Mana Spark (2018)

A game that can be as satisfying as it is difficult, Mana Spark will find a place immediately with enthusiasts of tough, demanding challenges, while finding itself a bit too much for less experienced players, but that should not be an obstacle as this is one fine specimen of an indie game that punches above its weight.

Mana Spark is a middle-of-the-road roguelike that gestures toward a lot of interesting ideas, but doesn’t fully develop any of them. It’s a fun game at first, with a good combat system and a nice variety of unique enemies, but it doesn’t offer nearly enough to stay fresh on repeated runs through its samey dungeons.

Mana Spark's premise pays off and will turn into a time sink for anyone even remotely into the dungeon-crawling genre. Despite the addictive nature of this simply presented game, the loading screens will make you shout expletives out loud: especially when progressing, or worse, dying.

Average rogue-lite that's only improved with all the post-release updates and improvements.

Despite my complaints I was surprised at how much the loop of Mana Spark got me hooked. There's some smart tactical combat here that's challenging in a different sort of way, the need to make use of the environment and your secondary item to lure enemies around as a method to kill them is fun and a bit different. While it is lacking in polish and won't appeal to people looking for more twitchy shooter-style fun Mana Spark does manage to carve out a place for itself as a solid alternative for people looking for a roguelike with a slower pace and some smart gameplay.