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Mana Spark (Switch) Review - Should You Buy It in 2024

An Entry Point For Rogue-lites

A while back I was trying to convince a friend of mine to play Risk of Rain 2. “Yeah man, you run around the stage, gather up a bunch of random items, fight a boss, then move to the next stage. The game ends when you die. Then you do it all over again from the start!”. I feel like I summarized the gameplay loop pretty succinctly and beamed a big smile at him, thinking how could he say no to that. “Wait, you lose everything when you die?” he asked. “Yeah, then you do it again!” I replied. His face gave away what he was thinking. I could tell he was unimpressed. “I don’t want to lose my stuff when I die.” he said. I then spent another ten minutes or so spinning my wheels trying to explain how this was different from other times you lose your gear in games, and that dying was half the fun. I somehow managed to convince him to pick up the game (which he ended up loving) and after he played it a bit it all made much more sense. 

I thought about that conversation a great deal while I played Mana Spark. I’m sure that if I handed this game to my friend that I could have avoided a lot of the confusion of explaining a rogue-lite, while also convincing him of the genre’s merits. That’s what I think Mana Spark’s biggest asset is. 

Mana Spark condenses many of the aspects of Soulslike and rogue-like and keeps what works. Combat is king for any souls-like game, and Mana Spark does a good job of simplifying it without losing too much fidelity. Your weapon of choice for a good portion of the game will be your trusted bow and arrow. It will do decent damage to small enemies, but will require multiple hits on tougher foes. Your biggest weapon, however, is your muscle memory; enemies follow predictable patterns and learning how each one attacks will serve you well. Mana Spark also builds onto the combat, making enemies responsive to their environment. For example, the simple Goblat enemies are fragile enemies that shoot slow, easy to dodge projectiles. If a Goblat finds a Grey Wolf or a Wild Boar they won’t hesitate to hop on its back, creating a much more difficult enemy to take down. 

The souls-like combat sits inside of a rogue-lite framework. Each time you play the game (“run”) there will be slight, but impactful, differences that will change some aspect of your character and how the game plays out. No two runs will be exactly the same as both items and stage layout will change. This variation keeps the game fresh and adds a lot of longevity. There is a surprising amount of depth gained from the meta-progression that is available through your encampment (where you will go in-between runs). Different characters that you recruit along the way will show up and provide various upgrades and buffs that will help get you closer to beating the game. This is done by collecting currency called “runes” in your runs. This is one of two currencies in the game, but is the only one that can be stored for use outside of a run.

The game does have its limitations, though. Mana Spark has a standard price point of $9

.99, which isn’t an outrageous price. The ten dollar price point sets Mana Spark at the same level as fully fleshed out, classic indie rogue titles such as Risk of Rain and Spelunky as well as overall picks like Terraria and Undertale. I think I would feel more at ease if this game was around the five dollar mark, which seems to be a more fitting weight class for it. Mana Spark does have a consistent track record of being on sale, which is a bit of a saving grace. I picked up the game at $1.99 which is a great price for it. 

My biggest gripe with Mana Spark is a flaw in the game loop. Traditionally, after defeating a boss there is a moment of respite. A time to gather your thoughts, check your gear, heal, etc. At the very least you can save your game. Mana Spark eschews this dynamic and chooses to throw the player right back into the Buried Tunnels, which they will need to fight through to reach the next rest area. I’m sure this will become trivial as players gain more experience and can clear the stage without much hassle but it can be a major roadblock.

This formula creates a “feel bad” scenario. The boss you have just defeated has rewarded you with the same amount of runes you would have gotten from the starting area ten times over. I mistakenly assumed that I would be able to put this new loot towards my camp as I had unlocked the Turret in a previous run and was eager to unlock it. I was low on health and excited to get to the rest area only to find that I would have to fight my way through a massive stage filled with enemies and more rooms than I had ever seen. I promptly died and lost everything. 

Dying in a rogue-lite shouldn’t feel bad. As I explained to my friend, dying is a large part of the rogue-lite experience. What keeps death from “feeling bad” is that the meta-progression is in my skill as a player, and not always about what I unlock in the game. I found an item in the game (Turret) that I wanted to unlock. In an ideal world, finding the Turret would have unlocked it. In Mana Spark, finding the item is only half of the battle as you must also gather enough runes to purchase the item from the blacksmith. Because the rest area is placed poorly, I am incentivized to grind the first two stages for one or two runes and then promptly die to get back into a run to do it again. 

There is an obvious solution: move the rest area one stage backwards. If a player defeats the boss, they should be able to secure their reward. Simple as that. There is another more nuanced answer. I said that in an ideal world finding the item should unlock the item. Mana Spark already has a built-in upgrade system. If a player finds the item then it should be unlocked at the blacksmith, but it doesn’t need to be very good yet. In this scenario, the player gets to use the item they found, engages with the upgrade system that is already in place, and the developer can keep their level layout. Or just let me keep my runes. That works too.

Performance: The moment-to-moment gameplay is sharp and responsive. I think that things move a little too fast at times and can become hard to see, but this is usually after the stage has been cleared so it is mostly a non-issue.

Music: The music largely contrasts the gameplay. Even though the combat on screen might be chaotic, the music over top of the gameplay is calm and relaxed. It’s a nice fit.

Art Style: Character models are minimalist pixel designs that showcase just enough character to make them identifiable. 

Game Length: A person could reasonably beat this game in ten hours but because Mana Spark is a rogue-lite there is increased replayability.

Should you buy Mana Spark?

Mana Spark is an entry point into the rogue-lite genre. If you have played other rogue-lites then this game won’t necessarily be for you as it doesn’t do anything other games haven’t already done. This is a game for somebody who is completely new and is looking to enter the genre at a reasonable price. Mana Spark goes on sale frequently and can be picked up for around two dollars. I would highly recommend this game at that price point.