The common practice among indie game devs when making a 2D action platformer is to implement soulslike mechanics (because that’s what all the cool kids like) or have roguelike gameplay for some artificially induced hollow variety. In some cases, the developers will do both.
It’s always good to have a gimmick. An interesting twist on a familiar formula can go a long way in making a game feel more memorable. In the case of Spirit Mancer, the developer opted for cheeky deck-building a rock-paper-scissor weakness system when throwing down with some bad dudes.
2D action platforming is undeniably flexible. It can work with anything – even card games. How can it be done? What did Sunny Syrup Studio do to make it work? Find out in our Spirit Mancer review!
Spirit Mancer
Developer: Sunny Syrup Studio
Publisher: Dear Villagers, OKJOY, Plug In Digital
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 (reviewed)
Release Date: November 22, 2024
Price: $19.99
Spirit Mancer wastes no time in establishing its tone. It begins in a cyberpunk dystopia where a strike team of edgy-looking deviantart-like characters get isekai’d to a whimsical fantasy setting where the protagonist gets robbed naked by a cartoony pig mascot. It was at this moment, I felt like I was in good hands and that I didn’t have to take things too seriously.
The influences peppered throughout Spirit Mancer are worn on its sleeve. There are some Pokemon inspirations with the creature-catching mechanics and some Yu-Gi-Oh with the deck-building concepts and character designs. The style of the big boisterous sprites evokes memories of Metal Slug‘s larger-than-life pixel art.
The story may be very light and played for laughs with bouts of awesome action, but it’s presented with an impressive amount of polish. Dialogue is snappy and witty, rarely wasting a second. Key sequences are illustrated with beautiful animated pixel art cutscenes that boast the artist’s panache.
Spirit Mancer‘s art is excellent. The visuals are some of the best pixel art seen in a game from 2024. Characters are large and in charge. Bosses fill the screen and attack animations are elaborate with huge particle effects. The maximalist UI design and obsessive attention to detail for the backgrounds leave an impression.
The only disappointing feature about the visuals is the character designs for Sebastion and Mary, the two playable protagonists. Try as the animators might to give them personality, their designs are bland and fail to stick out due to their generic cyberpunk style and outfits. It’s too bad because all of the enemies and monsters have fun designs.
No matter which character you choose to play, expect a mix of run-and-gun shooting and melee action. Enemies have weaknesses to certain kinds of attacks and players will be kept on their toes to evade with an admittedly unreliable dodge roll maneuver. It kind of reminds me of Gunstar Heroes.
The gameplay is mission-based and the protagonists are upgraded via a skill tree with three kinds of materials. Spirit Mancer‘s playability feels nice and crunchy when connecting melee attacks and blasting foes with ranged weapons. There is somewhat of a skill ceiling and it’s possible to juggle enemies while alternating weapons and making use of the game’s main gimmick: the spirit cards.
Every enemy can be captured and made into a spirit for use in battle. They’re mostly autonomous and will support the player with their unique combat style. Spirit cards are a dynamic inclusion in what would have been a pretty standard action platformer and go a long way in spicing things up.
The randomized element of the luck-of-the-draw won’t guarantee you will always have what you need. Having to improvise on the fly and strategize with whatever card is drawn justifies the inclusion of the spirit card system. You won’t be able to overwhelm bosses with the same kind of attacks since it’s possible to draw something that can’t even reach them.
With a little bit of elbow grease and some grinding, gamers can become insanely overpowered. Experienced gamers will find Spirit Mancer on the light side and have a breezy runtime that doesn’t overstay its welcome. Younger, less experienced gamers will find Spirit Mancer a bit more challenging since the novel spirit cards and capturing mechanics may be a lot to take in at first.
This is a game kids will enjoy, especially with the local co-op feature. Some parts can get a bit tense and not all kids may have the patience to fully grasp the spirit cards and what it takes to make a varied and useful deck.
Thankfully, Spirit Mancer has more to offer than constantly hammering action and massive bosses. There are a few side activities that add value to the experience like side-quests and even a farming mini-game. However, the most important mini-game has been thoughtfully included: fishing.
The fishing mechanics are a standard timing mini-game where the hero can fish up some more cards. There was some thought put into this since there are multiple types of bait and different regions to go fishing in too. It’s a glorified way to dress up gacha, but at least it has been dressed up in the best possible way.
Spirit Mancer is a solid action platformer with amazing pixel art and breezy gameplay that makes it ideal for kids. The deck building is streamlined and easy to grasp and the responsive action fosters impressive spectacle when bosses make dramatic entrances. Most importantly, it has fishing.
Spirit Mancer was reviewed on a PlayStation 5 using a code provided by Dear Villagers. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Spirit Mancer is now available for PC (via Steam), Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5.
