[Review] Phogs! - Nintendo Switch

Developed By: Bit Loom Games
Published By: Coatsink
Categories: 3D Platformer
Release Date: 12.03.20

Imagine you have a game like Noby Noby Boy. Then turn it into a 3D platformer. Still with me? Now add dogs. Dogs stuck together. Recipe for success.

It’s a bit of an awkward control setup. The shoulder buttons and sticks are all you need, controlling each dog. Each of the dogs has a bit of weight to them and they can get stuck on things. Bite down to grab things, if there’s nothing there, the dogs just bark. I like to make them bark to music when just moving around. Say you can’t quite reach something, then just stretch those dogs away. The obstacles and puzzles all revolve around these mechanics, but each level has it’s own way to keep it from getting stale.

There’s a good variety of level themes for worlds to go in. A snack themed world for instance. There’s food to eat, water spouts to hook onto with one dog and have the water come out the other to water a plant to grow. My favorite with an impromptu food eating competition. You even find these hot peppers that make the dogs breath fire which can even be used to make popcorn, which you can also eat. It’s only one of the worlds, but I adore when games have food themed worlds, it’s always a highlight. The other worlds, Dream and Play aren’t slouches and Dream arguably has the better look and design, but I just love food themes in games. It really pushes home the fiction aspect of stuff.

There’s a lot of levels, which is great. The levels are also of pretty good length, also great. What kind of creates an issue is the funny controls in these levels. It’s a tad exhausting when levels almost feels like they’re dragging just because it’s not a standard. The controls make the game unique however, so it is at the end of the day a willing trade-off in my opinion. In each stage you’ll find some collectable bones and this weird looking fellow. At first, it’s not obvious to what these can be used on, but I soon found a little shop, and now my dogs have cute hats.

As long as you don’t try to marathon the game in one sitting, you’re in for a cute, inventive 3D platformer that never seems to take itself seriously.