Spark is cute: Endlessly huge and impressive in scope for a mostly 1-person project developed in such a short time. And it perfectly synthesizes Sonic's speed and platforming into a barrage of other 16-bit action flavors in a way that flows and pleases without a bump in the road. It has a ton of charming homemade anime cut-ins, loads of recognizeable setpeices from SEGA/Treasure/HAL projects, and a solid, well-fitting soundtrack.
It's also too long and - to be blunt, - braindead.
Spark gets speed and action feel right, and it's always shooting new things at you, but the game loop gets way too easy and repetitive too quick. Even though stage hazards and enemies change up constantly, the way you have to engage with them hardly matters. 10 minutes runtime per stage in a 16+ stage game is fucking obscene. Bosses don't dish enough heat to feel meaningfully fun. It's like if you maxed out all the things that make Sonic with good with all the things that make... Kirby bad, of all things?
Pacing is critical to these Sonic-style platformers - hell, even the best 2D Sonic games sometimes overstay their welcome. I love 3K, but it's got a few too many Zones that go on for ages while testing your patience. The trade-off is that each level is such a distinctly-experienced world, with land curvature and stage gimmicks that make you feel Sonic's gravity and presence in totally unique ways: The sound, sights, challenges and automation give even the weakest moments a strong identity and high memorability.
But Spark? I honestly couldn't tell you what makes one level different than another. It all blends together. I remember a lot of city, snow, factory and sewer stages, but couldn't give you a good timeline of how they connected, how they tethered from a 'symphonic' point of view, etc. A repetitive game loop can still be fun, but these high-energy games take a lot of wind out of me, and I need a good return on mental investment. It's different in Kirby when you're mostly shutting your brain off and moving around at a brisk jog, doing a few things here and there. But I can't watch this clown bounce around like a pinball for more than 15 minutes without feeling like I need some fat to chew, get my drift?
I guess what I'm trying to say is, too much candy will destroy your fucking gums
It's also too long and - to be blunt, - braindead.
Spark gets speed and action feel right, and it's always shooting new things at you, but the game loop gets way too easy and repetitive too quick. Even though stage hazards and enemies change up constantly, the way you have to engage with them hardly matters. 10 minutes runtime per stage in a 16+ stage game is fucking obscene. Bosses don't dish enough heat to feel meaningfully fun. It's like if you maxed out all the things that make Sonic with good with all the things that make... Kirby bad, of all things?
Pacing is critical to these Sonic-style platformers - hell, even the best 2D Sonic games sometimes overstay their welcome. I love 3K, but it's got a few too many Zones that go on for ages while testing your patience. The trade-off is that each level is such a distinctly-experienced world, with land curvature and stage gimmicks that make you feel Sonic's gravity and presence in totally unique ways: The sound, sights, challenges and automation give even the weakest moments a strong identity and high memorability.
But Spark? I honestly couldn't tell you what makes one level different than another. It all blends together. I remember a lot of city, snow, factory and sewer stages, but couldn't give you a good timeline of how they connected, how they tethered from a 'symphonic' point of view, etc. A repetitive game loop can still be fun, but these high-energy games take a lot of wind out of me, and I need a good return on mental investment. It's different in Kirby when you're mostly shutting your brain off and moving around at a brisk jog, doing a few things here and there. But I can't watch this clown bounce around like a pinball for more than 15 minutes without feeling like I need some fat to chew, get my drift?
I guess what I'm trying to say is, too much candy will destroy your fucking gums