Phoenix Springs

An interesting experience. The art style is unusual and gives the game a unique atmosphere. The soundtrack is minimal and sparse, but suits the detached, ethereal feel of the narrative and visuals. The story is really quite obtuse, you get little in way of a real understanding of the narrative and place you find yourself in. This does eventually resolve at the end of the game, but many of the details are left for the player to infer. I think I understood the broad strokes of the plot and found it quite clever, if extremely ambiguously presented. My interpretation of events could be entirely wrong, of course! Gameplay-wise it's a short and punchy point and click where, instead of objects, you collect thoughts and memories. Examining and combining them with the environment, each other, and NPCs to solve narrative puzzles. It's a neat idea but not exactly intuitive. I found I had to consult a walkthough once or twice to aid progression. Overall I would recommend this if you enjoy po...

There is a way for point-and-click adventures to both engage the player and make them feel smart, and this is not it.

Great art and voice acting, puzzles are satisfying. Story is abstract to the point of frustration ultimately making the game an unrewarding experience.

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I was fine with this game until the ending, which isn't really an ending and gives no closure at all.

Such an interesting style of gameplay and story. Loved it, still confused (in the best way).

Phoenix Springs is quite unique in terms of artistic expression. Its moods and imagery are distinctive, leaving such an impression that I found myself reflecting on them days later. Unfortunately, the storytelling and gameplay fall short. The interaction and problem-solving lack much of a logical progression, hence providing little sense of accomplishment, and the narrative is too cryptic and obscure to feel satisfying.

Difficult recommendation: Phoenix Springs has a fantastic story that invites you to slow down and think of the connections between its pieces. It excels as a narrative that rewards the observant and the imaginative. I personally really quite enjoyed the story Phoenix Springs has to tell! However, it baffles me why Phoenix Springs is a game. The connections I have made in my head between pieces of evidence was often hamstrung by how frequently the game wants you to make the connections as explicit as possible - something that moves contrary to its general narrative and themes. The replacement of a traditional inventory as ideas or topics was refreshing at first, but the way that it is executed in the game requires a lot of trial-and-error, even for connections that may be obvious to the player. In general, I found the university to be a source of a lot of my frustration. As a spoiler-free example, imagine you have the idea of a person's name. You read a note that mentions this person ...