I 100%ed The Spriit Lift (prettysmart games) today. The immediate feeling I had was relief. Relief that I could quit playing the game and move on with my life. This is something I hate about trying to 100% a game, by the way. How much I hate the grind and tedium by the end of the game. Dark Souls III (FromSoft) was my favorite game until Elden Ring (FromSoft again) dropped. When I went for the plat/hundo chievo, I was naive as to how much it would take out of me. By the end, I was hating the game with all my heart. And this was a game I played every day as my comfort game. When I got the plat*, I exhaled slowly, put down my controller, and did not touch the game for several months.
I did eventually pick it up again, but it was a journey. That plat was brutal and trash, by the way. I have a completely unsubstantiated theory as to why the From plats are so terrible. It’s because Miyazaki did not want to do them, but he was pushed to do so. So he made them awful as his way of retaliating. Again, I have nothing to base this on, but it’s a theory that makes sense.
And the reason that Elden Ring‘s is a dream in comparison is because it was meant to be a mainstream hit/breakthrough. That’s not a diss on the game, by the way. It’s my favorite FromSoft game by a hair over Dark Souls III. Something can be a massive hit and still be unique to the vision of the director. I really hate people who act as if something that has mass appeal is automatically a sellout.
Ahem.
Back to this game. Here is part one to my review from yesterday. When I realized that I was close to the plat, I should have just shut down the game and walked away. Why? Because I knew what it was going to do to me. I knew that I get obsessed and my brain turns weird. I knew that I would keep on grinding until I got the two or three meaningless items I needed to get the plat.
I did not want to do it, but I knew I would.
Did I walk away? Of course I did not. I got into that flow state that I hit when I’m focused on an objective. Here’s the thing, though. With the Dark Souls III plat, I knew what I needed to do. I did not like what I needed to do, but I knew each grueling step. The worst was ten hours grinding to get a certain covenant item. Anyone who went for the plat and didn’t want to do the online PvP knows what I’m talking about.
In this case, though, one of my main complaints with this game is that they could have done better with guidance to some of the achievements. I don’t want to be too hard on them because it’s a small indie team. 2 devs and 8 people they frequently work with. They’ve done an admirable job with this game. It’s a whole lot of fun run by run–until I hit the plat.
Here’s the thing about this plat and plats in general. If you’re going to go for them, it’s better to look at the list of achievements before you actually play the game. I hate doing that because I want to go into the game organically. I like to play a game as unspoiled as possible, but if there’s any chance I’m going fro the plat, then I want to know the requirements early in enough to not have to do more than necessary.
I know that’s a dichotomy that I have to resolve within myself, but it’s true for many gamers. See, when I play a game, I just want to luxuriate in it. When I know I’m going to play a game, I don’t watch trailers or read about it. It’s really hard to do especially when it’s a game that I’m really looking forward to (like Elden Ring).
As I mentioned yesterday, a good friend of mine, Ian, is on the marketing team for this game. He’s the reason that I heard about this game. There’s a meaty demo on Steam, so I tried it out. And I was immediately hooked. I bought it after finishing the demo, and I became obsessed with it for the next three weeks.
I dig each character (all eight of them) individually. Each is different than the others and of different races, too. I would like a bit more gender diversity, but you can’t have everything. I had my favorite combos, but I needed to do all 64 combinations for an achievement. I think I started switching it up after I had beaten every boss and started to focus on knocking off the achievements.
I really think I should have stopped then, but I knew I wouldn’t. Again, I want to stress this is not the fault of the game or the dev. This is on me.
Putting all that aside, this is a really fun game. It has that addictive ‘just one more run’ feel to it. The runs do get samesy after awhile, but that’s only to be expected, really. This game is twenty dollars on Steam, and I got way more than my money’s worth. I would recommend it for anyone who likes an easygoing deck-building roguelike/lite to while away the hours.
I like the art direction because it fits the ’90s vibes perfectly. The music is fine. I usually turn it down very low because I like to watch videos as I play. It’s moody in a way that befits the theme, and the two work well together.
I do think a run itself could be shorter, but I understand why the devs chose to do it the way they did. The deck-building part was my least-favorite part, but that’s because I’m not a deck-building kind of person. I have a hard time planning out my moves, and I don’t always remember what gives me more energy per turn. Each move costs a certain amount of energy, and you start with 3 per turn. I tend to just vibe it out, which means that I am sometimes unpleasantly surprised when I realize that I just ran out of energy mid-play.
It’s funny. I don’t think of myself as a deck-building kind of person. And yet, I played Balatro (LocalThunk) compulsively for a very long time. So. Much. Balatro. I don’t really think of this game as a deck-builder, but of course, it is. I also don’t think of Balatro as a deck-builder, which is simply ridiculous. It’s clear that I don’t know what a deck-builder is!
I hesitate to give the game a number because it’s like comparing apples and oranges. I joked that I enjoyed playing this game more than I did Clair Obscur:Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive), but it’s not really a joke.
I get tripped up by scoring games because in my mind, I compare the scores I give different games. I know that not everyone does that, but it’s hard for me to separate them in my mind. That said, I will end by saying that I recommend this game for anyone who likes a light and fun deck-building roguelike/lite. I have seen that in the past, I have not always given a numerical rating, so I’m going to eschew that in this case. Just go buy the game if it sounds like it’s your jam.
*Look. I know many Sony Ponies hate it when PC players use platinum for 100%ing the game, but with no disrespect**, get over it.
**All the disrespect.