A small cog in the machine.

The game transports you to the dystopian city of Phonopolis, where its inhabitants are subjected to relentless mind control. Loudspeakers mounted throughout the city broadcast an endless stream of sound, compelling citizens to carry out specific tasks while suppressing any trace of independent thought. Naturally, this carefully maintained order is enforced by a trained militia that crushes even the slightest sign of rebellion and throws dissidents into prison.

The protagonist, a scruffy young man named Felix, is just as trapped in this predetermined existence as everyone else. Everything changes, however, when he discovers a pair of headphones in an abandoned opera house. The moment he puts them on, he finally experiences silence and, with it, the ability to think for himself and resist the omnipresent propaganda.

This discovery gradually leads Felix to uncover the truth about the city and the regime controlling it. He soon realises he is not the only free thinker left. Hidden among deserted alleyways and piles of junk are brilliant minds, professors who, like him, sought the truth and became targets of the regime themselves. Together with these outcasts, Felix sets out to restore the citizens’ freedom of thought.

The sad fate of intellectuals in Phonopolis.

The story, clearly influenced by writers like George Orwell and Franz Kafka, resonated with me deeply, mainly because it offers such sharp insight into the modern world, where so many people fill their lives with constant noise that they seem to have lost the capacity for genuine thought. What I also appreciated was the game’s subtle sense of humour, which helps balance the weight of its themes beautifully.

Mechanically, Phonopolis feels much closer to Creaks than Machinarium. Rather than being a traditional point-and-click adventure, it plays more like a puzzle game built around a variety of environmental challenges. You might rotate and align geometric structures, rearrange rail carts, or activate intricate mechanisms. Whenever the puzzles relied on actual logic, I had an excellent time working through them. The mechanics involving dragging and manipulating objects are especially satisfying.

True story, bro.

Unfortunately, there are moments where logic alone is not enough. Some puzzles become frustratingly opaque, leaving you with very little indication of what the next step should be to activate a mechanism. At those points, the only real solution is trial and error, clicking, dragging, and experimenting with everything in sight until something finally works. That lack of intuitive logic in certain puzzles is probably my biggest criticism of the game. Beyond that, and since we are already talking about flaws, there is also very little replay value.

Phonopolis has marvellous visuals. Its hand-drawn environments and characters look phenomenal, almost as though they were crafted from cardboard. The colour palette is equally impressive, giving the game a visual identity that feels entirely fresh and unlike much else in the medium. Beyond the art style itself, the animations are wonderful, adding to the game’s peculiar charm and that touch of grotesque whimsy that has long been a hallmark of Amanita Design’s work. It is fantastic to see the studio continue creating games that feel so unmistakably original.

Moreover, the game features wonderfully atmospheric and unconventional music, and the developers have also included full voice acting. Felix speaks with a cautious calmness and subdued restraint that contrasts brilliantly with the overwhelming cacophony of loudspeakers echoing throughout the dystopian city.

A sleeping beauty on the antenna.

Phonopolis lasts around four to five hours, which feels like the perfect length for a game trying to communicate such meaningful themes while fully immersing the player in its audiovisual artistry. Not every puzzle is as polished as it could have been, but this is still a powerful and thoughtfully crafted indie title. I am genuinely excited to see what Amanita Design comes up with next.

Phonopolis is available now on PC.

Reviewed on PC.

A Copy of Phonopolis was provided by the publisher.