Spirit Mancer Reviews
It's the kind of game that's tailor-made to the tastes of a specific and narrow group of players - if you happen to be the kind of person for whom it ‘works’, you’ll be thrilled at the experience here and probably won’t be able to put it down.
Spirit Mancer has lots of great ideas and some seriously awesome boss fights, but dull combat against regular enemies really drags it down.
Fighting hordes of monsters, saving allies, and eventually confronting the Demon Queen herself: all of this and more awaits in Spirit Mancer. With a charming art style and cool mechanic of sealing away demons, you would think the game would be a winner. However, its flaws hold the game back from being anything special.
Despite the overstuffed quality of this ambitious package, it's hard not to admire the noble attempt Spirit Mancer makes to capture diverse genres and blend it into a game with whimsical pixel art and breezy combat.
I liked Spirit Mancer well enough as an arcadey 2D hack and slasher with a fun monster summoning twist, and you might too. The addition of a monster collection element is a pretty fantastic inclusion, and the simplicity of sealing a weakened monster into my deck and then pulling them out at the opportune moment always felt satisfying. Unfortunately, the boss fights are mostly a bit of a letdown, feeling surprisingly slow-paced and often frustrating, and while the narrative doesn't take itself too seriously, it doesn't quite end with the impact that it should. That said, if you just want a fun 2D hack-and-slash game with a unique twist that you can play with a friend, you can do far worse than Spirit Mancer.
Spirit Mancer is a solid action platformer with amazing pixel art and breezy gameplay that makes it ideal for kids.
Spirit Mancer has potential but falls short due to key decisions. Its pixel visuals excel in cinematics and level design, but the initial excitement fades quickly.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
Spirit Mancer peut être qualifié d'opération réussie. Le jeu est amusant et offre sa propre idée de décors et de graphismes innovants, rompant avec le hack-and-slash habituel.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Spirit Mancer represents a convincing debut for the Thai team Sunny Syrup Studio. An intriguing production in aesthetics as much as in gameplay, it mixes such ludic concepts as hack & slash adventure, deck-building and monster taming with stimulating ideas. The end result is a fun and tasty indie, capable of engaging through the compelling loop of combat. Not all the mechanics are perfectly calibrated and there are sometimes minor concept naiveté, but it matters little: Sebastien and Mary's quest may win you over.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Spirit Mancer offers a creative mashup of hack-and-slash and deckbuilder gameplay, but the experience is held back by various technical issues. Despite these flaws, this whimsical world was clearly crafted with love.
With Spirit Mancer's colorful world and lighthearted humor, the stage is set for an entertaining platforming adventure. However, the game falters under the weight of its own complexities and its ambition to mix mechanics. What could have been a promising platformer is hindered by static enemies designed to be caught rather than defeated, introducing pacing issues and stale gameplay through most of your playtime. Despite this, the game's charm and character as well as range of fun Spirit cards may just be enough to pull you through to the end.
Spirit Mancer is an ambitious 2D adventure that tries to do a lot and mostly succeeds. It’s like a love letter to the 90s when games crammed in as many features as possible. While the difficulty spikes and overwhelming mechanics might deter some players, those willing to invest the time will find a lot to love. Plus, co-op mode makes everything better. It’s not perfect, but as a first entry in a new IP, it’s a fantastic start. If the developers refine the formula in a sequel, we could have something truly special on our hands. A free demo is available on Steam, go give it a spin.
Spirit Mancer captures attention with its artistic style and frantic combat but lacks innovation in later stages. The narrative, despite a good start, remains flat, and the card system has the potential to be much deeper. Hack-and-slash fans will appreciate it, but it doesn't stand out compared to other games in the genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Spirit Mancer is one of those games that is really worth a stroll through the indie area of Steam. A game with a very nice artistic finish, but where it really shines, where it will amaze you, is for its great combat system, simple, fun but above all different, and that today, and given the current situation, is the best of all.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Spirit Mancer is a title that mixes action, narrative and exploration in a creative way, delivering a fun and captivating experience. It stands out by presenting a vibrant world and charismatic characters along with a gameplay that, despite some limitations, is rich in strategic possibilities. For hack'n slash and coop games fans, it's an adventure worth exploring.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Spirit Mancer is definitely a blast to play though but it's not without its problems. The game is undoubtedly a bit unbalanced given how easily the mechanics can be exploited, while rewards for combat feel disappointingly sparse compared to searching for chests and using the Adventure Guild. Balancing issues aside, if you're after a simple, challenging and enjoyable hack'n'slash, Spirit Mancer is a lot of fun and well worth your time.
Developer Sunny Syrup Studio had the best of intentions in combining two awesome genres: Capcom-style run-and-gun action and platforming with deckbuilding ala Slay The Spire. In this unfortunate case, ambitions exceed game design and technical know-how.