PC Gamer - UK (2021-12)

P

hogsispossiblythe
greatestgameever
made,providedyour
criteriaforgreatest
gameis‘suitablefor
playing witha five-year-old’.I’ve
been playingPCgameswithmy
daughter sinceshewastwo,but
thus far it’s mostlybeenmeplaying
while she sitsonmyknee.

Now that she’sfive,she’sbegunto
want to play thegamesherself,which
is good becausethebloodsupplyto
my lower leghasbeensorely
diminished oflate.Yetwhiletonsof
games are technicallysuitablefor
ages 3+, that ratingonlyappliesto
themes and content.Itdoesn’tapply
to things like‘attentionspan’or
‘hand-eye coordination’,bothof
which are stilldevelopingatmy
daughter’s age.
Phogs, however,feelslikeit was
tailor made forplayingwithyoung
children. It’s agameinwhichyou
play as a dogwithtwoheadsandno
limbs exploringa hyper-saturated
series of magicalislands,solving
puzzles, and collectinggoldenbones.

Thegame’scolourfulworldand

gentlethemesareperfectforthe3-7

bracket,butequallyimportantis how

thegameis playedandstructured.

It’sa cooperativegame,witheach

playercontrollingoneheadofthe

phogs.Thecontrolsforeachheadare

extremelysimple.Youcanmove

aroundinfourdirectionsandbite

thingstograbholdofthem.Ontopof

thisis theabilitytomutuallystretch

thephogs’sharedbodylikea giant

rubberband– lessofa sausagedog

andmoreofa reticulatedpythondog.

“Small children and slapstick go

together like a coyote and a cliff ”

BITOFA STRETCH

Thethreeabilitiesareusedtosolve

puzzles.Forexample,thephogs’

bodycanactlikea hosepipe.Attach

oneheadtoa wateroutlet,andthe

waterwillsprayoutoftheother.

Crucially,there’snowaytofailin

Phogs. Therearenotrickyjumping

puzzles,nocombatorotherobstacles

thatrequirequickorprecise

movements–perfectforkids.

Phogsmaybesimple,butit isn’t

insipid.Thepuzzleshaveenough

meattothemtomakethemengaging

foranadult,whilethestretching

mechanicandthebaseconceptof

twoplayerscontrollingonecharacter

is novelandfun.Youwillconstantly

bedraggedtoplacesyoudon’twant

togo,butasanyonewhohasbeento

a softplayona Saturdaymorningwill

know,thisis a stapleofparenthood.

Alltold,Phogsis thebestparent/

childgamingexperiencethatI’vehad

sofar.It’scuteandaccessiblewhile

alsobeingnovelandgenuinely

interesting.A fewofthepuzzlesare

probablytoocomplicatedfora small

childtosolveontheirown,butthat’s

whatdadsarefor.

Finding felicitousfamilyfuninPHOGS!

NOCOMBATOROTHER

OBSTACLESTHATREQUIRE

PRECISEMOVEMENTS

RICKLANE

THISMONTH

Taughta smallchildhowto

leadcuteanimalstotheirdoom

ALSOPLAYED

DonutCounty,TheEternal

Cylinder

EXTRA LIFE

NOW PLAYING (^) I UPDATE I MOD SPOTLIGHT I HOW TO I DIARY I WHY I LOVE I REINSTALL I M U S T P L A Y
There are three worlds in
Phogs, themed around food,
bedtime, and the seaside.