Developer: Sunny Syrup Studio
Platforms: PC, PS5, Switch
Gene(s): Action, Adventure
Publisher: Dear Villagers
Spirit Mancer is a 2D hack-and-slash adventure game. This game was developed by Sunny Syrup Studio and Dear Villagers. Spirit Mancer is similar to games such as Slay the Spire and Mega Man. This review was done for Windows, but the game is also available on PS5 and Switch.
Spirit Mancer can be played locally with another player to join the epic battle that the game has to offer. If you do not wish to play with someone else, then you can always enjoy the game yourself. Playing single-player or with another person does not change the experience, as you can easily switch between characters to your liking. I found that Spirit Mancer worked nicely either way; if you wish to have someone join your game, then you can easily have them hop on. The game works in a way where you will complete runs/missions where you run down attacking enemies whilst reaching your object. It was quite a fun experience.
Spirit Mancer is a narrative game that revolves around Sebastian and Mary, who have unexpectedly been taken into a mysterious realm through a demon portal. Sebastian and his crew have scattered across the realm of Inferno and are greeted by pig people who have bestowed upon them mystical powers. It is up to our cocky hero to find a mystical key and use their newly obtained powers to help open up a portal back.
The controls for this game are really easy to work with. As the game can be played locally, you can have players use a controller which is mapped really nicely. If you prefer a keyboard/mouse, they control work with no visible lag or delay. The tutorial for Spirit Mancer, which is built into uncovering the first part of the story, does a great job of explaining the keybinds and mechanics. Spirit Mancer almost plays similarly to retro games like Metal Gear, where you run left and right attacking mobs. I really enjoyed the opening of the scene, which sets forth the journey Sebastian embarks on.
Spirit Mancer features a semi-realistic cartoon art style. The 2D and 3D graphics blend really well to create a hectic top-down view for players. The quirky enemy designs create horrific creatures that progressively get more and more creative. Spirit Mancer does a wonderful job at creating significant landscapes, such as islands, dark caves, and underwater ruins, that are complemented with pixel-like elements to create depth. The background and foreground are well-detailed, with vibrant animations. I do have to say that the dialogue and cute animation sequences are really well done, which ropes the player into the game. The visuals for Spirit Mancer work nicely with the soundtrack. The soundtrack for Spirit Mancer is so exciting, having amped synth/edm type of music that you would find in classic side-scrolling games. The pairing with surrounding sound effects, from pelican squawking to unique gunshots, really brings together the visuals.
Spirit Mancer is not such a difficult game to get a hang of. Most of the game relies on players having to traverse through several stages (missions) where they will fight several demons. Demons that you encounter will drop loot that can be used as you carry out your journey. Spirit Mancer incorporates a fun mechanic where your primary and secondary weapons have allocated jewel types (almost like specific elements) that will apply more damage to demons with the corresponding jewel. This was such a fun way to get players to keep an eye out for specific guns and focus on melee attacks that would help grow their demon collection. Additionally, combat lets players capture demons and add them to their deck so they can be used as a helping hand. The demons themselves have a specific jewel, purple, that can be used in times when defeating a demon with a purple jewel.
The game has an interesting combat style where you can use the jewel guns and your striking fists to lower monster shields in order to capture them as spirit cards. The collection of Spirit cards can continue to grow until you reach your max, but after using one, you can go ahead and capture another. The game lets players build their deck, which is a fun way to get minions to help you fight. I did like the fact that the spirit cards used have a time limit, so your released demon will not fight forever. Plus, throwing them randomly does not always help, as timing and positioning your demon will help your fight much better. I do have to say that fighting the demons and collecting the gun drops is so much fun because you can use a normal gun, a gun that shoots out electrifying rays. The number of guns you can encounter is endless; they do have limited ammo, but you can always encounter another one.
I found Spirit Mancer to be a fun game where you get to parkour through various landscapes and defeat demons. As you complete stages, you receive rewards that can be used as several upgrades. The addition of being able to fish, farm, and hire gunmen can all be done to collect resources to upgrade your abilities and spirit cards, and there are several things you can upgrade. Each character has a distinct ability, and you can even upgrade or change the way their weapons attack, which is quite interesting. The game itself is fun, but I did find that the combat, after a while, became boring. You tend to run ‘n’ gun, but it starts getting to a point where you almost just run across the screen and shoot everything in your path. The loot, at times, is also disposed of quite frequently, which does not make the game super challenging. I did, however, enjoy the boss fights even though some took a lot longer than expected, but it was a nice change of pace to the game. I do wish that the developers take into consideration making the stages themselves a bit more interesting and have more difficult traversing/parkour aspects that would get players to explore more in stages rather than try to run it down.
If you are looking for a hectic run ‘n’ gun game where you are able to build a deck of demon spirits that will help you on your journey, then this game is just for you. Not only can you play this game by yourself, but you can play locally with another person. Fight unique demons that will try to stop you from going back home and defeat several bosses in order to upgrade abilities whilst getting to fish and farm. You can build the ultimate Spirit deck and defeat as many demons with an array of weapons if you check out Spirit Mancer!
Overall: 7.5/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
