Spark the Electric Jester 2

About

"Spark the Electric Jester 2" is a fast-paced 2D platformer game featuring a robot named Spark. Equipped with electric abilities, Spark must save the world from an evil force. The game offers challenging levels, various upgrades, and intense boss battles that test your skills and reflexes. With its vibrant graphics and electrifying gameplay, Spark the Electric Jester 2 promises an exciting experience for fans of the platformer genre.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,049 reviews

story58 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game features fast-paced and fluid gameplay, reminiscent of classic Sonic titles, allowing for enjoyable high-speed platforming.
The level design is expansive and encourages exploration, with multiple paths and hidden collectibles that enhance replayability.
The soundtrack is excellent, with catchy tunes that complement the gameplay and evoke nostalgia for the Sonic Adventure series.

The combat system feels shallow and repetitive, often reducing boss fights to simple button-mashing without much strategy required.
The story lacks depth and character development, making it difficult for players to connect with the new characters introduced in the game.
The game is relatively short, with a playtime of around 2-3 hours, which may not justify the full price for some players.

story
384 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
76%
9%
The story of "Spark the Electric Jester 2" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it mediocre and lacking depth. Critics note that while it attempts to build on the narrative from the first game, it often feels rushed, disjointed, and overly serious, leading to flat character development and missed opportunities for engaging storytelling. Despite its shortcomings, some players appreciate the game's humor and the fun gameplay, suggesting that the story, while not a strong point, does not detract significantly from the overall experience.
- “This is the evolution of 3D Sonic, level design that trusts and never restricts, a cheesy story that hypes itself up while going full swing, you can't help but find it endearing.”
- “Fantastic soundtrack, amazing level design/art direction, and a well-written story, for the love of God, play this game.”
- “The creative world design, frenetic gameplay, and interesting story make Spark the Electric Jester 2 a worthwhile experience.”
- “The story is thrown at you in sudden bursts and many times it feels like you've missed large chunks of it and the characters feel both flat and incomplete.”
- “The story in Spark 2 is one of the biggest amalgamations of bad dialogue, nonsensical lore, and mismanaged characters I ever saw.”
- “The problems lie within the story that takes itself way too seriously, and comes off as laughably bad instead of the edgy tone it's trying to deliver.”
gameplay
360 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The gameplay of "Spark the Electric Jester 2" is generally praised for its fast-paced, fluid mechanics that successfully translate the essence of classic 3D Sonic games into a modern context, featuring enjoyable level design and a satisfying parry system. However, combat can feel simplistic and repetitive, often devolving into button mashing, and some mechanics appear underdeveloped, leading to a mixed experience that balances exhilarating platforming with occasional control issues. Overall, while the game showcases impressive design for a small team, it leaves room for refinement in its combat and gameplay depth.
- “The gameplay is exciting and refreshing thanks to Fark's movement capabilities, making completing stages a reward.”
- “The core gameplay is just next level stuff, a top-tier 3D platformer.”
- “The gameplay of Spark 2 is on point for a large chunk of its (admittedly short) run time.”
- “Weird combat mechanics that just detract from the platforming.”
- “The gameplay overall feels similar to the Sonic Adventure games mixed with some simple combat mechanics which aren't great to use, as most of the levels I just avoided combat altogether until the bosses.”
- “The parry system combines the parry attributes of Fark's and Spark's dodge parry into one and it is a double-edged sword; it feels more like a beginner crutch and makes the combat less engaging.”
music
320 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
39%
3%
The music in "Spark the Electric Jester 2" has received widespread acclaim, with many praising its energetic and catchy soundtrack that evokes nostalgia for the Sonic franchise. While some tracks are noted for being reused from the first game, the overall composition is considered strong, featuring a mix of rock and electronic influences that enhance the gameplay experience. However, a few reviewers mentioned that the soundtrack lacks the variety of its predecessor and can become repetitive over time.
- “There's a great soundtrack that harkens back to Sonic's Dreamcast era with catchy melodies and punchy instrumentation, and the game looks great in motion.”
- “The music is fantastic and the vocal tracks, while cheesy, can really get stuck in your head, in a good way.”
- “The soundtrack is god tier just like the original and is worth the price alone.”
- “Unfortunate, then, that there isn't enough music for all of the stages and bosses to have unique tracks, and several stages re-use tracks from the first game completely unchanged.”
- “The soundtrack features less variety than the first game, instead doubling down on high energy rock and techno.”
- “The music isn't as banging as Spark 1, mostly just boring or cool rock music for the bosses. The only exception is the final boss music, which is just a loop that makes you cry.”
graphics
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
48%
3%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their vibrant colors and appealing art style, reminiscent of classic 3D platformers like Sonic Adventure. While some users noted minor graphical bugs and a lack of detail in certain areas, the overall aesthetic and level design were considered enjoyable and visually engaging. However, performance issues were mentioned, particularly for players with lower-end PCs, which can detract from the experience.
- “The graphics look amazing for a solo developer; they bring out bright colors while still being somewhat uniform. This is a great work that carries over from Spark the Electric Jester.”
- “Graphically, the game has charm and identity. I like the translation to 3D here, and some places look very cool, even if the urban setting kind of overstays its welcome where Spark 1 had a good balance between nature and technology.”
- “The art style is bright and colorful with simplistic meshes and text-type dialogue.”
- “As for the graphics, these are passable.”
- “This results in Spark 2 being a game with baffling low production values: subpar graphics, basic animation, some recycled songs from the first game, underdeveloped game mechanics, spotty art style, short length, and abysmal sound design.”
- “Needs some performance patches as a game of this graphical fidelity should not be having performance problems.”
replayability
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
42%
8%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while it offers built-in features like time and score attacks, and encourages speedrunning and collectibles, many players feel the short playtime of 2-3 hours and simplistic boss mechanics diminish the incentive to replay the story. However, some reviewers highlight the presence of unlockable challenge modes and additional content that enhance replay value, making it a worthwhile experience for those who enjoy replaying levels. Overall, it has potential for replayability, but may not appeal to everyone.
- “This game has a surprising amount of replay value considering the amount of content in it.”
- “It's not that long but there's lots of replayability, for example speedrunning the stages and bosses.”
- “Focuses on replayability and encourages replays with unlockables and more modes.”
- “Once you finish it, I really did not feel like replaying the story. I didn't seem encouraged to play it again; it's fun, but it lacks the replayability that some Sonic games like Frontiers or Generations do for me.”
- “The game is also very short, with a complete playthrough taking less than 3 hours, though there's built-in replayability in the form of standard time and score attacks.”
- “It should also be noted that all of this game's stages are playable in Spark 3, meaning the only merits this game alone has are the story and the bosses.”
humor
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is a mixed bag, with some players finding the protagonist Spark genuinely funny and enjoying the absurdity of certain moments, like the final boss fight. While the story has its humorous elements, some reviewers feel it takes itself too seriously and could benefit from a stronger comedic focus. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the fast-paced gameplay, though it may not be the central highlight for everyone.
- “Nothing will ever be as hilarious to me as how Sonic fans question the integrity of a robot jester shooting lightning as a video game character when that character is paying homage to a bipedal blue hedgehog running fast to collect golden rings in order to survive, whose game was in turn inspired by someone playing a game about an Italian guy with a mustache and a red overall eating mushrooms to grow bigger and stomp on turtle shells to rescue a princess from a kingdom where everyone was mushroom people.”
- “The final boss fight actually had me laughing out loud at how ridiculous it was.”
- “It was funny to see that Spark's goal was just to get his job back, and having the result be that he saved the world.”
character development
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
25%
17%
Character development in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the aesthetic appeal and creativity of character designs, while others criticize them as inconsistent or unattractive in 3D. Players appreciate the fun and interesting nature of the characters, but many feel that the lack of voice acting and certain gameplay mechanics detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the character designs have their highlights, they are often overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of polish.
- “The characters are also fun and interesting, and the character design is incredible.”
- “Great speed, music, fun levels, cool bosses and mini bosses, cool art style and character design, and good control is what makes this game fun.”
- “Expect wonderful environments and good character designs, with most of the soundtrack being on par with the first game.”
- “The character design is all over the place.”
- “Also kind of related to the story, the character designs are... not very good.”
- “A ton of the character designs are hideous.”
optimization
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
45%
15%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it generally runs smoothly and has improved performance compared to its predecessor, some players have reported freezing issues during boss fights and the need for performance patches. Users with older hardware have had to lower settings to maintain consistent frame rates, indicating that optimization could still be enhanced for a broader range of systems.
- “Speed gives you an incentive to go fast and break the stages. While Spark 1 was rewarding to do it, Spark 2 felt optimized for that, and score running is the reason why Spark 2 even became one of my favorites. It really does fix Spark 1's issue when it came to engaging with enemies on occasions outside of them being an obstacle to dispose.”
- “The game runs smoothly so far, with a fixed 60 fps and vsync on.”
- “The performance issues that plagued the first game are not here.”
- “Great game, but with kind of bad optimization.”
- “Needs some performance patches, as a game of this graphical fidelity should not be having performance problems.”
- “As for performance, I have an old Radeon HD6670 and had to turn the resolution down to 1024x576 and some settings down to get a mostly consistent 50-60fps (aside from some parts near the end).”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express disappointment in the emotional depth of the sequel compared to the first game, citing a lack of clarity in character motivations and missed opportunities for impactful moments. Many felt that the emotional resonance and heartwarming qualities that defined the original were absent, leading to a less engaging experience overall.
- “But, it didn't give that same special emotional, heartwarming, amazing feeling that Spark 1 gave me.”
- “Maybe because it's been so long or because I never finished the first game, but I didn't really understand why anything was happening or what the characters' motivations were supposed to be. Moments that I think should have been emotional or intense did nothing for me.”
- “And with this speech he had earlier, I really expected Fark to fight something bigger than Freom, like, I don't know, some sort of physical body of that clarify thing, something that would have made me feel the same epicness as Spark 1.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is notably improved compared to its predecessor, with players reporting very few bugs and glitches during gameplay. The use of Unity and a custom engine has contributed to this enhanced stability, addressing the issues faced in Spark 1.
- “Spark 1 was quite buggy due to the engine and game maker he was using.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect in recent Sonic titles, particularly in "Frontiers," to be tedious and time-consuming, leading to a desire for less frequent combat interruptions. This sentiment reflects a broader trend where Sonic Team has attempted to minimize grinding in their games over the past decade.
- “Stopping to fight is a tedious waste of time, which is why I can see that Sonic Team minimized this in their past decade of titles (aside from Frontiers).”

75%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Review: Spark the Electric Jester 2
Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.
Destructoid.com
75%

Buy Spark the Electric Jester 2

Spark the Electric Jester 2
$12.99
See offer on Steam

2h Median play time

2h Average play time

2-2h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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