Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9 out of 10
Sparkle Unleashed is a puzzle game available for download from the PlayStation Store for the PS4, PS3 and PS Vita. The game had previously been released on many platforms such as iOS, Android and Windows since 2014 and is the latest sequel to the critically acclaimed Sparkle series with this latest version also earning such acclaim too, but how does the PS4, PS3 and Vita versions compare to what has went before them?
Sparkle Unleashed is an orb matching game in which players must fire an orb from the slinger situated at the bottom of the screen to position orbs to the centre, left or right of multiple orbs of the matching colour to remove them from the game board. There are a total of 108 levels to the game, which is an increase of 16 in comparison to Sparkle 2, although some of these are repetitions of earlier ones with duplicated levels introducing new gameplay elements to freshen them up.
Newly introduced gameplay elements for repeated levels include the introduction of new orb colours, a significant increase in the momentum of the orbs, chained orbs which require three orbs to be matched up next to the chained orb in order to remove the unchained orb which will remain until it has been matched up with orbs of the same colour and rock orbs which require three orbs to be matched up next to the rock orb in order to remove it with three orbs matched in between a rock orb on either side removing both rock orbs, therefore resulting in the repetition of levels not being a problem due to it essentially feeling as though it was a new experience and something unique in comparison to what has gone before it.
The quest mode sees players tasked with lighting magical braziers on a path of discovery in finding a way to banish the darkness forever more. The survival mode sees players lasting as long as possible until the queue of orbs become too long to handle. The survival mode is initially locked and only becomes unlocked after players gradually progress through the levels of the quest game mode.
When players have completed a set of levels; the level selection menu will most often provide them with multiple paths. This provides the player with the opportunity to choose their next set of levels from the left or the right path as the previous Sparkle game did. This is a great design choice as it means that the story is focused in its narrative no matter which set of levels is played, although if players are finding one set of levels too difficult, they cannot change their decision to be able to follow the other path of levels, which somewhat detracts from the initial freedom of being able to choose a set of levels from multiple paths.
Players will unlock an impressive array of power-ups as they progress further through the game with a new enchantment unlocked after successfully completing each set of levels; these levels provide powers which change up the gameplay and provide a layer of customisation as players can choose their loadout of power-ups. The 18 power-ups include such abilities as Spark Blast which launches a set of 9 sparks, therefore quickly removing multiple orbs and is ideal for last ditch attempts to prevent failing a level; Frost slows the pace of orbs for a short duration; Marching Light sends spectral butterflies charging in to crush orbs; Colour Wipe shatters all orbs of a specific colour; Fireflies turn single orbs into the same colour as surrounding orbs; Wrath of Moon produces a meteor strike which crushes single orbs and Purple Blaze provides a large explosion of magical flame.
The menu which overlays the quest level selection menu contains a listing of trophies showcasing the ones you have earned with an icon appearing to represent the successfully earned trophy and a description of the requirements for each one the player has earned and each of the trophies yet to be earned. There is also a listing of statistics that consist of statistical analysis ranging from the amount of time played; the amount of levels lost and won; the amount of orbs slinged; the amount of orbs popped; highest chain multiplier; the total amount of matches made; the amount of pushers destroyed as well as the percentage of power-ups collected and the power-up usage. The inventory contains a full listing and description of all 18 power-ups as well as clearly displaying which have been unlocked and which have been selected as part of the loadout, alongside access to survival levels.
For anyone with colour blindness who may be thinking that a game revolving around the premise of matching coloured orbs would not be for them will be glad to hear that there is an excellent colour blind assist mode available from the options menu which places a variety of symbols within each of the coloured orbs which is incredibly effective for anyone with the affliction and even a nice touch for people without colour blindness that are just looking to utilise a different method of identifying which orbs to match up. The colour blind mode is quite a clever idea as it also massively expands the applicable audience of the game without the brightness of the colours ever becoming a problem.
Sparkle Unleashed supports cross-buy between the PS4, PS3 and Vita, although it unfortunately does not support cross-save, so players will not be able to continue from their previous progression on the Vita version when playing the PS4 or PS3 version and vice versa, however as Sparkle Unleashed also supports remote play; players can technically continue on playing the PS4 version anywhere they want to with the same save file during remote play. Cross-buy presents a superb amount of value as it means that players will be buying the PS4, PS3 and Vita versions of the game with just a single purchase.
The controls are simplistic across three versions as they consist of a face button control scheme and an alternative control scheme for the touch pad on the DualShock 4 controller that are both incredibly easy to learn. The face buttons control scheme consists of pressing X, L2 or R2 to launch an orb from the orb slinger; pressing O, L1 or R1 to swap the colour of orb for the orb positioned directly behind it in the queue of orbs within the orb slinger; changing the direction of the left or right analogue sticks to move the orb slinger in order to aim appropriately before launching an orb from the orb slinger; pressing the share button takes players to the share feature menu; and pressing the options button to display the pause menu.
The touch pad implementation is extremely accurate and precise as players swipe gently across the surface of the touch pad to move the orb slinger in order to align their aim before launching an orb from the orb slinger in accordance with the positioning of an on-screen cursor. This also is alongside the ability to swap the colour of the orb for the one positioned directly behind it in the queue by positioning the on-screen cursor over the orb slinger and tapping the touch pad. The touch pad control scheme becomes such a natural process within a matter of minutes that players will want to continue using the touch pad control scheme for aiming, launching and swapping the orbs; rather than pressing the equivalent face buttons, while the same can be said for the Vita version as the Vita’s touch screen takes the place of the DualShock 4’s touch pad to deliver the same quality of accuracy and precision when aiming, launching and swapping orbs.
The light bar implementation in Sparkle 2 was certainly one of the best uses of colour from the light bar to date; as the colour changed to that of each currently selected orb within the orb slinger with colours spread across a wide spectrum, although it is unfortunately not included in Sparkle Unleashed. Vibration from the DualShock 4 controller is used in a quite effective manner as the frequent vibration of the controller works in harmony with the changes to the musical arrangement to build the tension when on the very brink of failing to complete the level as the orbs draw nearer to all being sucked into oblivion. Touch pad implementation and vibration produces a greater engrossing experience that takes Sparkle Unleashed beyond other orb matching games.
The graphics have improved again in comparison to Sparkle 2 from enhancing the great shades and tones of colour on every orb and power-up with the beautifully rendered blades of grass in contrast to the darkness of the muddy path the orbs travel along the game board, while even possessing the attention to detail to have a stunningly well presented level selection menu for the quest mode. A huge graphical improvement in comparison to the original Sparkle is how the graphics brings the story to life with sequences that unfold at the beginning and after each of the braziers have been lit.
The presentation of the game is solid with a great user interface across various menus such as the main menu, quest and survival level selection, enchantment power-ups, extras, options and various gameplay menus with support for navigation via the left and right analogue sticks, directional pad and face buttons, although it does not include support for navigation via the touch pad. The background of the main menu screen looks very colourful and vibrant as it contains a lit brazier with the fire producing sparks amongst the backdrop of a field containing beautifully rendered blades of grass and mushrooms with a night sky and fog, while the logo of the game is in the foreground.
The audio is in the same vein as the previous games as the cinematic soundtrack composed by the award winning Jonathan Geer remains as do sound effects reminiscent of those found in Peggle; particularly in the sense of how the music and sound effects provide players with a sense of achievement every time they complete a level and the increase in tension when they are on the brink of failing to complete a level. The excellent style of narration remains with the narrator explaining the story in an enchanting mystique reminiscent of what players would anticipate from a game such as Trine which certainly adds more depth to the story and in doing so elevates the quality of the game to another level. There is no DualShock 4 speaker implementation in the PS4 version which is surprising when considering that it could have been added to provide another layer to the sound effects or narration.
The trophy list includes 12 trophies with 7 bronze, 4 silver and 1 gold trophy. The trophies are mostly quite easy and are earned naturally through playing the game; as players will most certainly improve their intuition to a point that the pairings of the orbs will progressively become second nature such as the Chain 12X bronze trophy for gaining a 12x chain multiplier; the Chain 30X bronze trophy for gaining a 30x chain multiplier and the Close Call bronze trophy for completing a level after orbs have been in the hole. There are a few easier trophies that will be earned purely by putting time into the game such as the Ten Thousand Orbs bronze trophy for popping a total of 10,000 orbs; the Four Hours bronze trophy for playing Sparkle Unleashed for 4 hours; and the 200 Power-ups bronze trophy for collecting 200 power-ups. There are harder trophies that players will achieve given time such as earning the Rapid Power-ups bronze trophy for collecting 3 power-ups within 5 seconds; the 500 Pushers silver trophy for destroying 500 pushers; the Quest Completed silver trophy for having completed the quest; the Survival Star silver trophy for earning 5 stars in every survival level; the Hard Quest Completed silver trophy for completing the quest on the hard difficulty level; and the Nightmare Over gold trophy for completing the quest on the nightmare difficulty level. It is estimated that depending upon skill and a good trophy guide to provide some helpful tips that it would take between 5 to 10 hours to 100% the trophy list.
There are three sets of difficulty levels including: normal, hard and nightmare which are unlocked after players have completed the previous difficulty level during quest mode. The difference between the easiest and hardest difficulty level appears to be an additional emphasis on the speed of the orbs as they certainly enter and travel around the game board at a faster pace with a noticeable step-up in each difficulty level.
There are no local or online multiplayer modes, although this is not exactly the kind of game that would naturally support multiplayer other than perhaps a competitive multiplayer mode to see which player can complete a level or a series of levels in the fastest time or a co-operative multiplayer mode in which the orbs would be travelling twice as fast and both players would be trying to clear all of the orbs in order to progress through each of the levels with an incredible amount of teamwork required in order to succeed, but as this genre does not typically have local or online multiplayer it results in there being no big loss to the gameplay. However, there are no online leaderboards which is surprising as they could have included the best times set in completing each level, the best times set in completing an entire group of levels that represent the journey towards each of the braziers being lit and the best times set in completing the entire game.
The replayability of Sparkle Unleashed is exceptional as it will provide plenty of fun spread across the quest and survival game modes with lots of customisable gameplay provided by the 18 power-ups granting the player with different powers. Perhaps the game could have included a single player time attack mode which would have essentially been the opposite of the survival mode with the time ticking down, rather than counting upwards and it would have been great to see some form of competitive and co-operative online multiplayer with the inclusion of online leaderboards, but despite what the game is missing, players have to focus on the hours of fun and replayability that they will be enjoying with the abundance of content the game has to offer.
Overall, Sparkle Unleashed is an essential purchase for anyone who enjoyed the previous Sparkle games as their is further improvements made to the formula in comparison to Sparkle 2 which had already made massive and wide ranging improvements over the original. The exceptional replayability and features, such as hours of fun and addictive gameplay across the quest and survival game modes with a brilliant colour blind mode that makes the game accessible to every gamer which certainly adds a wealth of further value, whilst it is made all the more of an attractive purchase with the price point of £6.49* proving excellent value for a triple cross-buy package that includes the PS4, PS3 and Vita versions of the game! Sparkle Unleashed is of such a high quality that it is easily the best orb matching game to date and hopefully 10Tons will continue to bring their other Sparkle games to the PS4, PS3 and Vita, while retaining the same level of quality as Sparkle Unleashed as it is highly recommended for fans of puzzle games and orb or block matching games.
Jason Bonnar
Analysis
- Title: Sparkle Unleashed
- Developer: 10Tons Ltd
- Publisher: 10Tons Ltd
- System: PS4, PS3 and PS Vita
- Format: PSN Download
- Cross-Buy: Yes (PS4, PS3 and PS Vita)
- Cross-Play: No
- Players: 1
- Hard Drive Space Required: 137.7MB
- Price correct at time of publication