability and understanding. If you can't figure something out then use the tips and get back to enjoying the experience.

If you like when a game gives you an experience, and gives you moments and questions to really think about and sink your teeth into them Phoenix Springs is absolutely right for you. A truly outstanding experience

It is a short game, leaving me with more questions than answers. These questions however, are asked in one of the most visually stunning and unique worlds I have seen in any game. The voiceacting and mesmerizing soundtrack has something hypnotic about it. I find the games core mechanic of collecting leads and combining them with any other element interesting, yet not fully realized to its potential. I found myself trying everything without much of a plan on two occasions, which was close to being frustrating, but not the biggest deal as trial and error will always reveal something interesting.

Beautiful game with interesting themes that I would love to see explored further at some point.

Very good contemplative point'n'click food. Not the most challenging, but the most weirdly captivating game I've played this year that's for sure. Stunning visuals as well and going for all achievements only gave me more food for thoughts.

Beautiful indie point-and-click. Must play if you are a fan of the genre!

Phoenix Springs is a short engaging point-and-click adventure game with stunning visuals and a mind-boggling narrative that will leave you perplexed and make you contemplate the nature of memories.

Played through the magical Phoenix Springs (twice) this week. A sleek, dreamlike noir that'll never give it to you straight. It's a captivating work, with mysteries I still feel desperate to solve. Some of the best writing and art direction I've seen in years. What a treat from Calligram Studio. An incredible debut. Cannot wait for whatever they plan for us next.

I enjoyed my time with Phoenix Springs for sure! In particular the artwork, sound design, voiceover work, and overall atmosphere were beautifully done and engaging.

I think it may be divisive for players in that there is quite a lot of walking from place to place, backtracking, back and forth. And while it was tiresome at times, it does reflect quite closely and drive home the game's plot and themes about repetition and monotony. If the linearity of life to death becomes obsolete and rebirth is possible, then it becomes an endless, confusing cycle.

I think the walking around was maybe exacerbated for me because I didn't realize there was a way to run until I finished the game (lol). However, I played on Steam Deck, and while everything was playable (with the little trackpad as a mouse), I wonder if the run never triggered. I feel like I definitely double clicked at least a few times when trying to go somewhere, but hey, maybe I didn't.

Anyway, def enjoyed the game and appreciated its take on the point-and-click adventure genre.

One of the best games of the year

well, that was different. Highly recommend!

Beautiful, intriguing, an exploration on memory and perhaps hubris of wanting to never let go. Go in without expectations, with patience, and take the time to listen. All is not as it seems in Phoenix Springs.

Point and click games are hard to get right, additionally, they are largely thankless work as they don't sell well. So i commend the devs for making this. This was a good game. The art work is enticing, enough to drag in a seasoned point and click player and give it a shot, despite how much garbage there is on the market. There is also some pretty profound dialogue in this game. Overall it is interesting enough to keep you playing, Takes about 3-5 hours to complete.

There are problems too, in fairness to any potential buyer, there is a lot of back and forth and retracing your steps, and the puzzles are a little esoteric at times. I think the game design itself fell over a little bit when you get to phoenix springs in this regard.

Overall, recommended.

Gdy tylko usłyszałam, że Phoenix Springs to przygoda typu wskaż i kliknij w klimacie neo-noir, wiedziałam, że muszę zagrać – ta recenzja to ledwie skutek uboczny tego imperatywu. Uwielbiam zarówno noir, jak i neo-noir. Ciężar, który te stylistyki ze sobą niosą, a który niemal zawsze pobudza do myślenia i rozważania życia, jest czymś, czego szukam w grach. Przekonajmy się zatem, o czym myślałam, grając w Phoenix Springs, i jakie wrażenie wywarła na mnie ta produkcja. Jeśli wolicie wersję wideo, zajrzyjcie na nasz kanał na Youtube.
https://grajmerki.pl/phoenix-springs-recenzja-gry/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVwk-urMDAE

Indescribable, absolutely nothing like it. Played it in one sitting and i'll never ever be able to forget it. Worth double or more of the current $20 price tag if accounting for its impact, do not skip this.

First and foremost - Phoenix Springs is absolutely *gorgeous* - I fell head over heals in love with each and every frame of this game. Beautifully drawn, colored, animated, and paced. Absolutely classic.

And then.. THEN there's the absolute ground breaking rethinking of the point-and-click adventure - the detective mind-map exploration may be the best implementation of [inventory item 1] + [object] I've played. Point and click master work.

I've already completed the game outside of Steam, but woahhh is it nice to see achievements popping up from my exploration.. and.. *seventy eight of them* whattttt is this! :D

A+++ absolutely love this game, so so so very glad to have stumbled across it. Do yourself a favor and give it a spin.

Definitely don't have a full grasp on the story after finish but the vibes are immaculate. Also collecting words instead of items was a very nice twist.