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Take me to Phoenix Springs.
I never made it to the remote desert oasis and its mysterious community of misfits. Phoenix Springs I played the demo at Summer Game Fest, and after spending some time in Iris Dormer’s neo-noir world, I’m dying to go there. I want to find out what happened to Iris’ brother, a character I’ve only ever heard of in strange, sad stories. I want to hear Iris’ voice ringing in my ear, providing a bleak backdrop to every scene. I’m ready to get lost in the game’s sickly green shadows again. I’m dying to know what awaits me out in the desert. Take me back.
Phoenix Springs is a point-and-click detective game starring Iris Dormer, a reporter searching for her estranged brother, Leo. Her search leads her through the crumbling skyscrapers of the city and across the desert to an oasis community called Phoenix Springs. Iris investigates the area and its people using a mental inventory of notes, gathering ideas rather than physical objects as clues.
The Summer Game Fest demo featured an early look at the game, showcasing Iris on the train and walking through town, offering a sneak peek at the strangeness that may lurk in the desert community of Phoenix Springs. Each scene in the game is a work of art, and Iris acts as its historian, reading documents and gathering information from strangers to uncover relationships and story clues. In any situation, Iris has three interaction options: talk to, look at, or use.
As Iris opens boxes, searches the net, and tries to talk to her brother’s former neighbors, her mental inventory fills with names, dates, places, and unknown information. Leo’s last address is a building boarded up and abandoned by its landlord during renovation, and here she encounters people left behind: a young boy making plants dance on some kind of electronic box, and a middle-aged man lying unconscious on top of a shipping container. They are referred to as orphans, and neither respond to conversation. An intercom on the other side of the building houses another voice, sharing the history of the area and filling Iris’ inventory with words. Selecting an idea allows Iris to investigate her surroundings with that information, narrowing her focus and often unlocking a solution. It’s a clean, familiar investigative mechanism presented in a very beautiful format.
Phoenix Springs is great. Make no mistake. The canvas is intimidating: a deep green backdrop is streaked with even deeper shadows, with pops of yellow, red, and blue highlighting the edges of key set pieces. Your inventory is displayed in black text on a bright white screen, with individual ideas punctuated by delicate thought bubbles. The whole experience has a papery sheen, like an interactive interpretation of a midcentury sci-fi novel cover.
What the game lacks in color, Iris makes up for with her narration. Her language is as vivid as the game’s appearance. She speaks calmly with a graceful nihilism worthy of an Orson Welles detective novel. Her voice is comforting and foreboding, and she’s a welcome presence that’s heard almost constantly in the demo.
In the middle of a busy exhibition packed with fascinating games, I wanted to keep gaming. Phoenix Springswhich is the highest praise I can give. Phoenix Springs It feels totally unique. Coming to Steam It was developed and released by London-based art collective Calligram Studio on September 16th.
Check out the latest news from Summer Game Fest 2024 here!