Review: Spirit Spark

[Ocedic 249]

Title: Spirit Spark

Author: Titanhex

Version: Demo

Review by: Ocedic

 

Introduction

 

Spirit Spark is an interesting amalgamation of different genres. It feels like it combines elements of pseudo-real-based strategy, RPG, puzzle and adventure.

 

 

Presentation

 

Visually, Spirit Spark looks great if at times inconsistent. The animations are superb and the lighting adds just the right amount of visual flair without becoming distracting. The UI and custom HUD/menu are top-notch quality, and the custom tilesets, custom sprites and solid mapping really help set this apart from your run-of-the-mill RPG Maker game. However, because the quality of the custom graphics is so nice, it makes the few default stuff that is present even more jarring than normal. For example, the custom main menu looks awesome, but then you go to select items and it's the same default item menu as always. It looks even more out of place and bare-bones than normal due to the beautiful menu system that led you to it.

 

The music is somewhat hit or miss. Steaming Wonderland is an awesome track, but otherwise the music felt fairly forgettable. Music also seemed to be used at odd times. There are long stretches of silence, which isn't a bad thing in itself but it didn't seem to transition well into the moments when music would be playing. Basically, as a player I was consciously thinking about the audio (or lack thereof) rather than focusing on the game and the experience, which is never a good thing. I would suggest that silence be used a bit more sparingly and you really pay attention to when the music comes in and out.

 

Verdict: Good visuals, audio needs work

 

Gameplay

 

I would say this is where Spirit Spark really stands out from the crowd. It combines a number of different gameplay elements into one game. The first that you encounter is the custom battle system, which feels like a hybrid real/turn-based strategy system in which you fight on a grid in an almost Battleship-esque fashion. Your moves are limited by AP which regenerates during the course of battle, requiring you to utilize some strategy. Initially, it feels alien and honestly the ingame tutorial didn't do the best job of explaining, but it makes sense once you play around with it. Mechanically, it's very interesting and unique, but is it fun? Mehhhh. I wasn't exactly dying for more, and it came across as a slow-paced, somewhat awkward ABS. And though my computer could run it fine, lesser rigs may struggle to handle it.

 

Next, there is a detective section in which you highlight objects to reveal what to do. I liked it, but the cursor moved way too slowly and felt clunky. Otherwise, it seemed like a neat way to incorporate puzzle-solving. And on that subject, the last gameplay element was actual puzzles:

 

 

There was your standard crate pushing fare before you come across this intriguing puzzle involving fires and colors. This puzzle exemplifies one of the biggest flaws of the game in which it's not always clear what to do next or where to go next. A hint by this puzzle states that Blue engulfs Red and Red engulfs Green or something to that effect, but the machine wouldn't take any of the flames no matter what. I spent a long time doing everything I could think of, and the machine didn't respond to anything. There may have been something elsewhere in that zone that I may have missed, but damned if I'm going to explore all of this:

 

 

Also of note is the minor bug where your main menu pops up when viewing this map. Note that this map is on a stationary object you must interact with and it's easy to get lost in that giant sewer system. So at times you get lost wandering around and have to trial and error your way back to the map just to look at it. It just confounds me why it has to be so big, or why the designation of where the player is supposed to go or do isn't more clear. And that giant labyrinth isn't the only offender. The first moment you can start walking around, it's easy to get stuck:

 

 

I spent a good minute or so trying to find an exit until I realized that the staircase to the lobby was tucked away in the corner of the room you sleep in. It begs the question of why this second floor even exists. The character then vaguely mentions he wants to go on a stroll, but as a player you have no idea where you're supposed to go to next. You end up going to one of the exists which has a green arrow hovering over it, but you can only see this arrow if you come across that exit anyways. So before then, you have to wander around a gigantic map with no idea of where to go.

 

Now, I want to mention that these issues, while glaring, can be resolved and are by no means a fundamental flaw to the game. I see where the creator is going and can follow his logic, I just think the execution could be less cryptic to the player. I don't expect the solution to every puzzle to be handed to me, nor do I want the game to be one giant hallway like some professional games that won't be mentioned here, but players shouldn't be totally lost as to how to proceed. The maps in general seem needlessly gigantic without things to explore, so I feel that they should be reduced in size.

 

Verdict: Cool ideas, needs work

 

Story

 

The story took a long time to get off the ground. Much longer than needed, in my opinion. You start out in a void as a spirit spark and pick how your character looks. While this is an interesting way to incorporate character creation, the developer tries to mix it with the lore of the world which only serves to confuse and drag out this section longer than it should. You then go through several cutscenes with fairly robust writing, but at times it seemed like the characters were trying too hard to have unique personalities and their banter felt time-consuming rather than a pleasure to read. There's also several flashback sequences which serve to create an emotional connection to the main character. And this part is written pretty well, as it's easy to sympathize with the character's mother and the hardships she has to endure for the sake of her child. However, the number of cutscenes it takes to convey this is simply too many. Honestly it could be done with one flashback and all of the relevant information and emotion would be conveyed.

 

 

Overall, I would recommend the creator get into the meat of the story sooner, because that's when it got interesting and enjoyable. Your character gets ambushed and the story starts to take off from there. I liked the direction that the narrative was headed after that; unfortunately the fire puzzle mentioned earlier prevented me from experiencing more of it.

 

Verdict: Interesting story once it gets going, slow to start

 

Recommendation

 

The game is fairly polished and has interesting systems. The experience was amusing, but not necessarily fun. At times it like I was playing a tech demo rather than a game. However, this game has a lot of potential and is definitely one to keep your eye on. The creator clearly has high standards for his game and the technical skills to reach that standard, so give it a shot.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Ocedic

[+ Titanhex 284]

Hey Ocedic. Thanks for the review, it's much appreciated.

 

Moreso it highlights some of my weak points that I realize I need to work on. Obviously making things more intuitive, especially puzzles and direction, is a clear starting point.

 

As well, story development. I'm now fairly positive I will be stripping out the character creation portion and going back to the intro as I develop the next part.

 

I'll also have to put in music to fill the void where it's lacking.

 

I've made the puzzles and direction more clear, and added more entrance arrows to indicate the next point of the game. Also there is an option in Options to turn on hints, but those don't help solve logic puzzles.

 

If you ever feel like continuing on to the next puzzle you can redownload the game for clearer instructions. The flames from the puzzle actually need to be brought from Flame Generator Room 1 to Flame Generator Room 2. I've made that clear in the new version.

 

My current tester pointed out a few of the same things as well, so I'm feeling these are things to take seriously. I'll have to fix up the menu and find a script for it as well.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Titanhex