PHi: The Broken Strings tuning up for 2026 release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Kickstarter coming soon to help finance upcoming 3D puzzle platforming adventure

The story of Pinocchio is a famous tale about a young puppet boy who finds himself swept up in series of mishaps when he ventures out into the world, naively unprepared for what he might find. But what would have happened if the newly created Pinocchio was left all alone, with no memories or sense of self, and no one to turn to for help? This is the challenge facing another living wooden marionette, the titular protagonist of Kyrel Games' upcoming PHi: The Broken Strings.

PHi is a "mysterious child" without any memories or even feelings, who finds himself unwittingly "summoned into a strange world." There, in his loneliness and isolation, PHi "struggles to understand his existence, like a hollow vessel waiting to be filled with meaning." As he ventures deeper into the "puppet house," he will face a variety of physical challenges that "test him in ways he’s never imagined." In the process, PHi will also experience moments that "stir something inside him, emotions that feel new yet deeply familiar." In his determined search for "his purpose and a way to escape this twisted place," the young protagonist will start to learn, grow and "form a bond with the voice guiding him." 

Inspired by similar games like Little Nightmares and A Juggler's Tale, PHi is a third-person 3D puzzle platformer in which players must guide the young protagonist through a linear series of environmental challenges. PHi is not physically strong, fast or capable, so players will need to strategize ways to overcome obstacles across four distinct levels with over 25 puzzles. Each individual level is connected to a "key life experience" and meant to evoke a unique emotion, both in PHi and in players. In a world "built on metaphors and imagination," the developer's goal is to ensure you "feel the weight of sorrow in an environment that seems to trap you in its silence." In darker times you'll "sense the anxiety of an ever-changing labyrinth where nothing is certain," but you'll also "experience hope, resilience, and the quiet comfort of nostalgia" along the way.

The hope is to release PHi: The Broken Strings by the end of 2026 on Steam for Windows PC, along with console versions for PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. To ensure that happens, the game's Indian developers are planning a Kickstarter campaign that is due to start soon and will help them finance the remaining production.