SpiritSphere Preview
SpiritSphere is the first Steam game from the one man team at Eendhoorn Games. Essentially, SpiritSphere is an air hockey game with a Legend of Zelda-esque style. The game is currently in the Alpha stage, so I imagine there will be far more content in the future, but for now we’ll focus on what is available.
SpiritSphere doesn’t feature a story in the traditional sense. Eendhoorn Games says they’ve added story elements throughout the game and it’s up to the gamer to figure out what it is. Honestly, I didn’t see any of these elements at all, but it might be something that’ll be integrated at a later time.
The single player component is where I spent all my time. In this mode, you choose one of three characters; Lin (the hero), Buster (the dog) or Ozo (the mage) and from there, you’ll be placed in a random stage against one of the three same characters. The objective of each match is to hit an orb into your opponent’s goal area, score three goals and you win the match. Each of the four stages has a unique layout, including the goal area. For example, the Forest stage has shrubs partially blocking the goal, but if the orb hits the shrub, the shrub will disappear and provide more space to score.
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“SpiritSphere is an excellent work-in-progress.”
Characters each have their own abilities such as a standard “attack” move, “special” attack and dash move. The attack move will be your primary means of hitting the orb and the special attack will provide a bit more power, but require a brief “charge”, which could pose a problem if not timed right. The dash move is designed to quickly get around the stage in short little bursts. SpiritSphere also features items that will randomly appear during the course of the match. These include a potion that makes the player bigger, boots that will increase the players speed, a bow that will provide some offense to stun the opponent and a shield that can be used as a blocker wherever you choose. Finally, SpiritSphere also provides different types of orbs (some move slower, some will split into two orbs when hit, etc). Upon winning a match, you’ll be put into another random stage, against another opponent, with a different type of orb.
SpiritSphere features a multiplayer component but unfortunately, it’s local only, so I didn’t have the opportunity to give it a try. I imagine the overall experience would be the same as single player, however, the intensity and fun would be significantly higher playing against a friend or frenemy. The developer has stated due to the nature of the game, we won’t see an online mode. While I understand there are technical reasons for doing this, this is nonetheless a disappointment. Hopefully, if the game finds a large enough following, an online mode could be developed in the future.
A quick paced game requires controls to be very quick and reliable, and I can happily report the controls work well in SpiritSphere. I used an Xbox 360 controller and everything was mapped properly from the start. I’ve played games with far larger production values that couldn’t figure out how to properly map an Xbox 360 controller – so props to Eendhoorn Games for this!
The games graphics are designed to have the nostalgic feel to them; a blend of NES and Super Nintendo style graphics. The Forest stage looks like it was ripped from A Link to the Past whereas the Dungeon stage looks like it was ripped from the original Legend of Zelda. Each stage is lined with animated characters cheering the game on. Overall, if you enjoy games with nostalgic graphics – than SpiritSphere will scratch that itch.
SpiritSphere is an excellent work-in-progress. Playing the game, I definitely saw the potential. The different combinations of orbs, characters, stages and items made for a surprisingly deep game – even though the score limit is only 3 per match. The game does need a more robust single player experience with more to it than just playing random match after random match. The multiplayer could definitely use an online component but for gamers with the means to play locally, this will surely be a blast. With the right amount of polish and added content, I have a feeling SpiritSphere could be a hit. I’m definitely looking forward to future updates!
*** PC code provided by the publisher ***
