Phoenix Springs is nominated for the Herman Melville Award for Best Writing in a Game at the New York Game Awards 2024!!

Absolutely surreal to see our tiny project next to heavy hitters such as 1000xResist and Metaphor: Refantazio.

• You can find the list of all the nominees here[variety.com].
• More info about the ceremony on January 21st[nygamecritics.com].

Thanks everyone for your support and kind words!

Calligram x

🏆 Woohoo! Phoenix Springs wins the "Are Games Art? Yes, Of Course" Award at the 2024 TGAGWCAGA!

If you've missed it, you can watch the whole live stream with chat replay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prrLRWxntgg&t=7240s

What a fun event and lovely chat/community. Thanks so much and congrats to all the nominees, winners and organisers.

There is also an ongoing Steam event, so make sure you check out all the other amazing games mentioned:

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/45328769-The-Great-Awards-for-Games-With-Creative/sale/tgagwcaga

Internally, we often referred to Phoenix Springs as an experiment. We know it asks a lot of the player. It’s not for everyone. It’s not straightforward. It does things that maybe shouldn’t be done. Which is why it means so much to see that it resonates with some of you.

Your words have been incredible. I mean...

“A sleek, dreamlike noir that'll never give it to you straight. It's a captivating work, with mysteries I still feel desperate to solve.

“Beautiful, intriguing, an exploration on memory and perhaps hubris of wanting to never let go. Go in without expectations, with patience, and take the time to listen.”

“Indescribable, absolutely nothing like it. Played it in one sitting and i'll never ever be able to forget it."

“Beautiful and captivating art style, consistently compelling prose, incredible voice work. A remarkable work from end to end, deserving of replays and a lifetime of contemplation”

“Frankly, the aftertaste is similar to that of finishing a great novel. This relatively short piece of art channels favorite themes of Kazuo Ishiguro, Don DeLillo, and even, to some extent, Italo Calvino.”

“By the time the credits rolled, I felt further than ever from knowing the truth; but nor did I feel entitled to it.”

So thanks again for playing, losing yourself and, more importantly, taking the time to think about our little experiment.

Calligram x

P.S: Here's a list of links if you ever feel like revisiting the oasis:


• Fan theory thread on Steam
• Jigmé Özer’s interview with the New York Times[www.nytimes.com]
• 🇮🇹 Ludicamag: Il segreto di Phoenix Springs è nel suo simbolismo[www.ludicamag.com]
• Katie and Catburger: Phoenix Springs has a secret to tell you
• 🇵🇱 Grajmerki: TA GRA MNIE ZMIENIŁA. Phoenix Springs – recenzja gry
• Matt J. Wilson: A Deep Dive Into Phoenix Springs
• Jacob Price & Emily/Egg: Indie Impressions: Phoenix Springs[www.buzzsprout.com]

Really proud to announce that Phoenix Springs made it onto Vulture's list of the Best Games of 2024.
Ultros! Lorelei and the Laser Eyes! Indika! Iris is in great company.

You can read the whole list here[www.vulture.com].

Calligram x

You asked for it: there it is.

Relive the dream/nightmare of Phoenix Springs with our lovingly crafted six-track LP. Now available as MP3, WAV and FLAC.

Haven’t played Phoenix Springs yet?
The game + OST is available at a discount for a limited time only.

🎹 Phoenix Springs OST on Steam

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/app/3308160/Phoenix_Springs_Soundtrack/

🕹️+🎹 Phoenix Springs + OST

https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/bundle/46450/Phoenix_Springs__OST/

Happy playing,

Calligram ❤️

We're big fans of the Steam Deck here at Calligram.
So it is our great pleasure to announce that Phoenix Springs is playable on the handheld console!

However, please note that it's not fully compatible yet!

Here's how it works:

• Phoenix Springs is still a point-and-click game.
• The trackpad controls the cursor (you may want to adjust your sensitivity).
• The right trigger is your left click.
• The left trigger is your right click.
• The pause and menu buttons work as expected.

You can also touch the screen to click. It's a bit hard to select and combine items but it's doable.

We're still working on controller support.
Hopefully, the next update will show the game as Supported on the Deck🤞

Calligram Studio

A slippery exploration of memory, time and space (...) This elliptical game dares not to bend over backward to explain itself...

We're extremely proud to be featured in the Arts section of the NYT.
You can read the full feature and interview with designer/writer Jigmé Özer here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/15/arts/phoenix-springs.html


Calligram Studio x

We hope you enjoy getting lost in our world.

Calligram Studio

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[www.calligramstudio.com], 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