Phantom Spark (2024)

To get the most out of Phantom Spark, you’ll have to love time trials. If you’re a diehard racing game fan who prefers racing against yourself rather than others, that may put the game squarely on your radar, but if the allure of racing games is facing off against other people – be they bots or a Player Two – then this game may leave a lot to be desired.

“Phantom Spark” is an Absolute showcase of how to build a game entirely focused on time trials while not making the player feel frustrated. Ghosts is pure bliss for those Looking for some mighty challenge and chasing the perfect line for hours on end. A must have for any racing fan.

Phantom Spark pares away everything inessential to provide a blissful time trial racing experience, buttressed by pleasant pastel visuals and a calming soundtrack. There are no extra bells and whistles, but what this indie racer does, it does very well.

Racing isn’t a genre of game I’d usually associate with the term ‘thoughtful’. This isn’t to say they aren’t well thought out – more that they provoke a player’s reflexes and timing more than anything else. You focus on the next turn coming, not the third. Phantom Spark bucks this trend, however. I found myself invested in each track, willing my Spark to make a turn just tight enough to speed through, to shave a thousandth of a second off my time. If I came into this looking to redeem my eight-year-old self, I failed. This game isn’t a successor to Wipeout Pure. Instead it’s a great time trial game in its own right; stylish and smart. If you like racing games, you should give it a go.

Race to get better. Race for self-improvement. Race to understand how knocking a few hundredths of a second off a best time can feel like victory.