{"id":231863,"date":"2024-06-13T14:50:50","date_gmt":"2024-06-13T14:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/13\/phoenix-springs-offers-breathtaking-beauty-in-a-desolate-neo-noir-world\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T17:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T17:17:12","slug":"phoenix-springs-offers-breathtaking-beauty-in-a-desolate-neo-noir-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/13\/phoenix-springs-offers-breathtaking-beauty-in-a-desolate-neo-noir-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Phoenix Springs offers breathtaking beauty in a desolate neo-noir world"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Take me to Phoenix Springs.<\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t make it all the way to the remote desert oasis and its mysterious community of misfits while playing the <a data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/phoenix-springs-possibly-the-prettiest-detective-game-ever-arrives-september-16-235408369.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Phoenix Springs;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>Phoenix Springs<\/em><\/a> demo at Summer Game Fest, but after spending a brief time in Iris Dormer\u2019s neo-noir world, I\u2019m desperate to get there. I want to find out what happened to Iris\u2019 brother, a man I\u2019ve only heard about in strange, sad tales. I want to hear Iris\u2019 voice articulating in my ear, providing brusque context for every scene. I\u2019m ready to get lost again in the game\u2019s sickly green shadows. I\u2019m wildly curious to find out what awaits me in the desert. Take me back.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Phoenix Springs\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/cT4AeauSlUEl2Jou8hZgvA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/0aa1b7f1-2914-11ef-bfb3-aa87df0e4045\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Phoenix Springs\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/cT4AeauSlUEl2Jou8hZgvA--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/0aa1b7f1-2914-11ef-bfb3-aa87df0e4045\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Calligram Studio<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>Phoenix Springs<\/em> is a point-and-click detective game starring Iris Dormer, a reporter who\u2019s looking for her estranged brother, Leo. Her search eventually leads beyond the city\u2019s crumbling skyscrapers and across the desert, to an oasis community called Phoenix Springs. Iris investigates the area and its people using an inventory of mental notes, collecting ideas instead of physical objects as clues.<\/p>\n<div class=\"caas-iframe-wrapper\" data-embed-anchor=\"1018eb42-929f-5b23-bcc4-2384935e17e1\">\n<div class=\"caas-iframe youtube\" style=\"padding-bottom:56%\" data-type=\"youtube\">\n<blockquote data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o3ynJ739_ts?rel=0\" scrolling=\"no\"><p><noscript><iframe title=\"Phoenix Springs \u2013 Release Trailer\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o3ynJ739_ts?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Summer Game Fest demo covered the game\u2019s initial stages, featuring Iris on a train and in the city, only teasing the oddities that might be hiding in the desert community of Phoenix Springs. Each scene in the game is a work of art and Iris is its historian, revealing threads of relationships and storylines as she reads documents and picks up information from strangers. In any situation, she has three options for interaction: talk to, look at, use.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Phoenix Springs\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/5Kp2ondY3.R.LofKBIB1Dw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/093140c0-26df-11ef-8b7f-9ee9c6c34eae\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Phoenix Springs\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/5Kp2ondY3.R.LofKBIB1Dw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/093140c0-26df-11ef-8b7f-9ee9c6c34eae\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Calligram Studio<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Iris\u2019 mental inventory fills with names, dates, places and obscurities as she unpacks boxes, searches the net and tries to speak with her brother\u2019s former neighbors. Leo\u2019s last address is a building that\u2019s been boarded up, abandoned by its landlords mid-remodel, and here she encounters the people that have been left behind. There\u2019s a young boy making a plant dance with some kind of electronic box, and a middle-aged man sprawled, unconscious, on top of a shipping container. They\u2019re called the orphans and neither of them are up for conversation. On the other side of the building, an intercom houses a separate voice that shares the history of the area, filling Iris\u2019 inventory with words. Selecting an idea allows Iris to investigate her surroundings with that information, narrowing her focus and often unlocking solutions. It\u2019s a clean and familiar investigation mechanic presented in a starkly beautiful format.<\/p>\n<p><em>Phoenix Springs<\/em> is gorgeous. Undeniably. Its canvas is menacing \u2014 dark green backgrounds are striped with even-deeper shadows, while pops of yellow, red and blue define the edges of important set pieces. The inventory bursts onto the screen as a bright white screen with black text, individual ideas separated by delicate thought bubbles. There&#8217;s a papery sheen to the entire experience, as if it&#8217;s an interactive interpretation of a mid-century sci-fi novel cover.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"caas-figure prestige-figure large\">\n<div class=\"caas-img-container caas-img-loader caas-breakout-shift\">\n<div class=\"breakout-img-container\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caas-img caas-lazy has-preview has-width\" alt=\"Phoenix Springs\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/yrR84NHWQaiB03A1O7DE9w--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/1b236050-2915-11ef-bbff-09793857b98e\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Phoenix Springs\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/yrR84NHWQaiB03A1O7DE9w--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTI4ODA7aD0xNjIw\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-06\/1b236050-2915-11ef-bbff-09793857b98e\" height=\"810\" width=\"1440\" class=\"caas-img has-width\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"caption-collapse\"><span class=\"caption-credit\"> Calligram Studio<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Where the game lacks color, Iris provides it via narration, and her verbal palette is just as stark as the game\u2019s appearance. She speaks dispassionately and with a posh nihilism that would feel at home in an Orson Welles detective noir. Her voice is comforting and foreboding, and it\u2019s a welcome, near-constant companion in the demo.<\/p>\n<p>In the middle of a busy trade show packed with compelling games, I wanted to keep playing <em>Phoenix Springs<\/em>, and that\u2019s pretty much the highest praise I can give. <em>Phoenix Springs<\/em> feels utterly unique. It\u2019s <a data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/1973310\/Phoenix_Springs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:coming to Steam;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">coming to Steam<\/a> on September 16, developed and published by London-based art collective Calligram Studio.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p><em>Catch up on all of the news from Summer Game Fest 2024 <\/em><a data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/summer-game-fest\/\" data-ylk=\"slk:right here;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><em>right here<\/em><\/a><em>!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/phoenix-springs-offers-breathtaking-beauty-in-a-desolate-neo-noir-world-130046288.html?src=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Take me to Phoenix Springs. I didn\u2019t make it all the way to the remote desert oasis and its mysterious community of misfits while<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":231864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231863"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/231863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/231864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=231863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=231863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}