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Phantom Sparks is an indie racing game released for PC and consoles on August 15, 2024. Developed by Icelandic studio Ghosts and published by Coatsink (Thunderful Group), Phantom SparksThe quick restarts, smooth controls and even smoother soundtrack make for a relaxing time trial racing game that will leave you craving another lap.
Phantom Spark – A ghost from racing’s past?
One of the games I always had in the disc slot of my trusty PSP as a kid was Wipeout Pure. Of course, I was terrible at it (I was eight, to be honest). But! The feeling of racing around those wide corners stayed with me. So, when Phantom Sparks As if I could satisfy this urge (and maybe even rehabilitate myself at the same time), I was there.
Gameplay
Phantom Sparks consists of three domains, each with 10 paths to speed your Spark along. There are no laps, just a straight race from point A to point B. And there’s no fender bender on the maps either – just time trials. Each race has three times, a bronze, a silver and the ever elusive gold time. The only thing standing between you and those leaderboards is the clock!
That may not be entirely true though. Each domain has a champion, a character who acts as your rival/mentor. These characters set the times and will either bother you or help you along the way. After you complete the course for the first time, two “ghosts” will appear on either side of your spark. One is your fastest time on that path and the other is the champion whose time is just a bit faster than your best. Match your best time to solidify your skills, but beat the champion to improve them.
It’s a clever, satisfying and, above all, fun system. Instead of racking your brains, you can try to imitate the computer’s moves and learn what it “knows”. And there’s a lot to learn!
Run
Phantom Sparks is deliberately simple, but don’t mistake that for a low skill ceiling. With only three inputs, acceleration, braking and steering (no drifting or fighting), the focus is on you and the track. Dynamics are key here.
The gameplay is minute by minute focused on whether you can make a turn without braking or letting go of the accelerator. Can your Spark almost touch the inside wall just to shave a few milliseconds off your time? Is it worth it when this run is going so well? The answer depends entirely on how hard you want to push it.
And what if you’ve focused too hard on a wide-sweeping turn and end up slamming into the wall, meaning all your momentum is lost? You can start again with the click of a button. It’s a fantastic frustration-saving feature and, oddly enough, reminded me of Super Meat Boy.
When you snap Phantom Sparks and tackling it where it is, it becomes almost a meditative experience. At its best, it combines the sweeping corners and breakneck speeds of F-Zero or Wipeout with the iterative improvement and “one more try” of Trackmania.
Multiplayer
A little less sophisticated is the local multiplayer mode. Although it is not absolutely necessary, as this game is designed around leaderboards and time constraints, Phantom Sparks offers a split-screen multiplayer mode.
It’s a fairly standard affair where you pick some of your favorite paths from a domain and race against each other. Up to four people can play at once, choosing their own Spark skin and racing live on the same track. However, since there’s no collision between players and the paths are linear, the split-screen mode feels a little toothless.
More fun is Hotseat mode. This is a formalized mode where you and up to three friends take turns to try and complete a course. Bragging rights are at stake, and luckily this mode benefits from the same excellence as the single-player races. Both players have a set time, and the first to run out of time mid-race has lost – and you can see your opponent’s ghost at all times.
This is also not Phantom Sparksmain attraction. But it’s nice to have it there. Even if the split-screen mode is a bit meh, the hotseat mode is fun enough to make up for it.
Graphics & Audio
Phantom SparksThe visual design was the first thing that caught my attention, and I’m happy to say it delivers on its promise. The worlds you race through are pleasant to look at and comfortable to enter, and each has a beautiful central palette. The art style is colorful, and the Sparks themselves have great animations and character.
More importantly, it’s clear what’s happening in each path and domain, and that great look doesn’t get in the way of gameplay. This is style in service of substance, not style over substance. I have a tip, specifically for the Switch version of the game: go into the settings and change the UI scaling to “Large.”
The sound design complements the minimalist style of the game. The sound effects are subtle and add to the calm atmosphere of the game. All soundscapes have a pleasant ethereal tone. The audio experience is subtle and allows players to immerse themselves in the flow of the race without being overwhelmed by intense or distracting noises.
The soundtrack is fantastic – I had it playing in the background while I wrote this review, and that’s a pretty high bar to clear. Its electronic and synth-heavy rhythms push you forward and faster, all while still being gentle and unobtrusive enough to let your brain do the talking.
longevity
Phantom Sparks is, almost fittingly, a short race to the finish. There are three domains, each with ten courses and a handful of short time trials. If you just want to get from one course to the next, you’ll finish the game in just under three hours.
But that would keep you from really getting a handle on the controls and the gameplay. If you are willing to invest the time and you like the iterative improvement cycle, you will Phantom Sparks with at least ten happy hours.
Final thoughts
Racing games are not the kind of games I would normally associate with the term “thoughtful.” That’s not to say they aren’t well thought out – it’s more that they challenge the player’s reflexes and timing more than anything else. You’re focused on the next lap, not the third. Phantom Sparks bucks that trend, however. I was engrossed in each track, wanting my Spark to take a corner just tight enough to power through and shave a thousandth of a second off my time.
If I went into this with the intention of rehabilitating my eight-year-old self, then I failed. This game is not a sequel to Wipeout Pure. Instead, it is a great time trial game in its own right; stylish and clever. If you like racing games, you should give it a try.
I give Phantom Sparks A Thumb culture gold price!
If you like racing games, check out my review of the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8. If you like something a little more classic, check out Vinno’s review of Formula Retro Racing – World Tour!
DDisclaimer: A code was received to write this review.
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