Go to Phoenix Springs

I originally wrote this article for the Italian website Outcast.it

Phoenix Springs is a liminal space, an oasis, a village shrouded in mystery. Where's the truth? How are bioethics, student protests, memories, and family bonds connected? "Don't go to Phoenix Springs" you'll hear, repeatedly.

If you had told me that in 2024 I would have played one of my favorite point and click adventure games, I don't think I would have believed you. But with no hesitation Phoenix Springs barged in my "possible GOTY" list, with a masterful art direction, a type of storytelling that always has one foot in reality and the other in fantasy, and a gameplay that elegantly embraces tradition and modernity.

The very first few minutes bring to mind Another World: in the shoes of Iris Dormer, we are tasked to find our estranged brother Leo in a not-too-distant future; a future that we know very little about other than its presumably dictatorial nature. The stage dressing is clean and minimalist, and without even noticing we jump from one scene to another as if we were flipping through the pages of a novel. The small British-French team Calligram Studio (a three-person art collective) manages to morph their 3D implementation into a drawn-like flat art style that reminds me of the school time when I'd draw with my Uni Posca markers on thick paper. Dark contours are met with four or five colors impeccably used in every single screen, going from small dark rooms, to desolated neighborhoods and infinite deserts. Everything is always accompanied by a soundtrack that is there but sometimes not, it disappears and resurfaces during the most crucial moments.

The first few interactions with the surroundings are hypnotizing: I believe it's the mix between this unique art style and the VO direction, with a protagonist that always speaks softly, in a monotonous manner, her voice blending in the soundscape in the most magnetic way. Iris is the true narrator, sharing her thoughts but also verbalizing what other characters are saying. It's a smart choice both from a game production point of view - keeping the costs low - as well as from a narrative one: Phoenix Springs' goal is to wrap us around the mental labyrinth of the protagonist's doubts and uncertainties. This labyrinth also takes shape in the form of our inventory: we have a mental luggage filled with clues, names, acronyms and ideas that can be used to create deductions and move forward in the adventure. It's not a super brainy investigative adventure, everything flows smoothly and the game takes care of doing some automatic cleanup when necessary. And if you happen to get stuck, there is literally a button in the UI that opens up a walkthrough on the developer's website - another smart and efficient choice.

What truly elevates Phoenix Springs is the mix between its writing style (often mysterious, melancholic, and at times evocative) as well as the narrative context created by the team: at times it all seems normal, then everything becomes impossible. You think you understood, then your truth shatters to pieces. In a bit more than 5 hours we got to the ending credits, somewhat moved and with the same feeling you get when you listen to a record you know you won't forget, or when you read a beautiful poem believing you have found your own interpretation. But without any hesitation, heart in hand, we jumped back in the game, Reborn, and blazed through the adventure again in more or less another one and a half hours. The picture is clearer, but still shrouded in its own fascinating and mysterious aura. And, like a kind of magic, we meet the credits roll for a second time, and it's still as moving as the first time, leaving me with a wonderful sense of awe. Phoenix Springs is a place you don't forget.