Phoenix Springs Review (BOXman)
An ambitious point-and-click mystery game that tells a linear story through complicated artistic metaphors that are surprisingly not pretentious. I thoroughly enjoyed the game, until the ending.
Where the game just abruptly ends closing the game at 3 hours only. The reason I bring up the hours it took to finish the game is due to the feeling of unfulfillment I had in the end. For a $20 game that is highly linear and quite literally depends on the story in order to stand on its own two feet it fails to do so. Because many questions are left unanswered, many metaphors are just tossed into the air without a validation of their meaning causing many of them to become a red herring. I was enthralled by this story, I listened DEEPLY to every single opinion or fact IRIS said because she was written competently, a great example that is spoiler-free is "she's sunbathing, lizard-like". I have no idea why but that comment has latched onto my head. Iris sees the world in such a fascinating way that I was never bored with her. And yet, I'm disappointed because we don't get a full circle with her, The game ends abruptly and roll credits.
While I can piece together the story, it still wouldn't answer all the questions the game brings up. Aside from the bad taste the ending left in me I still recommend the game, The soundtrack is beautiful, unique and calming. The puzzles while mostly easy are fun and are integrated surprisingly well with the story, many point-and-click games sometimes push a puzzle as a roadblock, yet Phoenix Springs rewards you for paying attention to the comments made by Iris and the bizarre characters you meet. Rather than having you make leaps of logic to create progress in the story.
The gorgeous art style.
In conclusion for a niche unique point-and-click experience, I cannot possibly recommend this more. Though the game is short, and its shortness does harm the quality of the experience, the journey it provides is wonderful. I just wish they answered more questions than raising them, perhaps if this sells well we'll have DLC or a sequel. I'm already a fan of this studio and cannot wait to see more from them.
4/5