Dope as hell 3d platformer that brings pretty much every plot point set in the previous installments full circle B U U UU U T i also think that this game's story and rlly this franchise in general could benefit from a chill area to walk around in that isnt a level or some way to have the story feel like its more organically progressing Outside of frequent exposition dumps really
I still like the stakes and the crazy shit that happens in this game ESPECIALLY the finale jesus christ its fun
But I also feel like id feel a lot more of the weight if I had more time to soak it in... id like it a lot more!
Though whats there is already pretty cool.. ok story stuff out of the way
this is spark at its best rlly, it kinda feels like the gameplay along with the characters has been evolving overtime
Now the jester powers are almost completely overhauled to the point where only Reaper is there as an alternate form and I think thats Fine because this is the first time ever tht spark the "electric" jester actually feels like an electric jester. I actually feel like the kit you can assemble makes a lot of sense here and isnt just a bunch of cool powers that kinda dwarf the subtitle of what spark is.
Now for (Admittedly) the main thing that everyone Really cares about with this franchise, the GAMEPLAY
I think the only thing that I miss from 2 is the fact that the parry was reworked to where you cant keep your speed and parry hazards and enemy attacks with your momentum.. It's still a fun parry! but.. augh something so magical abt seeing how far you can get without taking a single fuckin hit is so awesome
But even still the wall jumping, the free-fall cancelling(which i found an actually tense and refreshign way to try to work around having fall damage in a platformer but i still think its kind of stupid that htere is fall damage to begin with given the circumstances), the vehicles the grind railing oh my fucking GOD the grind railling
i wish grind railing in spark 2 and 3 was the standard for every platformer and not just that automated bullshit
like Yes you can get fucked up with your speed on it, YES that can fuck you up around a turn or a jump but Thats The FUCKING POINT!!!!!!!! It's SUPPOSED to feel rewarding and like more than just flicking the control stick one way or another
on top of all of that it lets you feel like you master these levels and find new ways to shave off your time even if its not needed, just finding ways to go quicker is exactly what speedster 3d platforming is all about babe
I think the mission medal thing is also Kinda cool and encouraged me to check out the side shit and see some levels that actually kicked major ass
The main levels are the stars of the show but the devs werent really slackin on the side shit either :>
That being said I also really appreciate that when you get the opportunity to play as other characters its easy to swap. but i also feel like this is something that shouldnt be down to the same four D-pad hotkeys and there shouldve atleast been a separate page layered onto it in some way that lets you keep doing it on the fly or something???
Like... thats just an idea though ofc because im sure it was already kind of a head scratcher making it possible to swap between characters in ways that dont break the maps but let you Feel like youre breaking it just enough to feel like NOTHING can stop you
I can confidently say this is one of my favorite 3d platformers though and i think this has been a heartwarming series to ride through, i really hope that whatever the devs have planned going forward that they MAYBE give themselves a little more breathing room with what theyre working with considering that now is the best time of all to take the franchise a step further but also to kind of learn what works from here
because the gameplay is already super solid, jester dashing is ultra satisfying and the combat is cool! level design is always so vibrant in color and the themes are gnarly, though i DOOO think they lean into factories and hangars a lot here and there
I think that what id want from them now is just giving these characters more time to organically interact with one another and using that to their advantage !! Because really the gameplay for spark games is practically perfect as is, its just the pacing and things surrounding the gameplay that you feel like you know could be better but instead of resigning to just "Thats just how it is" you can tell with this game that no no they actually did try their best to bring this whole saga to a climax in a really big way and in most fronts its AWESOME
final thoughts:
its a rad as hell 3d platformer thats got some really fucking cool cutscenes, level design, powers and combat and though the plot can be shaky at times because of the scale of all that its trying to convey and how much exposition gets thrown inbetween bursts of levels, it rounds out to a fantastic finale that i think anyone thats atleast played 1 and 2 owes to themself to experience <3
I still like the stakes and the crazy shit that happens in this game ESPECIALLY the finale jesus christ its fun
But I also feel like id feel a lot more of the weight if I had more time to soak it in... id like it a lot more!
Though whats there is already pretty cool.. ok story stuff out of the way
this is spark at its best rlly, it kinda feels like the gameplay along with the characters has been evolving overtime
Now the jester powers are almost completely overhauled to the point where only Reaper is there as an alternate form and I think thats Fine because this is the first time ever tht spark the "electric" jester actually feels like an electric jester. I actually feel like the kit you can assemble makes a lot of sense here and isnt just a bunch of cool powers that kinda dwarf the subtitle of what spark is.
Now for (Admittedly) the main thing that everyone Really cares about with this franchise, the GAMEPLAY
I think the only thing that I miss from 2 is the fact that the parry was reworked to where you cant keep your speed and parry hazards and enemy attacks with your momentum.. It's still a fun parry! but.. augh something so magical abt seeing how far you can get without taking a single fuckin hit is so awesome
But even still the wall jumping, the free-fall cancelling(which i found an actually tense and refreshign way to try to work around having fall damage in a platformer but i still think its kind of stupid that htere is fall damage to begin with given the circumstances), the vehicles the grind railing oh my fucking GOD the grind railling
i wish grind railing in spark 2 and 3 was the standard for every platformer and not just that automated bullshit
like Yes you can get fucked up with your speed on it, YES that can fuck you up around a turn or a jump but Thats The FUCKING POINT!!!!!!!! It's SUPPOSED to feel rewarding and like more than just flicking the control stick one way or another
on top of all of that it lets you feel like you master these levels and find new ways to shave off your time even if its not needed, just finding ways to go quicker is exactly what speedster 3d platforming is all about babe
I think the mission medal thing is also Kinda cool and encouraged me to check out the side shit and see some levels that actually kicked major ass
The main levels are the stars of the show but the devs werent really slackin on the side shit either :>
That being said I also really appreciate that when you get the opportunity to play as other characters its easy to swap. but i also feel like this is something that shouldnt be down to the same four D-pad hotkeys and there shouldve atleast been a separate page layered onto it in some way that lets you keep doing it on the fly or something???
Like... thats just an idea though ofc because im sure it was already kind of a head scratcher making it possible to swap between characters in ways that dont break the maps but let you Feel like youre breaking it just enough to feel like NOTHING can stop you
I can confidently say this is one of my favorite 3d platformers though and i think this has been a heartwarming series to ride through, i really hope that whatever the devs have planned going forward that they MAYBE give themselves a little more breathing room with what theyre working with considering that now is the best time of all to take the franchise a step further but also to kind of learn what works from here
because the gameplay is already super solid, jester dashing is ultra satisfying and the combat is cool! level design is always so vibrant in color and the themes are gnarly, though i DOOO think they lean into factories and hangars a lot here and there
I think that what id want from them now is just giving these characters more time to organically interact with one another and using that to their advantage !! Because really the gameplay for spark games is practically perfect as is, its just the pacing and things surrounding the gameplay that you feel like you know could be better but instead of resigning to just "Thats just how it is" you can tell with this game that no no they actually did try their best to bring this whole saga to a climax in a really big way and in most fronts its AWESOME
final thoughts:
its a rad as hell 3d platformer thats got some really fucking cool cutscenes, level design, powers and combat and though the plot can be shaky at times because of the scale of all that its trying to convey and how much exposition gets thrown inbetween bursts of levels, it rounds out to a fantastic finale that i think anyone thats atleast played 1 and 2 owes to themself to experience <3