Subscribe- Rating:
- Price: $1.99 (Download here)
- Version: 1.0.2
- Official Site: Spearhead Games
Immersion is a powerful gaming vice. It’s easy to get completely lost in a carefully crafted fantasy world, happy to simply wander and explore every inch of space on show.
Of course, to fully suck the player in, the experience needs to offer enough variety in content to make exploration worthwhile.
Phoenix Spirit succeeds to a certain degree. Checking out the sights is enjoyable for a while, but eventually a lack of variation in enemy types and obstacles renders the whole thing a little non-immersive — like a stripped-down Metroid, if you will.
The story goes that the Mother Tree has fallen ill, and a forest fairy (Phoenix) asks a flying squirrel creature (Spirit) to help track down the cause. The duo set out to explore every inch of the surrounding world, zipping around via tilting the iPhone.
The controls are a oddity to begin with. Spirit’s only means of moving quickly are to dive downwards by holding a button – you can then tilt in a different direction to use that speed elsewhere. Later power-ups solve this problem, but it’s a strange method of acceleration for beginners.
Once you’re used to the controls, however, the exploring elements take over. The world is simply huge, with tons to see. A Metroid/Castlevania-style minimap can be brought up to see where you’re going, and your past route.
A number of enemies are dotted around each area. Some stick to the walls and fire slime at you, while others swim about, locking on to your location when they spot you. Hammering the bottom right button fires back at them, releasing health on expiration.
You’ll need it too, as it’s very easy to die, especially when an enemy gets a little too close for comfort. Fortunately, there are several save locations that can be discovered — again, very much in the same vein as your old Nintendo sweethearts.
Progression relies on collecting power-ups, giving you new powers and ways to open up new areas. The order in which you collect these upgrades isn’t totally linear, which sounds like a good thing, but this actually means you’re sometimes left swanning around not really knowing where to go next.
There is also a complete lack of variety in terms of bad guys, and battling the same enemies over and over becomes a bit of a chore. Still, it’s interesting to find new ways to take them out each time you grab an upgrade.
Countering these issues are some lovely visuals with a dynamic soundtrack to boot, which combine to create a gorgeous overall atmosphere. Adding to the immersion, the entire game world is loaded at the beginning, meaning once you’re into the action, it never needs to load again and you can enjoy the atmosphere without unnecessary breaks in play.
Phoenix Spirit provides a good couple of hours of enjoyable exploratory action, but a lack of real direction and purpose keep it from being truly great.
Leave A Comment