Spectro
- June 11, 2020
- Borrowed Light Studios
Get on Steam"Spectro is a single-player VR action roguelike with good graphics and free movement. Bust ghosts, navigate random level generation, and upgrade your gear in the haunted tower of Weirdwood. With mechanics designed specifically for virtual reality and various locomotion options, Spectro offers endless replayability and a unique experience in ghost hunting."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Spectro features a charming art style reminiscent of Luigi's Mansion, creating an engaging and visually appealing VR experience.
- The gameplay loop of capturing ghosts and exploring procedurally generated levels is fun and addictive, providing a sense of discovery and challenge.
- The game offers a unique blend of humor and light-heartedness, making it accessible for players who enjoy a non-scary ghost-busting experience.
- The game suffers from significant bugs and issues, including a lack of updates and a frustrating save system that causes players to lose progress upon dying.
- Many players find the controls awkward, particularly the absence of a 'movement follows hand' option, which can lead to disorientation and motion sickness.
- The progression system feels unbalanced, with players often unable to acquire necessary upgrades or items, leading to repetitive gameplay and frustration.
- graphics34 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of Spectro are characterized by a vibrant, cartoony art style that evokes a playful yet spooky atmosphere reminiscent of Luigi's Mansion. Players appreciate the colorful and polished visuals, which enhance the engaging gameplay and encourage exploration. Overall, the aesthetic is seen as a cohesive and enjoyable aspect of the game, contributing to its charm and replayability.
“The ever-changing environment has an amazing cartoony art style to it, with everything in it feeling to scale.”
“Spectro's graphics are perfect with some moments of genuinely scary spooks chasing me down a hall.”
“It feels like just an aesthetic thing to have rather than a tool that services gameplay because it has no real function other than to illuminate scenes.”
“Everything from the graphics to the mechanics of this game feel like it was made with love and care put into it.”
“The vibrancy and trippiness of the art style draws you in and makes you want to keep exploring.”
- gameplay24 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally praised for its addictive nature, intuitive controls, and engaging mechanics, making it easy to learn and enjoyable to play. However, some players express a desire for more variety and depth as they progress, noting that current content may not significantly enhance gameplay or player retention. Overall, while the game shows promise, there are hopes for future updates to expand its gameplay experience.
“The menus are relatively intuitive and snappy, all the sound effects feel appropriate and great, the gameplay is addictive while still feeling relatively new with each playthrough.”
“Spectro is an amazing VR title that has a distinct art style. What I love most about the game is the easy-to-use and intuitive control mechanics. It gets you up and running with a robust tutorial, and what's really cool is capturing the ghost with your special weapons. It also has an engaging strategy to it.”
“Everything from the graphics to the mechanics of this game feels like it was made with love and care put into it.”
“What's the point of generating content when it does nothing to enhance gameplay variety or extend player retention?”
“Overall gameplay has some suspense to it, but nothing scary so far.”
“It's also possible I just haven't progressed far enough to see the gameplay evolve further.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its excellent integration with the art style and its nostalgic "Luigi's Mansion" vibes, while others criticize it as repetitive and lacking charm, suggesting it may become grating after a short time. Additionally, there are concerns about the initial soundtrack not fitting well with the game's atmosphere.
“I love the art style and the music; it gives me very Luigi Mansion vibes.”
“The music score is excellent and blends well with the style of the game.”
“The initial game soundtrack when talking to the ghost doesn't fit in my mind.”
“- The music score is terrible, has no charm, is repetitive, and you'll want to turn it off permanently after the first few minutes.”
“Initial game soundtrack when talking to the ghost doesn't fit in my mind.”
- story6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered shallow, lacking depth, but players find the gameplay enjoyable and the environment rich in character.
“The game isn't very deep in terms of story, but the gameplay is pretty fun and the environment has a lot of character.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, with multiple users encountering game-breaking bugs and glitches that hinder gameplay. These problems have raised concerns about the overall reliability of the game.
“The game is plagued by game-breaking bugs and glitches that ruin the experience.”
“I encountered multiple game-breaking bugs that made it impossible to progress.”
“The stability issues are so severe that I frequently experience crashes and glitches.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating, particularly due to the high costs of items in the pre-game shop, which limits their ability to purchase multiple upgrades in a single run without engaging in extensive coin-grinding.
“Upon starting a new run, items in the pre-game computer shop cost so much, in my opinion, and really only lend themselves to be used on maybe 1 or 2 items at a time in a single non-coin-grinding playthrough.”
