Phoenix Springs News

Hi there,

Just wanted to express our gratitude to everyone who played the preview. We’ve sensed some anticipation online, but as it stands, the late embargo means we have no idea how it will be received. Either way, it’s been a privilege to be the stewards of this world for the past seven years. It’s yours now.

A bit of housekeeping:

• I am currently pushing a small update (navigation fixes, handful of typos that will haunt me for many nights to come, Kickstarter backers whose names have changed during development).

• A good question from The Verge about the walkthrough/solution. Yes, it will be available in the public version. It links to this page, which is behind a soft paywall (email address). It’s designed to add a tiiiiny bit of friction before the spoilers and to replicate the experience of 90s hint lines. I suspect it might evolve as more guides become available online.

• Steam Achievements: there’s a lot of them! It’s a metagame designed for replayability. You’re unlikely to unlock more than a handful on your first playthrough, but I might go back to the drawing board depending on whether it’s playful or annoying.

• Optimisation: the game runs great on all supported devices. It is, however, on the heavy side (5GB). The hand-drawn animations are mostly to blame. I’m confident we can do better, but I’m scared to break everything right now. This will be for a later update.

Thanks again for your time and patience. We hope you enjoy your travels through our labour of love/experiment.

Jigmé @Calligram Studio

A couple of weeks ago, a select few press outlets got their hands on the first act of Phoenix Springs. We’re extremely grateful to all the journalists who took the time to play and write about our little experiment.

Here is a selection of our favourite quotes:

TheGamer

"…somehow manages the impossible in that it pays homage to the past while simultaneously embracing the future with a sleek, modern style and reimagining of classic point-and-click tropes…"
ScreenRant

"...feels a little like Disco Elysium (...) as it's both our world and our time, but also not of our world and not of our time. There's something intoxicating about that setup..."
GodIsAGeek

"I’m already hooked. It’s a point-and-click adventure that manages to streamline the investigative side to make it accessible, but the challenge is still threaded throughout everything you do."


Reminder that you can submit a key request for the big launch here.

We can't wait to hear what you all make of the whole game.

Calligram Studio

Phoenix Springs opens its doors on September 16th.

If you'd like to receive a reviewer key (no matter how big or small your audience is), please let us know!

A few options to register your interest:

• Fill out this form: https://t.co/0IHfwfS7N3
• Email directly: [email protected]
  
• Follow + DM on Twitter

You can also tag your favourite creators in this thread to let them know about the release.

Looking forward to welcoming you into our world very soon.

Calligram Studio

Hi there!

Phoenix Springs appeared in three (three!) SummerGameFest showcases last weekend, including Future of Play, Women-Led Games and Day of the Devs.

It's been an incredible opportunity to introduce "the prettiest detective game ever" to a mind-blowingly huge audience.

Here's the big news:

• Release date: September 16th
• PC, Mac, Linux
• Release trailer has been added to the Steam page.
• You can also watch it below 👇

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


I will compile a list of FAQs and post the answers in a community post. In the meantime, feel free to ask anything here or on Twitter.

It's finally happening, folks!

Calligram

Last two events before (we hope) the big news.

• London Games Festival official selection (Best of British)

• A MAZE Berlin nomination (Gender Diversity Award presented by WINGS)

We won't make it to the UK capital but will be in Berlin in person May 8th-12th. Do come say hi if you're about 👋.