Sparkle ZERO
- March 13, 2016
- MMEU
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamIn Sparkle ZERO, players create and customize their own magical creatures, known as "Sparks," to explore a mysterious world filled with challenges and puzzles. Fight enemies, solve puzzles, and uncover secrets in this unique action-adventure game. With a variety of abilities and items to collect, players can build their Sparks to suit their playstyle and navigate the ever-changing environments. Engage in battles, complete quests, and unleash spectacular abilities to become the ultimate Spark.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The visuals and soundtrack are captivating, creating a relaxing atmosphere for players.
- The game offers a simple and easy-to-understand gameplay experience, making it accessible for casual gamers.
- It provides a quick way to earn achievements, appealing to completionists and achievement hunters.
- The gameplay is monotonous and lacks variety, leading to a repetitive experience.
- There is no tutorial or clear instructions, making it confusing for new players to understand the mechanics.
- The game is very short, with many players completing it in under two hours, resulting in low replay value.
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity and repetitiveness, often described as monotonous and lacking depth, with many players noting the absence of engaging mechanics and tutorials. While some appreciate the relaxing nature and visual appeal, others criticize the long cooldown times and clunky movement, which detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a short, casual playtime that may appeal to those seeking a laid-back gaming session, but it falls short for players looking for more complexity and challenge.
“Its immersive gameplay takes you on an intriguing journey through the depths of space.”
“You swim, you eat everything, you grow, you get all the achievements, you just spent 90 minutes of relaxed gameplay.”
“Short and sweet, about two hours of relaxing gameplay.”
“These would've been more than fine if Sparkle Zero hadn't suffered from the exact same mistakes of Sparkle 3 Genesis: an incomprehensible cooldown time for eating, and intolerable movement mechanics haunt you in your every step.”
“The cooldown is unacceptably long: it interrupts and even breaks the coherence of gameplay to the extent that it's simply unplayable.”
“This, combined with the questionably brusque movement mechanics, takes all joy out of eating, rendering the whole point of the game meaningless.”
- music18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the relaxing and ambient soundtrack that enhances the gaming experience, while others have criticized it for being repetitive, boring, and plagued by audio bugs that disrupt gameplay. Many noted that the soundtrack is similar to previous titles in the series, lacking new compositions, which contributed to a sense of disappointment. Overall, while the music can provide a calming atmosphere, technical issues and a lack of variety have left some players unsatisfied.
“The stunning graphics, coupled with a mesmerizing soundtrack, create a unique gaming experience.”
“This is an ideal relaxation/distraction game, no stress, just enjoyable music and creation.”
“I enjoyed the ambient music that came with the gameplay.”
“However, I would not recommend this game. The reason being I had a bug with the audio; when some background music started, it would seem to be stuck to the location on the map. As I moved away, the music would stop, which meant that for most of the game I had no music.”
“The music is rather weird: it came and went as if someone was slowly turning the volume of my speakers all the way down and then back up to where it was, and repeated this the whole time.”
“The music is boring and the three different sound samples in the game get annoying really fast.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the stunning visuals and unique art style, while others criticize the lack of variety and depth, describing them as repetitive or colorless. The aesthetic is noted for its darker tones and a distinct black-and-white theme, which some found appealing, but overall, many felt the graphics did not meet the standards set by previous entries in the series.
“The stunning graphics, coupled with a mesmerizing soundtrack, create a unique gaming experience.”
“It's quickly distinguished from its siblings by its monolithic, black & white aesthetic.”
“Fun and colorful, and the art style is good.”
“Another uninventive, mundane, and shallow game in the series, this time stripped of even the small variety the prior game attempted, in exchange for translucent, colorless visuals.”
“It's quickly distinguished from its siblings by its monolithic, black and white aesthetic.”
“Sparkle Zero is a step backward in this genre; there are no missions at all, no tutorial or evolution statistics (unlike its predecessors), worse graphics, and awful sounds, with no cool music like Sparkle 2 and 3.”
- story8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the Sparkle series has received mixed reviews, with Sparkle Zero criticized for its lack of quests, narrative, and player input, resulting in a more monotonous experience. In contrast, Sparkle 3 offers a linear story but sacrifices some of the engaging elements found in earlier titles, leaving players feeling disconnected from their progression and purpose. Overall, many users express a preference for the more structured storytelling and mission-based gameplay of previous installments.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“I largely preferred the ancient system of levels and missions, mainly because you can come back to them and keep growing in beautiful landscapes.”
“Sparkle 3 stripped away some of that feeling in favor of a linear story.”
“Sparkle Zero, in contrast to its siblings, has no quests or levels, lacks a macro narrative, and its evolution is completely automated with zero input from the player.”
“There is no story, no purpose, no evolution, no tutorial, no achievement tracking, nada.”
“Sparkle Zero is a step backward in this genre; there are no missions at all, no tutorial or evolution statistics (unlike its predecessors), worse graphics, awful sounds, and no cool music like Sparkle 2 and 3.”
- grinding5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, as the controls are imprecise and chasing food becomes a monotonous task. Completing maps requires extensive grinding due to the large areas to cover and slow eating mechanics, leading to boredom rather than challenge. While there are no excessive grindy achievements, many felt the overall experience was lacking in engagement, with some finishing the game in under 80 minutes.
“There are no grindy achievements that require you to play through the entire game four times, unlike in Sparkle 3.”
“The game strikes a perfect balance, allowing for progression without feeling like a tedious grind.”
“I appreciate how the grinding elements are designed to be rewarding rather than repetitive.”
“It's not predictable nor precise; it's heavy, thick, dense, and hard to control, which makes chasing food a tedious and irksome task.”
“It felt very tedious.”
“Also, if you want to complete each map, it gets very grindy as you have to cover large spaces, and the time between each time that you can eat something makes the large clusters of food boring as you sit on a piece of the food waiting for your mouth to open.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game suffers from limited replayability, with many users noting a lack of incentive to revisit it after completion. Performance issues further diminish the enjoyment, contributing to a consensus that the game offers little in terms of replay value.
“However, the limited replay value and occasional performance hiccups slightly detract from the overall enjoyment.”
“I think they called it sparkle zero because of its zero replayability.”
“- no replayability.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is praised for its beautiful graphics, creating an appealing environment; however, it quickly becomes monotonous due to a lack of engaging activities, leading to a sense of boredom.
“The atmosphere is nice with beautiful graphics.”
“While the atmosphere is nice, there's really nothing to do but eat cubes and attack the two types of enemies.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs and frustrating enemy encounters, leading to a frustrating experience. Players have reported that the game freezes with a white screen upon completion, further detracting from overall enjoyment.
“The game is buggy, with super annoying spike enemies, and it's extremely short.”
“When the game ends, the screen becomes white and freezes.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
While the game offers an enjoyable experience, some users note that limited replay value and occasional performance issues hinder its overall optimization.
“However, the limited replay value and occasional performance hiccups slightly detract from the overall enjoyment.”
“The game suffers from frequent frame drops, making it difficult to enjoy the experience fully.”
“Optimization issues lead to long loading times and stuttering gameplay, which can be frustrating.”
