MachiaVillain
MachiaVillain
Game
Game2019
Sparklite
Developer Red Blue Games
Sparklite is a 2019 action-adventure roguelite video game developed by Red Blue Games and published by Merge Games. The player controls Ada, an engineer stranded in the land of Geodia, where she battles the forces of a mining magnate known as the Baron. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November 2019. A mobile version for iOS and Android, handled by Playdigious,… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
195 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 23, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
77
LovedLoved
135 positive · 41 negative
95% range 70–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 135 | 41 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
288 of 369 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
76% recommend · 137 yes, 44 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 181 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (537 of 686 positive).
Players praise the game's charming pixel art and Zelda-like gameplay. [1][2][3] Some reviewers find the game repetitive and the bosses frustrating. [4][1][5] Several players note the co-op mode is disappointing for a second player. [6][7]
Liked
Representative posts
- [6]
Dont get this game if youre looking for couch coop, the 2nd player plays an assistive robot that cant fight, its hardly a 2 player game.
- [9]
This is a fun rogue-lite Zelda-like game. It took me a bit less than 9 hours to 100% the game. At the time of writing the game costs $35.95 AUD on Steam. I enjoyed it, but would not pay that much for it. Get it on sale or in a bundle. No major complaints about the game, it is quite well polished. There isn't much of a story. The item that lets you swim and dive is used so rarely it is pretty much pointless, which is …
- [1]
Played on: Steam Deck OLED (Linux SteamOS) – the game ran flawlessly off a MicroSD card, no compatibility issues whatsoever. Verdict: A solid action-adventure with gorgeous pixel art. The procedurally generated world is charming, standard enemies are well designed, and I had a good enough time to see it through to the end. But here's the catch: The bosses are awful. Just constant attack spam with barely any windows …
- [2]
May be the best 2$ purchase I ever made. Awesome pixel art, fun gameplay, and a really fun gameplay loop with Zelda inspirations. This is a quality game, with heart and a wonderful vibe
- [4]
The game is fine, it delivers. When you're about 75% through the game, you're already tired of all the repetition. One game lasted an hour and a half; it feels too long to have to repeat so much (and obviously, you can't save in the middle of a game). On sale, and for very casual play, it's fine.
Summarised from 34 of the 201 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
76% of the 181 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Sparklite. The complaint that keeps coming up: repetitive gameplay and map generation. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Sparklite received mixed or average reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic, which recorded scores of 75/100 for the Nintendo Switch version, 72/100 for the PlayStation 4 version, 70/100 for the PC version and 73/100 for the Xbox One version. On OpenCritic the game holds an average score of 72/100 based on 54 reviews, with 59% of critics recommending it. Critics frequently compared Sparklite to 2D Zelda games. Jamie Sharp of Nintendo Life called it a charming action-adventure that channels the series while establishing its own quirks, and wrote that the roguelite structure is woven into the story well enough to win over players wary of the sub-genre. Donovan Erskine of Shacknews…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 195 · most liked firstDont get this game if youre looking for couch coop, the 2nd player plays an assistive robot that cant fight, its hardly a 2 player game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TO THOSE CONSIDERING THIS FOR LOCAL CO-OP: I purchased this game for it's local co-op gameplay and was sorely disappointed by yet another game that defines what is essentially an assisted single-player game as a couch co-op experience. Second player plays as the robot, which isn't even unlocked until the first boss is defeated and, once available, barely interacts with the environment let alone participates in combat or evolves as a character. The devs could have given Wingnut the ability to be…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My Playtime: 14.5h (100% achievement, finished the game) Grindy Achievement(s): Yes (4+ achievements). Optional Achievement(s): No. Difficult Achievement(s): No. Intro Sparklite is an action-adventure roguelite game where you need to explore a randomly generated map with 5 regions. Pros: - Various enemies and unique boss fights in each region - Power-ups to increase your stats or add new abilities Cons: - Randomized map makes it repetitive to find everything - Enemies become tanky and hit…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sparklite was fun, until it wasn't. While normally with games you should take your time exploring and such in order to get the most out of your experience, but i wish I would have rushed through Sparklite even faster than I did. Each new area is fun to explore once, but after exploring each area once, it becomes a slog to revisit. The energy weapons are under-powered, so you really are forced to just use your starting melee weapon. The whole game is just repetitive in general. My favorite part…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a fun rogue-lite Zelda-like game. It took me a bit less than 9 hours to 100% the game. At the time of writing the game costs $35.95 AUD on Steam. I enjoyed it, but would not pay that much for it. Get it on sale or in a bundle. No major complaints about the game, it is quite well polished. There isn't much of a story. The item that lets you swim and dive is used so rarely it is pretty much pointless, which is a shame as the maze to get this item was a bit painful to complete. The other…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game's biggest downfall is that it doesn't use its roguelite components well, overestimates the longevity of its content and lacks the needed juice for the core gameplay to be fun on its own. It just doesn't "work". It's technically functional, and it checks all the boxes, but man, you will not play this and feel excited, enriched or interested in going for another run. I'm not recommending it because it's not worth your time. You can find better, more fun, or greater games. There's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a great little game. Honestly, I would LOVE it if 90% of games were like this, where it's got a lot of good concepts, it's polished, and it doesn't take long (100% in less than 20 hours, not even rushing). It's got a decent little story, cool concepts, good combat, fun roguelike exploration and runs, decent enemies, and good upgrade system. I find that most games take themselves WAY too seriously, where they expect like 200 hours to complete it, and they add fake difficulty and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →100% completion in barely 8 hours. That included a couple of hours at the end just speed-running to the pirate for the last achievement. Not even remotely 25$ of content. It's okay I guess if you get it heavily discounted, but certainly nothing noteworthy or new.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's as shallow as a puddle. The store page describes it as a mix of Zelda and roguelite, but it doesn't do either genre well. You explore 5 randomly generated map areas to fight the boss and unlock a new tool/ability, but these abilities are literally only used once to unlock the next area. There's no backtracking to previous areas to collect missed items like in Zelda, no puzzles or hidden areas. The roguelite side is really lacking, no real sense of progression or unlocks between runs.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The combat is not very fun due to enemies and bosses being spongy as heck. Sure, the Multi Tool Damage Patch helps, but that takes time to build up... Way too much time. And the map patches cannot be combined, forcing the player to waste too much space to save time exploring, making any map other than Vinelands nigh useless. And there's a lack of "suspend game", so it forces you to restart the WHOLE RUN if you need an extended break. It's a rather... Boring Zelda-like roguelite.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is fine, it delivers. When you're about 75% through the game, you're already tired of all the repetition. One game lasted an hour and a half; it feels too long to have to repeat so much (and obviously, you can't save in the middle of a game). On sale, and for very casual play, it's fine.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just get Hyper Light Drifter instead. This game is a paradox. gameplay of zelda, but the progression of a rogue-like, and it falls short in both by a large margin. For the core gameplay, it isn't bad. the core combat and movement is good enough, but all of the auxiliary weapons and gear is borderline useless compared to the basic melee attacks, puzzles are bare bones, and platforming challenges are too easy, yet too long for the lean rewards they give. But the gameplay isn't even half the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed this game and kept on going to 100% it. its a refreshing take on the old school zelda formula for world design and gameplay mixes it with sort of inspired ideas by rogue legacy You go in the run, the world map has new sections to the right/left/top/bottom parts of it that you unlock by beating the boss in the current area. when you die you keep your sparklite which is the currency, to upgrade your main hub, help people there build their shops to unlock new things. Theres a cool…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lackluster with most mechanics showing up once and never again. The tutorials that teach you how to use special abilities are more interesting than the situations where those abilities are required. I've played for over 9 hours and the game would've been a third of the length if not less without all of the grinding. Not worth buying.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Games like this are the ones I enjoy a lot, I find them very memorable and always leave me wanting more. In this case, Sparklite, is a roguelite action adventure video game that will immerse us in the ever-changing world of Geodia, where we will have to take down the "Baron" before he ends up destroying the planet with his relentless efforts to mine the "Sparklite" and hoard it for himself. In this adventure, we will play as Ada, a young but skilled mechanic with a heroic destiny. As we begin,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it looks good, and plays nice. but it barely has any content. its basically a bad version of Bastion. and beatable in 4-5 hours, not worth buying even on sale.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game 4: Sparklite (PC, 2019) Cute pixel-art roguelite adventure game with great audio and smooth controls. Played it on my phone at first and decided i needed a full PC copy! I'm 2 areas in and I'm really enjoying it! Big recommend if you like Zelda Link to the Past or Rogue Legacy!
positive · AI labelView post →I played this together with my five year old daughter. In co-op mode, she can control the little flying robot, which takes part in the puzzles but isn't attacked by the monsters.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sparklite is yet another of literally hundreds of lazy amateur 2D retro top-down shooter/brawlers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere. This one is a little more polished than most, that's right folks, the pig has lipstick on... but it's still mobile app garbage carrying near-AAA pricing. Essentially a ripoff of Legend of Zelda, only much worse, this "steampunky" mobile app has you slashing and shooting various critters with a top down view, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played on: Steam Deck OLED (Linux SteamOS) – the game ran flawlessly off a MicroSD card, no compatibility issues whatsoever. Verdict: A solid action-adventure with gorgeous pixel art. The procedurally generated world is charming, standard enemies are well designed, and I had a good enough time to see it through to the end. But here's the catch: The bosses are awful. Just constant attack spam with barely any windows to breathe, let alone maneuver. What makes it worse is that all the gadgets…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a "probably not worth your time, but if it's under $5 and you are bored it might be ok for some time. Half my hours are afk. It's not a terrible game, but for $25 I would feel extremely ripped off; consider you can buy games in similar genre like Hades for that price. This game has a PLETHORA of bugs/issues (monsters half following you between screens and becoming inactive but attackable for example), and many questionable design choices (such as having an extremely large world that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL;DR buy this game for $10 max, the content that is there is great, but even with procedural generation, it feels barebones This is a mixed review. I finished it after around 10ish hours (looks higher due to idle time), It is has a fantastic foundation with a ton of potential, but despite using a roguelite style of maps, there really isn't much content. I explored every map multiple times, got enough money to get all but one upgrade in my kit to max, got all of the shops maxed, and got the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Runs smooth as butter on steam-deck. Great dungeon crawler rouge-like. Id play it. 7.5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A cute but very repetitive game. And being forced to lose all the widgets to return to the base is a major turn down. What use are if I can't combine them before going into another zone?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While functional and visually appealing, this game is far too bland for anyone other than Achievement Hunters and parents with small children. (Additionally, the amount and variety of content does not justify the price without a 50% minimum discount).
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's cute, and not too difficult. The only significantly wall I hit was with the second phase of the final boss, which I just needed to play a few runs to build up my stat bonuses and then explore enough to get a stockpile of heals. Oh, and the game is very reminiscent of Bastion by Supergiant Games, which is a point in its favor.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's good, just barely. The final 5 waves of the final boss are pretty bs though
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →4/10 insane grind to unlock tiny bonuses - SAD LOCAL CO-OP, nobody wants to play that kind of local co-op.... mario galaxy bad heres a cave with a light and one unlit pillar...nothing you can do here, walked around the room 10 times and wacked everything ooh look a person standing across two feet of water next to a chest... cant do anything here... heres a tiny pipe that looks like you could climb into and come out the other end next to a chest...but you cant its a Roguelike but you really end…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There were no crashes throughout my time with the game. I had severe controller issues, but no other bugs, from start to finish. All achievements unlocked at their appropriate times. There are a few games that have given me major controller frustrations. This one and Juicy Realm might use the same engine, or backend, as the problems I had with both of those games were identical. To wit, every controller I tried (my 8bitdo Pro 2, a PS4, and an Xbox Series) on every device (Windows, Mac, Linux)…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →May be the best 2$ purchase I ever made. Awesome pixel art, fun gameplay, and a really fun gameplay loop with Zelda inspirations. This is a quality game, with heart and a wonderful vibe
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not a bad game, it's just meh. It just feels like a very lite version of Rogue Legacy, but what made Rogue Legacy so fun was character progression, and not just passive stat upgrades, but new gear you get as well. In Sparklite, it just feels boring to progress since majority of upgrades feels focused on raw stat boost(and not all stats mind you, there was no badge granting you more movement speed like how Rogue Legacy has rune of haste) or grinding sparks better(be it combat sparks to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Heya folks, here's a 1st short featuring Sparklite by Red Blue Game, Merge Games and Maple Whispering Limited. I started on this game yesterday, and it's quite fun so far. This was from the first boss fight in the game as well. #sparklite #videogames #indiegames #actionadventure #shorts
positive · AI labelView post →Why would you have the difficulty be at a 4 for the entire game then decide to turn it up to an 11 for the final boss. The first phase of the final boss is okay, but to have phase 2 be waves of extra tough versions of enemies that you see nowhere else while also dealing with attacks from the boss is beyond stupid.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is a fantastic blend of old-school charm and modern flair. It's a nostalgic throwback with a fresh twist, reminiscent of Moonlighter in both gameplay and graphics. A perfect choice for those looking to enjoy gaming in a more laid-back, indie style.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →basicly just a mix of patch quest and moonlighter pretty standard dungeon crawler gameplay good soundtrack decent story
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought, started and finished a game! Yes, I can do that! Sparklite, fun little dungeon crawler (except not dungeons). I like to believe rumors that the Switch version has the hardest final boss are true. So I bought SpiritTea to celebrate. #ButHerBacklog
positive · AI labelView post →I'm playing Sparklite and Dragon Quest Builders 2!
neutral · AI labelView post →The game is fun but would be better if we can save the game without ending each run. The game is designed in a way where you'll need to have at least 1 hour of uninterruptible gaming time, otherwise, you'll have to end your run and your chances in that run.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a very good game, I really like the art style and yeah sometimes the gameplay can be a bit repetitive, but overall it's a good game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an absolute steal for the price, I got this on sale for $3.50 AUD. If you are a fan of old school Zelda and pixel art graphics, this one is definitely for you!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →old school game, me likey
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is pretty fun soo far. It slightly reminds me of a rogue like Link to the past on SNES.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recently played the hell out of SparkLite - $3 on sale right now, 1.5G of space required.
positive · AI labelView post →If this game is on sale for around 10 bucks or less get it Fun little roguelite, progression can be a bit grindy that being said I haven't finished it because I tend to pop around to different games, mostly the story has to really grab me for me to want to go all the way
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's mid. It's procedural generation, half the time doesn't seem to be in play, the bosses feel lackluster and too similar, and honestly the procedural generation ironically makes it more repetitive, having to find a new way to the next area every time, spawning from the same place every time. Also, what's the point of having an anchor icon on your map if 1, you can't ask to come up from the anchor, and 2, you can just end your run anywhere anyway. I'm also annoyed that the dash 1, doesn't give…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[iOS] [Weekly game deals post - Dungeons of Dreadrock 2, Sparklite, Inked, BackSlap, Ticket to Ride The Board Game, Pasha Planet: Reborn, The Quest, Kenshō, Dungeon and Puzzles, Five & Ten Dates, The.
neutral · AI labelView post →Heya folks, here's a 1st set of screenshots featuring Sparklite by Red Blue Game. Merge Games, and Maple Whispering Limited. #sparklite #videogames #indiegames #actionadventure #screenshots
neutral · AI labelView post →how have i never heard of this game before, it's awesome
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’m giving this a thumbs up even though I gave up shortly after defeating the 3rd boss (of 5). The pixel art design is very well done, the landscapes, NPCs and enemies. And it has some interesting progression systems, which makes every run worthwhile. But the combat doesn’t snap. It’s very simple for one thing. You attack in the direction you face, which leads to a pattern of moving in to swing your hammer then moving out to avoid an attack. You can use several widjets (consumables), including…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a good game but the final boss is too difficult compared to the rest of the game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great little game, doesn't overstay it's welcome and lovely pixel art! Doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, just solid execution of what it promises
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A very fun game. A bit difficult at first, but it gets easier as you collect gear. The music and visuals were great. No bugs experienced.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved it! It is the type of game simple to get into and play through, hard to master. Read some headline saying it is "Zelda meets Roguelite" and while I do notice the throwback, this is nothing like it. Sparklite is its own thing, with beautiful graphics, a simple and compelling story with a few good points for your own reflection, lots of upgrades and customizations to catter to different playstyles. Story/area progression is quite linear and each new area will unlock new and more powerful…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is so Enticing and Adventurous even though it's a dungeon crawler game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun rogue-like that rewards through exploration, the art is cute and the character are fun and fusing badges together is a great idea, I only you could fuse all maps together instead of having to make space for it or not use it at all (Frankly I like to play with out the map)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovely art and animation, charming music, tight Zelda-style combat, and just enough to do and see that you can 100% it in about 10 hours. Gameplay elements outside of basic combat and exploration are mostly confined to small puzzle dungeons. Some games overstay their welcome, but Sparklite left me hoping for a more expansive sequel that builds on this very solid base. Fair warning: you may encounter a run-killing out-of-bounds issue or two, but you can always abandon a run from the menu, so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun zelda-style gameplay, light on puzzles, heavy on combat. I had a great time and highly recommend it. Haven't tried in Co-op but I'm sure that would be fun too, and it's great to see it supported! There's not much roguelike about this, and it definitely doesn't deserve that tag. The world map is randomly selected from several pre-generated layouts, and depending on your RNGesus, you'll get a different order of the minor upgrades (called Patches), and that's about it. The Steam…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not fun, tedious, uninstalled instantly at one area because of choose path with no indication which one to go so guess and check and by the time I got to the 5th path I was tabbing out to watch youtube that boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sparklite It starts pretty good, a roguelike adventure game where you need to defeat mud gumbas, boars, caterpillars, wasps and titans. It's very childlike but animations are done well and gameplay is fun, you need to grind sparklite gems which you can then exchange for powerups (patches) and gadgets and trinkets and then you explore the world and if you die you start all over but the world has changed. Very nice until you discover that you can reset worlds by visting dungeons or pirate booty…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would Not recommend, feels like a unpolished game i got it during the steam summer sale, it needs a better tutorial and UI improvements it doesn't tell you what keys do what you mainly have to press random keys on your keyboard to find functions
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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