Sparklite Review — Russell Troxel

Nov 23

Nov 23 Sparklite Review

Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Review, Xbox One

A few months ago, I wrote a bit about roguelike video games in my Dicey Dungeons Review. However, the pedantic part of my brain knows I could have been more specific. Strictly speaking, a “roguelike” is a game with features similar to the game Rogue including procedurally generated levels and a world that resets when the player character dies. On the other hand, a “roguelite” usually has many of those features but also has some sort of player progress that carries between runs such as money, skills, or unlocked characters. I hope you can forgive this bit of internet pedantry, but it was on my mind thanks to the game I took a look at this week: Sparklite.

In Sparklite, players take the role of Ada, an inventor with an airship, a robot sidekick and a sturdy wrench. Barely one minute into the game, Ada runs into a vicious storm that destroys her airship and separates her from her robot. Soon after, she is rescued by The Refuge, a floating outpost that houses people seeking to escape and study dangerous Fractures that constantly break apart and rearrange the world below. Left with little choice and armed only with her wrench and wits, Ada must travel to the world below in search of her robot and energetic crystals known as sparklite to upgrade The Refuge as well as uncover the mystery of the Fractures and her own family.

The main loop of playing Sparklite is descending to the planet below to collect sparklite to upgrade facilities on The Refuge. This is done by beating the planet’s dangerous monsters to death with Ada’s wrench, but the game has a very cartoonish aesthetic so it’s a lot less visceral than that sounds. Players can get sparklite from treasure chests or destructible environmental features, but the bulk of sparklite is found within monsters. This sparklite is used to improve The Refuge by rebuilding and improving parts of The Refuge, including a medical facility that allows Ada to improve herself with items known as patches and an inventor’s hut where Ada can develop new gadgets to use. Players can also use sparklite to combine upgrade patches into more powerful patches, and in my time with the game I found this to be very nearly the only worthwhile use of sparklite. Though players can use their sparklite to fuel a vendor that gives away limited-use widgets, a monster research laboratory, and the aforementioned inventor’s hut, the benefits these places give pale in comparison to the upgrades players can make to Ada via the medical facility and patches. The widgets available at the widget stand can be used at most three times and the research lab gives players a bonus against only one enemy type at a time but does nothing against the other three dozen, but the worst waste of sparklite is the inventor’s hut. The reason this is the worst is the game forces players to spend money on the inventor’s hut and the gadgets within to unlock new areas in the game or find new, small treasures. Beyond these functions, the gadgets can be used in combat. Frustratingly, gadgets do less damage than Ada’s wrench, require precision aiming, and consume the player’s energy gauge with each use. Players are far better off using their sparklite to fully upgrade the medical facility to equip as many patches as possible and focus on maximum health, defense, and increased wrench damage patches.

All of the sparklite gathering is building to something beyond making Ada the coolest wrench-wielding warrior. The ultimate goal of Sparklite is to defeat the mysterious Baron, whose voracious exploitation of natural resources is killing the already damaged planet. But in order to confront the Baron, players must first beat his four minions, the Foremen. Each Foreman pilots massive machines, each vaguely referencing a unique method of resource consumption such as deep vein mining or rampant deforestation lumber harvesting. The first thing I want to say about the Foremen is that their robots are all pretty cool. Unfortunately, that’s the only thing these boss encounters have going for them, as fighting them is boring. No matter their shape or arsenal, each boss can be beaten by avoiding their predictable attacks and hitting the glowing red part of their robot. Often, it’s more of a challenge to find the boss’s lair and fight through the monsters on the way than it is to beat the boss themselves. After beating the boss, the player is given a new upgrade that will open the next area of the map, imposing a weird and strict progression to the otherwise free-form roguelite structure of Sparklite.

Not everything about Sparklite is abrasive though, in spite of what I’ve said so far. First of all, I love the look of this game. I already mentioned how cool the robots the Foremen pilot are and the rest of the enemies have excellent design too. I particularly enjoy the gremlin enemies, the minions of the Foremen. There was an excellent job done of making sure there was a clear through line for each of the units, showing they came from the same group but had their own specializations. Beyond the enemies, the designs of all the non-player characters were wonderful. Everyone in The Refuge had a very clear design inspiration. I wish there had been more to do on The Refuge to see more done with these characters, because they were so well done. On top of the design, I liked the mini-games that could be found while exploring the planet. Between racing a man with a jetpack and a nautical-themed version of Let’s Make a Deal, the combat was interrupted just often enough to give me a nice relaxing break and not get burned out.

As far as I can tell, Sparklite is the first game from developer Red Blue Games that wasn’t a mobile exclusive, and I think that shows. Honestly, there are worst first tries at making a video game, especially considering the wide variety of platforms Sparklite is available on and how sound the programming is. Unfortunately, there are enough strange choices and an ironic lack of spark that leaves this game stranded in the no-man’s land between good and bad video game. I hope the folks at Red Blue Games don’t give up because they’ve clearly got the talent for making a solid game, but Sparklite is overall just a mediocre game that isn’t quite worth the $20 price tag.