Phigros
Developer(s)鸽游(Pigeon Games)
Publisher(s)鸽游(Pigeon Games)
Platform(s)AndroidiOS
Genre(s)Rhythm Game

Phigros is a non-commercial rhythm game developed and published by Pigeon Games[1]. It has been released on the Android[2] (Through Google Play Store and TapTap) and iOS[3] platforms. It was released on Android on August 31, 2019, and it was released on iOS on September 4 of the same year. On February 24, 2023, it was announced on the official Bilibili account that the player counts had exceeded 30 million[4]. The game has received recognition from composers like Masaya Oya (Camellia), Team Grimoire and Sakuzyo.

Gameplay

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The gameplay consists of tap, hold, drag, and flick notes, and four different judgements: Perfect, Good, Bad and Miss; tap notes can get all four judgements, hold notes may only get Perfect, Good and Miss, and drags and flicks may only get Perfect and Miss judgements. The judgement line has the ability to freely move around the screen. This gimmick is also used to recreate different games in collaborations. There are four main difficulties in Phigros. These include EZ, HD, IN, and AT, with EZ being the easiest and AT being the hardest. AT songs are usually only playable with three or more fingers, with minor exceptions. The other three difficulties are mainly playable using two fingers, although there are minor exceptions to this too. There is an extra difficulty called SP, but it is only used for April Fools and hidden songs that are only accessible for limited periods of time. To unlock certain boss songs and/or difficulties, some challenges may be required to complete before unlocking them.

Story

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The story of the game follows Geopelia and Gino, set in the Pixel Tower. The story centers around their escape of the Mazarine. Along the way they meet characters like Igallta and Samuelle. Each Chapter is set in a different layer of the tower. The story is primarily told through poems.

Development and Release

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The game was originally made by the developer CN115, who founded Pigeon Games to work on this project. Pigeon Games is primarily made up of mobile rhythm game enthusiasts.[5] The game after launch has garnered the attention of lowiro (Developers of Arcaea), Pero Pero Games (Developers of Muse Dash) and Noxy Games (Developers of Lanota), and other reputable artists, such as Camellia (Known for contributing to games like Sound Voltex) and Sakuzyo (Scored CRYMACHINA and contributed to Arcaea). Due to the lack of funding from the game, Pigeon Games launched Rizline, which unlike Phigros, is a commercial product.

Reception

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Reputable influencer "losermanwins" reviewed the game favorably in his video "Phigros - The Free Rhythm Game You Should Be Playing". His comments including "gimmick of the game while being enjoyable can sometimes be its biggest fault." He follows that thought up with the necessity to replay levels after a first play-through, or sightread. He also states the need for a paid song pack model, similar to titles like Arcaea.[6] However, the developers, in a popup for another game they make, Rizline, stated that the need for such a model is not along the vision of the game. The website Backloggd lists the game at an average of 4.2/5.[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Phigros". Kotaku. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  2. ^ "Phigros - Apps on Google Play".
  3. ^ "‎Phigros". March 2024.
  4. ^ "动态-哔哩哔哩".
  5. ^ "日常安利《Phigros》非定型音游~不安分的判定线 _3DM手游". shouyou.3dmgame.com. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
  6. ^ Phigros - The Free Rhythm Game You Should Be Playing, 15 June 2020, retrieved 2024-03-13
  7. ^ "Phigros (2019)". www.backloggd.com. Retrieved 2024-03-13.