PHOGS! [Xbox]
Created and developed by Bit Loom Games, with Coatsink co-developing, PHOGS! is a super fun new game that can be played either alone or with a friend in local or online co-op, where you take control of an adorable two-headed doggo, named Red and Blue. There are three worlds to visit: Food, Sleep and Play, and each of these has six levels to play, and their own boss to find and deal with. They each have their own hub worlds outwith the main hub, and these are all designed to coincide with their theme.
Playing alone, you’ll take control of either side of the pup with each thumbstick. It seems straightforward at first, but pulling off some manoeuvres requires precision. When playing with a friend, you can either play with a single controller (each holding a side, and controlling one thumbstick) or a controller each, but you’ll need to make sure your communication is up to scratch as it becomes very easy to mess up and fall off the edge or not grab something on time to steady yourself. There’s also online co-op, but this can often lead to one side of the dog appearing to be more dominant, resulting in a bit of pulling, if one person moves too far from the other. Although, this is equally as possible when playing locally!
PHOGS! has a really cute and colourful aesthetic that looks gorgeous throughout. The cutesy look is very visually appealing and each world and the levels within have their own tweaks to the overall theme, with their individual hub worlds continuing this look. With a catchy soundtrack by Henry Pullan that is both playful and charming, it perfectly meshes with the worlds of PHOGS! and is really enjoyable to listen to. You can actually buy the Digital Album on Bandcamp for just £2, which is well worth the price.
Controls are straightforward, with everything being clearly explained to you during the tutorial world. Likewise, puzzles are pretty simple - although it is easy to overthink a solution instead of going for the faster, more obvious route. There are all different types of puzzles that you’ll come across, ranging from plants that need watered from a faraway water pipe; moving blocks to form a path or even activities such as bowling.
There are collectible bones hidden throughout the levels, amounting to 77 in total. As well as these, you can find 23 Boingles; little blue friends that once found, will keep you company in your bed back home. Using these Golden Bones, you can purchase hats for Red and Blue to wear, giving them an added bit of personality. These all give you incentive to keep coming back to levels, making sure you don’t miss anything out.
At £20.99 on the Xbox Store, it seems fairly well-priced for around 8 hours or so of content - but it’s currently also available at no extra cost to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, so it’s definitely worth a bash if you already subscribe! Even moreso if you have someone to play couch co-op with, as this feels the best of the available modes. Overall we had a great time with PHOGS! and had a lot of fun with it, so would really recommend you check it out.
In the end, we decided to give PHOGS! the Collecting Asylum rating of 8.5/10.
Have you played PHOGS! yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Coatsink for the PHOGS! Xbox review code!
