Phogs!

Playful and wholesome and stuffed with adorable creatures.

A pleasant mix of gentle puzzling and body horror, PHOGS! is a very good boy.

The game leans heavily into its whimsical style, too. Colourful graphics and cute creatures make the world a fun place to explore, and unlockable cosmetics mean you can dress up your doggies as well. The whole thing is just happy, eager to please, and family friendly — like an actual dog, really.

Phogs is a genuine dose of unbridled joy in a weird, physics-y, dog-tube package. It's hard to play this game without having a huge, goofy smile on your face. The Switch version has some minor to major issues here and there, but it rarely slows down the momentum of the puzzle-solving, dog-wiggling gameplay – this is another brilliant co-op experience for Nintendo's system.

A fun co-op game that can also be played solo. You’ll have to work a bit harder that way, but on the other hand, you’ll get to enjoy the end credits in the final mission. The game does still crash occasionally and can be a bit frustrating, but with its stunning visuals and great music, that’s something you can easily overlook. Plus, there are plenty of checkpoints in PHOGS! What still bothers me, though, is that the game was designed for consoles, and playing without a gamepad just makes it harder.

Some of the puzzles are clever, and they seem varied enough to keep those who enjoy it interested for a while, but the whole thing seems - despite obvious efforts to make it sweet - strangely bland.

While there are good ideas presented here, PHOGS! is too slow and unexciting for it to stand out from the crowd.

PHOGS! I liked it. It's an eminently cooperative game, with good ideas, dream worlds, physics-based puzzles and two dogs in one. If I don't convince you with this, I don't think anything can do it.

Phogs! isn't a great game — or even a good game — but it's impossible not to like.

When I looked into Phogs!, I didn’t know what to expect. This is a prime example of don’t judge a book by its cover, as Phogs! has become my favorite puzzle title since Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince released. Considering the fun and playful nature of the game, I highly recommend Phogs! to kids or parents who just want to get their children into a fun puzzle game. For more mature gamers, I am not sure this will challenge you enough. That said, this is one of those Switch games that look just as good on the go as it does on the TV, making it an excellent game on the go. The general vibes I got from playing Phogs! are almost identical to those I felt with Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle as I felt like anything could be around any corner and I never knew what to expect. If you’re looking for a puzzle game that will cheer you up through hard times, Phogs! will put a smile on your ‘phace’.