Spiritfall Review (Phranc)
Super Smash Bros + Hades
This is quite a refreshing game for me since I've never played Super Smash Bros or Brawlhalla. I've only seen short gameplay clips of the two, and I believe Spirirtfall wears its inspiration on the sleeves. While the core mechanic largely remains the same, the dev adds roguelite elements and some interesting design to the mix. The result is an interesting and addicting experience.
Things I Like About Spiritfall:
1. Gameplay
It's all about launching and juggling.
Gameplay revolves around hitting and juggling the enemies as long as possible before they recover. Different to the usual "hit-stun until the end the combo" action.
Your combat options consist of normal attacks with four directional inputs for both grounded and airborne(the results vary depending on the weapon), a launcher that can be perfectly charged for massive knock back, a bolt that is mostly for crowd control, an assist from a designated spirit, and the invincible dodge.
Players can also receive enhancement from the animal spirits in the run. This feature works exactly like the god's boons in Hades. Normal attacks and launchers receive an elemental boost, while the other three can have different attack patterns determined by the spirit.
There is also an exp meter that rewards players for pulling off high combo without getting hit. Players receive Essence when the meter is full. Essence can be used to enhance weapons, tailoring specific aspects of said weapons for better builds.
2. Weapons
A major reason this game is so fun for me.
There are five weapons, five alternatives, eight attacks for each. That's a total of...a lot things to memorize and practice.
Hammer-Axe is the starting weapon, boasting high damage and high knock back but less combo potential; Alternate form is dual-wielding the now-split hammer and axe that turns most of the knock back into multi-hit combos and adds a new air juggle.
Sisterhood Gauntlets are two pairs of fists that specialize in grounded multi-hit attacks with most airborne attacks smashing enemies down; Alternate form turns into a pair of giant fists. While retaining most of the attack patterns, the launcher becomes grappler, able to grab enemies and throw them into walls or off the edge.
Astral Cord Bow is full of ranged option. The agile move sets not only keep the player from being grouped but also create lots of lifting and juggling opportunities. Launcher is a chargeable arrow that can deal high damage when fully charged; Alternate form turns it into a crossbow that changes the normal attack into a bomb players can detonate manually, offering more juggle potential. Launcher becomes a screen-long, piercing arrow which also launches enemies in the air.
Link Blades are the most versatile of all. All the attacks carry momentum, automatically sending the character airborne. The multi-hit nature and the hooking launcher easily make the weapon combo friendly; Alternate form is a pair of scimitars, sacrificing some multi-hits with high-damage, phasing attacks.
Finally my favorite, Equinox, a two-in-one package. Scythe mode deals heavy damage. Fully charged launcher sends the spinning scythe head forward, turning the weapon into Staff mode. Staff mode exchanges damage and knock back for a new airborne combo; Alternate form becomes a drill spear. Drill mode has a sweet spot for multi-hits so players need to pay attention the attack length. Fully charged launcher sends the twirling drill head forward, turning the weapon into Spear mode. Spear mode may lose the sweet spot bonus, but the faster attacks let the players weave in and out more freely.
Things I Dislike About Spiritfall:
Minor Complaints
Even though the amount of resources needed for upgrade is far less than its peers, randomly offering two of three resources that the players can only choose one doesn't feel good at all.
I wish the normal combat encounters weren't in a confined space. Wall splat is nice, but combo-ing enemies off the map feels more satisfying to pull off.
中文小簡評
→任天堂明星大亂鬥加點類黑帝斯的roguelite元素。
→我沒有玩過類似的遊戲，所以這款的戰鬥對我來說算新鮮有趣。
→基本上所有的連擊都是建立在把敵人挑高跟擊飛，需要玩家熟悉武器各項攻擊的打擊效果來判斷擊飛後如何追擊。
→玩家戰鬥手段多樣：五把武器、五種衍生、每把各有四個不同性質的地上攻擊和空中攻擊外，還有一個專門擊飛的重攻擊。剩下的是共用的遠程攻擊、動物靈輔助和無敵衝刺。
→遊戲中能獲得動物靈的賜福，機制類黑帝斯希臘神的祝福，除了為攻擊增加屬性傷害外，七位動物靈也有不同的遠程與輔助強化。
→戰鬥時也有個經驗條，主要是用來鼓勵玩家無傷多打連擊，打得越久加成越高。集滿了會獲得精華，能在過渡區域的商人增強數值或針對武器特性強化。
→雖然roguelite升級要的資源比同儕少很多，但是素材是由隨機生成的石像三選二之後讓你二選一的機制難免讓人覺得很難農。
→可惜一般的戰鬥都是在封閉的空間打，很少有把敵人打出場外的快感。