Springblades
- November 25, 2022
- Tom van den Boogaart
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Springblades" is an upcoming action RPG set on a fantasy island, where you fight quirky characters and battle your way to finding three mysterious gems. Success in combat relies on timing attacks and dodging enemy moves, while equipped gear determines available actions and counters enemy traits. Special events in battle can be triggered by specific gear, adding strategy and excitement to the gameplay.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and charming art style, along with humorous enemy designs that enhance the overall experience.
- Combat is engaging and requires strategic thinking, with a variety of builds and synergies available for players to explore.
- It's a fun and quick RPG that offers a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic games like Paper Mario.
- The game can become grindy and monotonous, especially as players progress and face increasing difficulty without much variety in gameplay.
- The ending feels anticlimactic and lacks a proper conclusion, leaving players confused about whether they missed something.
- There are several quality of life issues, such as the inability to delete save files and a lack of meaningful content like side quests.
- story20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story in Springblades is described as minimal and simplistic, providing a basic narrative framework with hints of deeper storytelling during boss encounters. While the cute art style and text-based town interactions engage players, many reviewers note the lack of depth and meaningful content, such as side quests, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the game offers a charming but shallow story that may not satisfy those seeking a rich narrative.
“Springblades is a unique little action RPG that provides players with a base story and guided pathing to meet the objectives within it.”
“The 'towns' each come with a still image and some text which prompted the little one to try and read it and tell me the story as though in a storybook.”
“Good indie games with a neat art style, variety of weapons and items to equip to give a variety of ways to progress in the story.”
“Nothing in depth but just hints of story going on.”
“The only cons are there is not much to the story and it's missing a bunch of quality of life improvements like choosing the warp area or sorting of items in the inventory and not much replayability.”
“Story itself is absent after the original opening.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are characterized by a unique and playful cartoon art style that sets it apart from typical RPG aesthetics, such as gothic or realism. Players appreciate the charming and simplistic visuals, which contribute to the overall whimsical experience, although some note that the initial charm may fade due to grindy gameplay. Overall, the art style is well-received, enhancing the game's quirky narrative and variety of gameplay options.
“Springblade's art defies the typical RPG gothic or realism art styles and opts for a more playful and cartoon style, which I appreciated perhaps most about the game.”
“I love the art style and the map style in this RPG.”
“The game is quaintly charming for the first couple of hours thanks to its simplistic art style and playful encounter design, but I can't recommend it on the grounds that it is insanely grindy.”
“Springblades' art defies the typical RPG gothic or realism art styles and opts for a more playful and cartoon style, which I appreciated perhaps most about the game.”
“The art style within the game is what I found most unique about this game.”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a simple turn-based mechanic reminiscent of Paper Mario, which some players find charming and enjoyable, though it may lack depth for extended play. While the game has a solid loop and is relatively short, it suffers from issues like unclear blocking mechanics and limited shop offerings, leading to a mixed reception regarding its overall engagement. Additionally, a memory leak was noted, but it was easily resolved by restarting the game.
“If you enjoy Paper Mario-like combat/gameplay, or are just looking for a simple but effective turn-based RPG, I recommend!”
“Gameplay is like a brain massage.”
“It's fairly short, but has a lot of charm and a solid gameplay loop.”
“There is a single game mechanic that can't entertain you for long.”
“Right now the game gives a taste of bland and annoying; for example, the game's block or dodge mechanic seems random and does not tell you how to block the different types of attacks, and only 1 or 3 of the shops actually sell items worth buying.”
“Simple mechanics, ran into one memory leak that restarting the game fixed.”
- humor14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor, featuring cute and funny enemy designs that enhance the overall experience. Players enjoy the humorous descriptions of creatures and the amusing glitches, which add a lighthearted touch to gameplay. The combination of engaging artwork, witty references, and entertaining enemy interactions contributes to its charm as a fun RPG.
“Cute and funny designs for the enemies that give each area a new feel.”
“I love the funny descriptions of the creatures!”
“It's got a lot of funny enemies to battle and the way you can customize your play style is great.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and monotonous, often leading to a sense of soft-locking as they are forced to grind for resources or experience points. While the game starts off charming, the lack of replayability and the necessity of grinding detracts significantly from the overall experience, with some achievements being potentially bugged after long hours of effort.
“The game is quaintly charming for the first couple of hours thanks to its simplistic art style and playful encounter design, but I can't recommend it on the grounds that it is insanely grindy.”
“It's insanely tedious.”
“Grinding seems to be a must due to the experience system and enemy difficulty ramp-up.”
- music6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is characterized as sokpop's signature lo-fi style, featuring excellent compositions that are complemented by appealing artwork and humorous references to previous titles. Overall, players find the music to be a standout element, enhancing the overall experience.
“The music is Sokpop's standard lo-fi goodness, with great artwork, good humor, and references to their past games.”
“The music is Sokpop's standard lo-fi goodness, with great artwork, good humor, and references to their past games.”
“The music is great!”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is generally stable, with users enjoying it and recommending it, though they also note the presence of amusing exploitable glitches.
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Many users expressed disappointment with the game's ending, feeling it lacked emotional closure and left them questioning if that was truly the conclusion. This sentiment suggests that the emotional impact of the finale did not meet their expectations.
- character development2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The character development is highlighted by users as charming and appealing, with a strong emphasis on the cute design of the characters.
