Mana Spark - A Rogue-lite Impression

I enjoy nabbing Rogue-lite titles, when on sale, for my library on my Nintendo Switch whenever I’m able. I feel they are fitting on-the-go titles for the hybrid console. I can do one or two runs while I’m out and have some free time between trips. If I can’t finish the run I can always pause it, throw my switch in my bag, and continue it later or when I return home. The often pixel art styles look even better than usual, condensed on a small screen. There is often no primary focus on story in the rogue-lite genre nor is there a significant gap of time needed to jump back into them- its virtually instantly. I’m a big fan of the rogue-lite genre and yes-before it became an overwhelmingly popular trend in the indie game scene.

So I pick up a little game by the name of “Mana Spark” in late December 2019 for half off the original price of $9.99. I was surprised the price-cut considering the game had just released, but my sobbing wallet and I appreciated it none the less. Looking through the screenshots alone I took this game as a partly linear Dark Souls-ish adventure game with some nice pixel art. This was enough to get me interested. I do like to branch out often and for five bucks this was a steal.

Flash forward a bit over two months and all the while Mana Spark stayed untouched, sitting in my Switch catalog. I just never got around to playing it, a problem I have had for a while, along with actually finishing most game titles. So I was over a friend’s place and decided to give the game a try. Paint me surprised when after some interesting introductory cut scenes and a tutorial I get to the real game-play and I realized this is a rogue-lite! Rouge-lite fans rejoice! We’ve found another gem!

Mana Spark checks off a lot of “Rogue-lite by-the-book” boxes. It has quality pixel art, a variety of enemies and bosses, a bunch of items to obtain during a run to become more powerful, randomly generated maps, a hub town full of NPC’s that assist your journeys in some way, and a group of characters to choose from that each play differently. This is by no means a negative aspect, Mana Spark executes these features perfectly fine and it's enjoyable, but with those out of the way, I would like to discuss what Mana Spark does differently from other Rogue-lites and what stands out to me most.

The Music

The soundtrack in Mana Spark is small, but I really enjoy it. From my experience, most rogue-lites opt for a heavier and faster-paced soundtrack which often sound fantastic and fit their games perfectly, but Mana Spark takes a more relaxed and soothing approach. A tune kin to a track from Skyrim or a Studio Ghibli film starts playing as soon as you enter the beginning forest area of Mana Spark and continues with you as you make your deeper down into dungeons. When presented with enemies, the soundtrack keeps the relaxing piano melody going and layers on some intense beats. I like this technique of layering more to the music depending on the situation.

Friendly Fire A.I.

Unlike a large majority of other rogue-lites or games in general, Mana Spark’s enemies can harm each other and can be harmed by the same traps that can harm the player. This adds a layer of strategy to the game where the player can, for examples, lead enemies into traps or dodge out of the way of an incoming attack so that it strikes another enemy. The game can be difficult enough with this feature at times, so I am happy it is here. Oh, and certain enemies can hop upon wildlife like wolves and pigs to ride them around and gain heightened mobility. I love it!

Enemy Research

In Mana Spark, you can spend “Runes” (the game’s hub currency) through a variety of different shop-keeps. One of these shop-keeps provides a bestiary and through this bestiary players can spend Runes to “research” whatever enemy they have encountered before to find their weakness. This essentially gives the player the choice of weakening one enemy for any future runs. This can be changed before any run as long the research has been purchased. This is another cool idea and can help different players with the creature who is giving them the most trouble.

Starting Ability Choice

When you obtain a new active item (an item that can be used and has a cool-down period) during a run in Mana Spark it is added for purchase from a items shop-keep in the Hub. If purchased, the chosen item is then available to be equipped from the start of a run from that point forward. Furthermore, the item can be upgraded a varying amount of times, increasing damage or adding new properties to the item.

“Try Your Luck”

Lastly is “Try Your Luck”. This is basically a new take on quick-starting a new run after you die. Instead of going back to the hub to spend runes or change equipment, the player is given the choice of trying their luck. This randomizes three values. When players choose this it may change the character they play as, give them some type of buff, etc. There is also a chance it will save the runes you accumulated before dying- the ones you could not send back to your Hub. So this is almost always a great option to select if you gathered a large amount of currency before making it to a safe room.

---

Mana Spark is a great rogue-lite title with some unique ideas and additions to the rogue-lite genre, that make it well worth a time investment. With a price tag of $9.99 and possible sales in the future, its a quality deal.