Phonopolis Review

You know that friend, colleague, or person who is quirky, a bit different – but cool as fuck? Well that’s Czech developer Amanita Design. In fact, I’m pretty sure Amanita is the collective noun for cool as fuck (it’s not, but it should be). The studio’s latest release, Phonopolis, is another quirky and satisfying puzzler that once again proves that no one makes games like Amanita Design.

Set in the titular dystopian and totalitarian city where loudspeakers control the population with brainwashing propaganda, you play as Felix, a worker whose job collecting and discarding items leads him to find the loudspeakers’ kryptonite: noise-cancelling headphones.

You see, the city’s regime is planning to play what they call the Absolute Tone – a broadcast designed to strip what’s left of the citizens’ humanity, turning them into mindless servants. But thanks to his noise-cancelling headphones, Felix discovers this plan, and with his newfound desire for freedom, he endeavours to stop the Absolute Tone from being played and save Phonopolis, all within the same day.

Narratively, it touches on themes like social oppression and individualism, and you’ll get whiffs of inspiration from George Orwell and Franz Kafka, but it’s full of Amanita Design’s signature idiosyncrasies, bizarre characters, and oddball humour to lighten the subject matter’s mood. I mean, there’s a department for “request denials.” It’s politically charming in a way that makes you understand the message, but also with enough wit that it could be a show on the ABC.

Unlike previous Amanita Design games, Phonopolis has voice acting, with Felix narrating his own journey, while also interacting with a handful of characters he comes across. It’s a nice addition and gives Felix the ability to add further depth to the narrative that can be lost when characters don’t have a voice.

If you’ve played an Amanita Design game previously you know what to expect – a linear environmental puzzle-driven adventure with some point-and-click DNA thrown in for added flavour. In Phonopolis, each puzzle is a self-contained level, and although some items acquired are used across levels (you can only hold one at a time), there’s no need to backtrack.

But that doesn’t mean that it’s easy. Most of the puzzles have enough logical thread to pull on that you can work out how to solve them. Usually it involves a bit of trial and error – pull on this thing, flick this switch, or activate this mechanism, but it’s the kind that keeps you progressing forward, slowly feeding you gratification while keeping you guessing for long enough before you have that “aha” moment.

And there are some cracking puzzles too. One of my favourites has you forcing a couple out of their apartment by playing with one of the room’s walls, while another is a musical puzzle where Felix must play the right organ tones to obtain the correct attire to enter the city’s fancier section – the Avant-Garde Quarter. Best of all, the puzzles have a ton of variety, so you never feel like you’re doing the same puzzle endlessly, even if the formula feels similar.

However, some puzzles feel like you’re simply trying every possible action until it works. It can be frustrating, perhaps even more so given they’re self-contained levels, but if you’ve been stuck for a while, Felix will give you a subtle nudge in the right direction (I can feel adventure game veterans shaking their heads in disappointment). Thankfully the game’s 4–6-hour runtime means that these weaker moments don’t overstay their welcome.

Somehow we’ve made it this far without talking about the art style. Nothing showcases Amanita’s artistic talent more than Phonopolis’ visuals, which were painstakingly handcrafted using real-life cardboard sets that have been digitally deployed as explorable dioramas. Even the characters are made from cardboard, and the stop motion-style animation is excellent, making the whole thing even more impressive.

It’s far from style over substance though, with each location jam-packed full of detail –even the fluting of the cardboard is visible. Every part of the game has been conceived to maximise the impact; whether it’s the propaganda posters plastered everywhere, the city’s Soviet Union meets Play School vibe, or the use of colour, it’s all very considered.

Working in tandem with the art style is the game’s phenomenal soundscape, which further emphasises Phonopolis’ personality. Whether it’s the eclectic soundtrack that assists the puzzles or simply sets the mood, or the bangs and clanks that accompany Felix’s adventure across the city, the sound design team has earned their paycheque.

Final Thoughts

Phonopolis may have taken more than a decade to make, but Amanita Design’s talents are once again on full display. Its incredible handcrafted world made of cardboard makes for one of the most impressive games I’ve ever seen artistically, and then there’s the puzzles and sound design that combine expertly, even if the puzzles don’t always make sense. Still, there’s no one else who makes games quite like Amanita Design do, and Phonopolis is another cracker that adventure fans must Czech out.