Phonopolis

Phonopolis is a puzzle adventure set in a dystopian city built from cardboard. Its loudspeakers dictate every part of life, and citizens follow the authoritarian Leader’s commands as they work toward his grand vision. Soon, the Absolute Tone will be heard—a sound powerful enough to strip every citizen of their humanity forever.

By coincidence or fate, Felix, a young dustman, is the only person who recognizes the danger. He must try to stop the Leader from turning everyone into mindless servants. Loosely inspired by the works of Karel Čapek and George Orwell, the story explores social manipulation and individualism while keeping a playful, light-hearted tone.

Solve puzzles in the city

Felix is immune to the loudspeakers’ commands, and you can use them to solve puzzles involving other characters. You also manipulate the cardboard environment: turn walls, shuffle floors, operate machinery and tear paper curtains. Each puzzle is integrated into the world and presents a different challenge.

A paper-built world

Phonopolis’s 3D world is made of cardboard, with every building piece and character, as well as each frame of smoke and flame, hand-painted on paper and digitized for the game. Traditional 12 FPS animation gives the visuals the feel of classic stop-motion films. The art draws on interwar avant-garde movements, including constructivism, futurism and suprematism, and their use in propaganda.

Music

The soundtrack is by Tomáš Dvořák, also known as Floex, who composed the music for Machinarium and Samorost 3.