Spiritfall

Good idea just not well executed, Spiritfall's attempt at the first action platformer roguelike fails to deliver.

Starting at $16.99Buy now

"Spiritfall" is a single-player Fantasy Hack and Slash game with an intriguing story and excellent graphics. It features tight platform fighter combat, smooth movement, and roguelite mechanics, allowing for experimentation with over 150 powerful blessings and unique builds. Death is temporary, with resources gathered used for upgrades, unlocking new abilities, and awakening mighty weapons, providing lots of replayability.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,012 reviews

gameplay110 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

The game combines platform fighter mechanics with roguelike elements, creating a unique and engaging experience.
Combat is fluid and satisfying, allowing for creative combos and skill expression.
The art style and music are beautiful, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.

The game currently lacks content, with only a few weapons and areas available, leading to repetitive gameplay.
Some enemies and bosses can feel unbalanced, with projectiles making combat chaotic and frustrating.
The meta-progression system can feel slow and unimpactful, making it hard to feel a sense of growth between runs.

gameplay
226 mentions
49 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Spiritfall is widely praised for its fluidity, engaging mechanics, and satisfying combat, effectively blending elements from platform fighters like Super Smash Bros. and roguelikes such as Hades. Players appreciate the depth of the combat system, which allows for diverse builds and combos, while the progression mechanics keep the experience fresh and rewarding. However, some reviewers noted issues with certain boss fights and the overall balance of difficulty, suggesting that while the core gameplay is strong, there are areas for improvement.
- “I was kind of skeptical about the mixture of roguelike and Smash Bros style gameplay, but it turned out to be a really nice blend of the two that just works really well.”
- “The combat is satisfying and fun, and I've been enjoying the gameplay loop a lot!”
- “The gameplay is incredibly satisfying.”
- “The spirit blessings you get slightly affect gameplay but not in a way that matters that much; more attack speed, damage over time, more launch power, etc. It feels very uninspired.”
- “Handling and gameplay feels fluid and intuitive.”
- “Lastly, when you finish most of the core things you can upgrade, you run out of things to meaningfully work on, which essentially ends my motive to continue my adventures because of the things I found unpolished in the gameplay.”
graphics
75 mentions
68 % positive mentions
28 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their beautiful and charming art style, which is often described as vibrant, clean, and reminiscent of hand-painted landscapes. Players appreciate the intricate character designs and smooth animations, contributing to an immersive experience, although some critiques mention a lack of depth in certain visual elements. Overall, the visuals are praised for enhancing the gameplay and providing a visually stunning environment that complements the game's mechanics.
- “The art style, reminiscent of hand-painted landscapes, engulfs players in a visually stunning world teeming with vibrant colors and intricate details.”
- “The visuals are stunning, with each level and character designed with intricate detail that truly immerses you in the game's world.”
- “The art style perfectly complements the game's tone, creating an environment that is both immersive and visually stunning.”
- “But, it is lacking in the visuals department, especially shadows on characters.”
- “The battle encounters aren't all that special, and the artwork feels like something I would get in a mobile game.”
- “To be fair, it may just be the way I perceive the game too based on the art style... I'm not a game designer but it feels like the character models needed to be 'flattened'.”
music
50 mentions
68 % positive mentions
26 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers highlighting its catchy and beautiful tracks that complement the unique zones and gameplay. While some noted that it may not stand out in its genre, the soundtrack, particularly the boss themes and main hub music, has grown on players and is considered a significant highlight. Overall, the combination of engaging music and solid sound effects contributes to the game's charm and replayability.
- “Each zone is unique and beautifully rendered with music that ties well into each area.”
- “The music is fantastic, the music that plays in the main hub is particularly beautiful.”
- “Beautiful graphics, amazing soundtrack, and a great challenge.”
- “If those descriptions made you want to give up and go to bed, the music will make you want to stay there.”
- “But there is a constant mosquito buzzing added within the music.”
- “Music that sounds like a sex scene from a 1980's fantasy movie.”
story
40 mentions
40 % positive mentions
53 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally viewed as interesting but lacking depth and focus, with many players noting that it feels vague and underdeveloped compared to similar titles like Hades. While some appreciate the lore and worldbuilding elements, they express a desire for more substantial narrative content and character development. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, which remains engaging, but players hope for future updates to enhance the narrative experience.
- “This has been one of my most favorite games; the style and story are really interesting to me, albeit there isn't much focus, but there's plenty of side bits to check out in the game's item and monster catalog.”
- “The story beats are there, the bosses and such, but I think the only thing missing to tie it all together right now is finding out what waits beyond that final boss.”
- “So far the story is keeping me hooked, so I'm looking forward to where it goes next.”
- “There's plenty of rough edges and the story is a little generic and flat, but the core loop is compelling and there's a solid 20-50 hours of fun platform fighter PvE in here for folks who would enjoy that.”
- “I can't really say much about the story at all, but it certainly isn't as memorable or worth paying attention to as Hades.”
- “The story itself is also pretty weak, and takes a bit too much of a backseat compared to Hades.”
replayability
25 mentions
56 % positive mentions
32 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while many players appreciate its depth, unique mechanics, and varied builds that encourage multiple playthroughs, others feel it lacks the longevity found in other roguelikes. Some highlight the engaging combat and the potential for infinite replayability due to different weapon sets and blessings, while others note that a limited weapon focus can lead to a quicker completion. Despite these differences, the game is generally regarded as having solid replay value, especially for those who enjoy experimenting with various strategies and builds.
- “This game has a surprising amount of depth and replayability, giving it a high replay value as opposed to other platform fighters and roguelikes that can become repetitive.”
- “I had never before played a roguelike, and the unique aspect of starting each run with a new map and unique build, from the weapon to the blessing to the masks, makes the game infinitely replayable.”
- “The combat is fluid and satisfying to pull off combos with; the power-up mechanics are similar to Hades, which adds to the replay value of the game.”
- “You don't get as much replayability out of it as other roguelites, in my opinion, but it's very polished with a strong direction and does distinctly play rather differently from other roguelites with its combo-based, Smash Bros style approach to combat.”
- “This lowers the replayability significantly.”
- “That dramatically reduces the replayability of this roguelite.”
grinding
12 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players note that grinding is a significant aspect of the game, particularly in the early stages where resource collection and ability unlocking can feel tedious. While some enjoy the slower, more intentional gameplay, others find the initial levels lack the scaling needed to make them feel less repetitive. Overall, the grind is perceived as manageable and less pronounced in later stages, especially when adopting a fighting game mindset, though the randomness of rewards can lead to uneven experiences.
- “The grind for resources is a little bit tedious early on, but once you've gotten past the worst of it, the game basically has no major issues with its loop.”
- “The game also expects you to die a lot and restart while being slightly stronger. There are four different meta currencies to level up your characters, and it feels very uninspired as it's mostly flat updates or slight movement upgrades. You can also unlock new weapons that change the way you play, but they are costly (around an hour and a half of playtime to unlock one out of ten), and there is no way to test them before purchasing. So if you don't like the way this weapon feels, go back to grinding.”
- “I have started to like the slower, more intentional gameplay, but clearing the first levels gets tedious because your damage and health scaling never really trivializes these initial stages like other games would.”
humor
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted through its amusing gameplay mechanics, such as executing funny combos and the presence of quirky spirits. While some players find the enemies too easy, leading to a more lighthearted experience, the overall comedic elements contribute positively to the game's charm.
- “I don't even really have any funny jokes for this review, Spiritfall is a fantastic game on all fronts and is slept on so hard by pretty much everybody.”
- “You can pull off some pretty funny combos on things and just watch things fly.”
- “I recommend it if you like cool magic and funny spirits.”
optimization
5 mentions
40 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its smooth performance and high polish, with many users reporting no bugs or performance issues, even in early access. However, some players are still awaiting further performance improvements.
- “Perfect combat, awesome bosses, addictive progression, gorgeous visuals, cool designs, a banger OST, smooth performance, high polish, and an intriguing narrative.”
- “It's clear that the developers put a lot of effort into testing and polishing the game, ensuring that it runs smoothly and flawlessly.”
- “I like the game, but I'm going to have to wait for the performance increase.”
- “Haven't had any bugs or performance issues.”
- “Even though it's early access, I haven't encountered any bugs or performance issues.”
character development
5 mentions
80 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is highlighted by charming designs and intuitive leveling and skill tree systems, which enhance player engagement. The stunning visuals and fluid animations contribute to an immersive experience, making the characters feel dynamic and integral to the gameplay. Overall, the combination of great artwork and the emotional stakes of the game enriches the character development significantly.
- “The leveling and skill tree systems are intuitive and easy to navigate; character design is charming as well (also shout out to the composer, the soundtrack slaps).”
- “The combination of great character design and the stress of losing really completes this game.”
- “The visuals are stunning, with each level and character designed with intricate detail that truly immerses you in the game's world.”
stability
3 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for buggy menus when using a controller, leading to potential softlocks, as well as various glitches throughout gameplay. Players have reported a decline in performance after completing the initial run, including audio issues and frame drops.
- “Menus are buggy with the controller, and you can get softlocked.”
- “There are some things that are rough around the edges, and I've experienced a few glitches.”
- “After finishing my first run and unlocking the additional difficulty settings, the game has started to perform worse, with audio glitches and frame drops.”
emotional
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players express that the game evokes strong emotional engagement, making them feel deeply connected and invested in the experience. It has been described as transformative, instilling a sense of identity and belonging within the gaming community.
- “It's been quite a long time since a game has entrapped me and made me feel like I can't get enough of it.”
- “What I do know is that this is the first game that ever made me feel like I could be a gamer.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its effective blend of platform fighting and roguelite elements, enhanced by a complementary art style. However, the immobility of certain mechanics, like the hammer, creates a unique dynamic that can lead to unexpected gameplay moments.
- “Does a perfect job combining platform fighters with a roguelite aspect, and the atmosphere and art style complement it greatly.”
- “The hammer is super immobile, creating a unique atmosphere where you'll knock an enemy super far, but then don't really have a good follow-up on them.”