Phoenix Springs is a title that will be remembered for its high-concept brilliance, much like the iconic games of my generation: Monkey Island, Shenmue, and Pyjamarama . It's an artistic masterpiece that captivates from start to finish, with awe-inspiring illustrations and intricate semantics. This is why it has been on my watchlist for some time.
Now that it's in the ether, how does it fare? Believe it or not, I had no expectations for this, mostly fearing disappointment, so it was an absolute delight when I got stuck in. Feeling that there was not much point spending time on the sections from the demo, the game plan was to storm through to the familiar to discover what happened to Leo Dormer, protagonist Iris' brother, and perhaps head to Phoenix Springs within the first act. Alas, the artwork got the better of me, and Alexandra Brown's laser-precision delivery of lines snared me within seconds. Am I an 'M' in this relationship?
Phoenix Springs Review
That said, there's little to interact with in the opening scenes of Phoenix Springs besides an apartment, a slice of suburbia and a derelict university. However, the lack of a hotspot option to indicate points of interest and an inventory system of keywords means that experimentation is vital. Hovering the mouse cursor over screen real estate often leads to nothing, though one could appreciate the design more; the animated textures and exquisite use of colour theory made Phoenix Springs resemble a vinyl collection of interactive album covers. Every scene could be a snapshot from an EP, at the very least.
Back on track, Iris is looking for her brother. As an investigative journalist, she knows the game and how to compose a sentence, and that time is undoubtedly of the essence. How I already envy her. Interacting with an object or combining items from the vocabulary inventory reveals meticulous monologues, omitting all bloat and almost all sense of emotion. Iris is an enigma. Surprisingly, she isn't A.I., but her delivery is cold and sometimes devoid of humanity. Are you even rooting for her? Yes. Phoenix Springs is an evidence-based adventure game about intrigue rather than pixel hunting and rubber chickens with a pulley. That's no disrespect to my allegiance to point and click games as this isn't a conventional one, but it's still within the vicinity of it.
Source: Steam
Keyword Planner
That inventory system is a series of clues that Iris unlocks through progress. Starting with the catalyst, you can select her brother's name, 'Leo Dormer', and combine it with items on the screen, NPCs, or even Iris for her perspective. If there's a match, another clue is unlocked, thus giving access to further hints. While there are no visible objectives, this is a minimalist game; once you have uncovered the correct clue, an arthouse-style transition will occur, and Iris will teleport to a new location. No maps, no fast travel - this is literally narrative-driven. As a film scholar (could that be any more pompous?), I'm well aware that the best transitions should be seamless and unnoticeable. The reason for detecting these changes in location is simply for their beauty. It's a cinematic marvel.
But here at the BBC, we have to give a balanced view and be careful not to gush at all the bits we adore and instead pick at some 'constructive' scraps. Due to the nature of the evidence, a lot of the time, clues and their combinations aren't intuitive, and there will be more than a fair share of pixel hunting and 'combine everything within your inventory' situations. Phoenix Springs isn't an exception to the model, and the illogical parts have a fair amount of frustration. It's an intelligent game, and depending on your levels of humility, intimidating. Nevertheless, it's a thoroughly entertaining experience; my only minor reservation is I'd hope to embellish some of my progress as the scenes can jump quite sporadically.
Evolution Of The Point And Click
Phoenix Springs is among the alumni of all decent point and click adventure games with many locations, and Iris gets to travel a fair bit. While writing this part of the review, I have the game running and admiring one of the scenes where leaves are gently falling, paper is blowing in the wind, and Iris is awaiting her next command and likely to follow up with a response that would take me 776 words to communicate.
Why not save this for the title screen or credits? Fortunate enough to receive an early review key, I've seen the achievements go from 2 to 69, to 100, and then down to 87. Not everyone is motivated by these things, though any point and click adventurer will be thorough in their endeavours. Even so, to unlock all the achievements in the first playthrough is nigh on impossible. That begs another playthrough, right?
Phoenix Springs Review Summary
At the time of writing, I'm halfway into a Phoenix Springs walkthrough and still debating whether to finish it. There's no way I'd aim to do a 100% achievement list as there's too much depth, and playing the game becomes formulaic and worse - a chore. Besides, writing a guide takes an age, and for what purpose - to boost traffic a little to get seen? That might be how you found this site in the first place. As you're here, let me tell you just how amazing Phoenix Springs is: GOTY? Quite possibly.
