Let me start by being blunt, I liked Phoenix Springs. This is an interesting point-and-click adventure game. But, I’m worried that this is something that most people will not enjoy for one clear reason: the story is puzzling. Think of this as if you’re watching a Lynch film. I finished the game, but I still can’t properly describe what transpired. Some will love that, while many will find that annoying.

Where is Leo Dormer?
Phoenix Springs focuses on the character Iris Dormer, who is trying to find her brother Leo. She hasn’t been in contact with her brother for years, so trying to track him down won’t be easy. You begin in your apartment with some basic information and you need to find the last known address. Once you have that, then you need to see if he’s still there or if you can find out where he went.
Unlike most modern games, Phoenix Springs doesn’t start you off with a tutorial. There is some expectation that the player understands how point-and-click adventure games work. Thankfully, the has you complete easy tasks with little room for mistakes. It’s only once you get to the third “location” where you can explore and potentially get lost in what you have to do next.
Iris can do three things: Talk to, Look at, or Use. As she does all three she also triggers key phrases which she’ll need to connect to piece things together and advance the story. In an early section at her brother’s old house, she begins a conversation with the neighbor. The neighbor will make mention of certain words. In turn, you will use those words to interrogate the orphan kids living for more information. As you piece things together, you open the next area to explore.

Getting stuck in a loop in more ways than one
While the first hour of the game is linear, that changes in the third area. You arrive at Leo’s university. It’s a now abandoned institution, but it appears that Leo had quite a presence there. It’s in this section where the game begins to throw some red herrings at you. There is a lot to discover. Trying to determine what is and isn’t important might cause some frustration.
Because Leo wasn’t at the old address, you need to find his current address. Doing so requires the player to piece a lot of things. At the same time, there is one specific action that you must perform and it’s easy to miss. I thought there was a bug until I discovered that I could interact with a slide projector. It contains some important information that helped me progress the story.
There are more areas in the game like that in the game. When you finally do arrive at the titular location, find a massive area with a lot to explore. Getting around this section can be a tad frustrating since the entire area loops around. I wanted to reach the village, but I went the longer way. It’s a tad annoying but expected in these types of adventure games.

What the heck is happening?
When you reach Phoenix Springs, the story starts to go in some wild directions. This doesn’t come as any surprise, as the game begins with a misdirection and it happens a few times after that. I don’t want to go into spoilers but as I stated in my intro paragraph, I doubt I could summarize the plot very well.
As someone who can appreciate “WTF” experiences, this kept my attention throughout. It helps that the developers did a good job of putting a lot of life into Iris. She always has something to say and she gives us a lot of information to help us try to piece together what to do next. The game encourages exploration. There is a lot of misdirection here and the game rewards you with some great quips. If her character was dull, then this wouldn’t be a great experience.
But I can also see how that might frustrate some players. The misdirection and the uncertainty of what’s happening will turn off a lot of people. There is a key event that happens at the game’s midway point. When some people reach this moment, they may say ‘ok, I’ve had enough of this…” and not want to progress. It’s not an upsetting moment, but it does reinforce the “what the heck is going on here?!”

Not for everyone but that’s fine
Again, I don’t know if Phoenix Springs will appeal to a wider audience. This isn’t an overly difficult game and it encourages exploration. But, the noir nature of the story may only work for certain people. I’m glad I got to play it and would easily recommend it to those who enjoy these types of games. At the same time, if you’re looking for something different, this is also worth checking out.
I received a pre-release copy of this game for review purposes.