Nova Hearts: The Spark

About

In "Nova Hearts: The Spark," play as Luce, a new superhero in Vermillion, whose residents have been magically transformed. Use turn-based combat to express relationships and fight enemies, with a time-line feature to plan attacks and unlock new powers. Stay connected to the world through your phone's network of apps.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 80 reviews

story10 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The art style and animations are visually stunning, capturing a vibrant and magical girl aesthetic.
The game features diverse love options and character interactions, making it engaging for players interested in relationship dynamics.
The concept of combining superheroes with dating elements is intriguing and has potential for a fun narrative.

Combat mechanics are slow, confusing, and lack strategic depth, making battles feel tedious.
The pacing of the game is often too slow, particularly during text conversations and combat sequences, leading to frustration.
The narrative feels rushed and lacks sufficient character development, making it hard for players to connect with the story and characters.

story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
70%
7%
The story has garnered positive feedback for its engaging narrative, unique characters, and beautiful art style, with many reviewers expressing excitement for future chapters. However, some criticism arises from awkward dialogue and repetitive combat that detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the potential for a captivating story is evident, and players are eager to see how it unfolds.
- “The story has a lot of potential; the character design, art, and animations are absolutely gorgeous.”
- “The mystery elements of the story got my mind racing, and I really look forward to playing the full game on release!”
- “A fun, well-written story with memorable, unique characters, a bit of superhero Sailor Moon, butt-kicking action, and a great soundtrack.”
- “I just really, really dislike when a game like this with heavy customization options that presumably also has a lot of choice and options in it dumps backstory baggage on you out of nowhere and then puts the screws to you in claustrophobic dialog options.”
- “It's a shame because the conceit of the story seems like it has a lot of potential.”
- “The minute I felt like I was making any progress in the story I was immediately thrown into combat with the same god-forsaken round kitten monsters.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
8%
The gameplay features engaging phone mechanics and enjoyable dating elements, complemented by a fun art style. However, the turn-based combat is criticized for being weak and dragging down the overall experience, with suggestions for improvement including faster animations and the addition of mini-games. While the timeline mechanics show potential for enhancing social interactions, the combat's lack of depth and clarity detracts from the game's overall appeal.
- “The phone mechanics are quite entertaining, the dating seems to be enjoyable from what we can see, and the overall setting is super fun!”
- “Nova Hearts is a visual novel that manages to seamlessly integrate a turn-based battle mechanic into the genre.”
- “The mechanic is cool and it has a fresh spark of originality even when it relies on the classic three answers conversations.”
- “First off, the combat mechanics, while turn-based, are really weak.”
- “It wasn't even until about an hour of gameplay that the game decided to explain combos to me after I had already fought so many battles with the same kitten monster.”
- “If you are making a game with both a story and a gameplay element, at least one of them should be good enough to cover for the other.”
music
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
27%
13%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising its ability to capture the magical girl vibe and enhance the overall atmosphere. However, some players find the battle music repetitive and the pacing of battles slow, leading to a less engaging experience during combat. While the soundtrack is enjoyable, its limited variety can detract from the excitement over time.
- “The whole vibe really captured that magical girl feel with the transformation sequences and the music.”
- “The music was also really nice and fit the vibes of the game really well and created a comfortable game atmosphere.”
- “A fun, well-written story with memorable, unique characters, a bit of superhero Sailor Moon, butt-kicking action, and a great soundtrack.”
- “Besides the main theme, the music in-game got old very fast.”
- “The battles also take forever to complete, and the repetitive soundtrack will likely send you into a coma before the encounter does.”
- “What I didn't like though is the battle music and how slow the battle goes; it could be nice to have some sort of switch to speed it up a little when the enemies hit.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
50%
12%
The graphics of the game have received high praise for their vibrant and captivating art style, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful artwork and well-executed animations, particularly during transformation sequences. While the visuals are generally considered a strong point, some critiques mention that the overall design lacks depth and complexity, which can detract from the gameplay experience. Overall, the game's aesthetics are described as cute and engaging, contributing positively to the overall enjoyment.
- “The art style is amazing, and I'm a fan of games with turn-based combat as well.”
- “Let me say the intro is amazing; the animation is so well done, and the artwork is vibrant, catchy, and colorful with some very strong Sailor Moon vibes (especially when your character transforms)!”
- “I loved the transformation sequences; the art style and detail are very good, and the sound design and music were all fine.”
- “Despite fine artwork, Nova Hearts' odd mix of genres, lack of design depth and complexity, and a weak narrative result in uninspired and boring gameplay, missing the confused mark it was trying to hit.”
- “The positives of this game though: I do like the art style.”
- “It has the usual settings; volume control, language selection, and graphical choices as well as save slots, a gallery (not available currently) and where you interact with some of the text in-game between characters.”
character development
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Reviewers praise the character development for its stunning design and vibrant art, highlighting the potential of the story and the quality of animations. The combination of great writing and stellar character design creates an engaging visual experience that enhances the overall narrative. However, there is a concern that the artistic elements should be matched with equally compelling character arcs to fully realize their potential.
- “The story has a lot of potential, and the character design, art, and animations are absolutely gorgeous.”
- “Great writing and stellar character design.”
- “The painted rendering of the characters and world is gorgeous, and I adore the vivid colors, character designs, and backgrounds.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its hilarious and often embarrassing moments, which resonate well with viewers and players alike. Many found the writing and visuals to be cute and wholesome, with several lines and situations eliciting genuine laughter. However, some noted that the dialogue can be exaggerated and standoffish compared to initial expectations.
- “I hope that you guys put in more hilarious and embarrassing things for content creators to read out, because that was amazing.”
- “While the dialogue afterwards was funny, it was also much more exaggerated and standoffish than I imagined from the prompt.”
- “I really enjoyed the writing and visuals: it's cute, wholesome, and some lines and situations had me laughing out loud (and at one point - screaming at my screen).”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its cute and wholesome writing and visuals, which evoke laughter and strong reactions from players, creating an engaging and enjoyable experience.
- “I really enjoyed the writing and visuals: it's cute, wholesome, and some lines and situations had me laughing out loud (and at one point - screaming at my screen).”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, often feeling that the minimal rewards, such as brief character dialogue, do not justify the repetitive combat encounters that follow.
- “It felt so painfully tedious, and my reward was a few sentences of dialogue between characters before I was immediately thrown right back into the combat again.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its fitting and enjoyable music, which contributes to a comfortable and immersive experience.
- “The music was really nice and fit the vibes of the game perfectly, creating a comfortable atmosphere.”