Lynked: Banner of the Spark

About

In "Lynked: Banner of the Spark," lead the resistance against evil Combot overlords by assembling a team of robot allies and executing flashy combos with your Wyre grappling hook. With a variety of weapons to unlock and upgrades to earn, you'll build your base and recruit new allies to save the natural world in this co-op or solo adventure. The world is your weapon as you turn deadly environmental traps against your enemies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

94%

Audience ScoreBased on 299 reviews

story29 positive mentions

grinding15 negative mentions

The game successfully blends ARPG dungeon crawling with Animal Crossing-style town management, creating a fun and fluid gameplay experience.
Combat is engaging and offers a variety of unique weapons and abilities, making each encounter feel dynamic and rewarding.
The art style is vibrant and charming, with a plethora of customization options for characters and a delightful cast of quirky robot villagers.

Some players find the lack of difficulty options frustrating, as certain missions can become overly challenging without a way to adjust the difficulty.
The game has minor bugs and performance issues, particularly in multiplayer, which can detract from the overall experience.
The town-building aspect may feel underdeveloped for some, leading to a sense of repetitiveness and a lack of depth in the gameplay loop.

story
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
80%
2%
The story in the game is described as engaging yet somewhat simplistic, serving primarily as a backdrop to the gameplay, which revolves around completing missions and building a town. While some players find the narrative enjoyable and the characters charming, others feel it lacks depth and can feel lifeless, often overshadowed by the more addictive elements of combat and town management. Overall, the game offers a mix of core story progression and side quests, with potential for future development as it continues in early access.
- “It has such a beautiful art style, an amusing gameplay loop that never fails to keep me entertained, and a story that's actually super fascinating.”
- “The storyline is equally impressive, featuring rich, multifaceted characters and a plot that continually surprises and engages.”
- “Every decision feels meaningful, with choices that impact not only the story but also how players connect with the game.”
- “The story is... there.”
- “I have no interest in the story.”
- “I just do the quests because that's what the game is telling me to do but it feels lifeless.”
gameplay
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
60%
5%
The gameplay combines action-roguelike mechanics with town-building elements, reminiscent of titles like Hades and Animal Crossing, featuring engaging combat, a variety of weapons, and charming robot villagers. While the gameplay loop is generally enjoyable and dynamic, some players may find the blending of different mechanics overwhelming if they prefer to focus on a single aspect. Overall, it offers a delightful mix of combat, exploration, and relationship-building, making it a unique addition to the genre.
- “The gameplay is a clever mixture of town management and roguelike (think Cult of the Lamb with slightly more involvement) that encourages breaks between each activity by going back and forth from missions to doing tasks around town for your unibot villagers.”
- “There's so much to do and the gameplay loop is, for the vast majority of it, extremely fun.”
- “The variety of abilities and weapons means that no two encounters are the same, keeping the gameplay dynamic and challenging in the best way possible.”
- “The core gameplay loop hasn't hooked me yet.”
- “Now let me say something in regard to gameplay because it is worth noting: the way the gameplay elements blend together could potentially be off-putting for people who only want to engage in one specific part of this game.”
- “I highly recommend watching some YouTube videos or Twitch streams about the actual gameplay first, as what I saw in the trailers was giving me a slightly different picture.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
38%
9%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming and vibrant art style, reminiscent of classic titles like Mega Man and Animal Crossing. Players appreciate the polished visuals and intricate textures that enhance the game's unique universe, although some note that the default graphical settings may require adjustment for optimal experience. Overall, the combination of appealing aesthetics and engaging gameplay contributes to a delightful gaming experience.
- “The graphics are breathtaking, blending vibrant colors with intricate textures that bring the game’s unique universe to life.”
- “It has such a beautiful art style, an amusing gameplay loop that never fails to keep me entertained, and a story that's actually super fascinating.”
- “With a strong art style, lovingly rendered animations, and plenty of personality and charm in its cast of characters; Lynked hooked me from its first reveal trailer.”
- “The art style and environment makes me feel like the game is for 10 year olds and under.”
- “A fun quirky game not officially Steam Deck verified but works out of the box (may want to increase graphical settings though, it defaults to low across the board).”
- “The general aesthetic reminds me a lot of Mega Man.”
optimization
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
Overall, the game's optimization has seen significant improvements with recent updates, addressing initial performance issues that led to negative reviews. While some players still experience high resource demands and occasional bugs, many report a playable experience with enhanced performance. However, concerns remain about optimization as the game becomes more complex, particularly with town-building elements.
- “There are some bugs, and the game can be optimized further, but it still is a completely playable experience.”
- “Originally a negative review because of the performance, with newer updates, the performance issues were fixed!”
- “Launched with great performance and is fairly glitch-free.”
- “The game needs optimization as I can run the game, but it takes so much power.”
- “The more I add to my town, the worse it seems to get - hoping that's a fixable optimization issue.”
- “It's in a pretty bad state in terms of performance though.”
grinding
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players note that grinding in the game primarily involves extensive fishing and farming to afford upgrades, which can sometimes feel tedious and chore-like, particularly with repetitive tasks like harvesting crops. However, many find the fishing mechanics enjoyable and the overall blend of farming, city-building, and roguelite elements engaging, despite some tasks lacking excitement. Regular updates and a cozy aesthetic contribute positively to the experience, making the grind feel worthwhile for some.
- “You will need to do a lot of fishing and farming to just afford upgrades.”
- “There can be some improvement on tasks that feel more like chores than fun (no one likes to dig up dozens of crops, why is fishing so fun but farming feels braindead).”
- “You can farm in your town almost infinitely, but there are a lot of things you can purchase and not a lot of purchasing power so far (although it took me 10 hours to unlock farming, probably slower than average because I've been fishing so much).”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
79%
21%
The music in the game is widely praised for being subtle yet fitting, enhancing the overall experience with an excellent soundtrack that evokes nostalgic feelings reminiscent of titles like Pokémon and Phantasy Star Online. Reviewers highlight the relaxing and vibrant nature of the music, which complements the game's positive and cozy atmosphere, making it a standout feature that adds to the enjoyment of gameplay.
- “The soundtrack is excellent.”
- “Super vibrant game, the music is amazing, I could go on forever, but you should just buy the game and check it out yourself!”
- “Fishing mini game is great and the overall positive and cozy vibes, from the art and soundtrack to the dialogue, are a great change up from more 'serious' games.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever dialogue and charming characters, contributing to an engaging world-building experience. Players appreciate the developers' attention to comedic elements, making the game consistently entertaining. Overall, the humor enhances the overall enjoyment and immersion in the game.
- “It's basically everything I wanted; the art direction and sense of world-building are incredible, with cute characters and funny dialogue.”
- “Right...? But every story has some humor in it, so it's always funny to see what the developers put into the game for us to find.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players highlight that the game's high replayability is driven by its fun gameplay, required skill, and the presence of random elements, which keep each playthrough fresh and engaging.
- “Super fun, some skill required, random elements make replayability high.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game shows significant potential but suffers from stability issues, including frequent crashes and bugs, particularly at launch.
- “Great game, a lot of potential, just a bit buggy at launch with crashes somewhat frequently.”