XBOX REVIEW | Phantom Spark

Do you like fast games? Racing games where you try and try and try again to always keep improving on your lap time? Have you spent hours of your life in Trackmania and are looking for something new? Then Phantom Spark is exactly what you’ve been waiting for.

This game does the above incredibly well, but it may not be for everyone. Keep on reading to find out if your the perfect pilot to bring this one to the finish line!

Things I liked!

• Looks great, goes fast! | Phantom Spark looks clean with 3 different zones to race in that each have a distinct aesthetic to them without demanding too much attention so you forget to look at the racetrack. The game can get pretty fast and the framerate has no problems keeping up. What I found special is how the speed actually feels fast without the usual tricks like blurred edges or racing lines slapped on top as an after-effect, the speed is just there because, well, you’re going fast!

• Instant retry | I can’t stress enough how extremely important this is, but you can instantly retry at the slightest mistake by simply pressing “Y”. The only downside to this is that perhaps you’ll muscle memory train yourself to press it too quickly in a run that could have still resulted in a new record. I’m really glad this is as smooth as it is though, because games like these rise or fall with that one element. For me it was almost frustration-free (Almost! I still got mad at myself!)

• Zen sound | The music and sound effects in racing games usually try to increase your heartrate and get your blood pumping through your veins, but in Phantom Spark it felt more like relaxation therapy and helped me to keep my nerves. An unusual approach, but it worked!

• Four racers to face + yourself | There are 3 humanoid racers to face (each with their own zone) and a special snake-like character that teaches you new tricks and how to improve your runs in some specific challenges. Each time you beat a race it’ll add your own ghost to the next attempt and also a newer faster version of the opponent. This helps you improve by a lot as you’ll feel like you’re racing them and it will force you to cut corners or take risks that result in a much faster time.

• Rewards | I was hesitant to put this as a positive, but I really need to be rewarded with something so I’ll keep trying my best to do better. There isn’t a whole lot of that in Phantom Spark, outside of achievements and getting a better online time. But each time you improve your own best lap, you’ll get a point and a few of those eventually unlock a new skin for your racer, though this is purely limited to a colour change. Still, since unlocking all skins was tied to an achievement, I found myself motivated to keep trying.

Mixed & disliked!

• Track variation | While there are 3 different zones each with their own elements (like grass that slows you down, speedboosting water or slippery mud), I still felt like there wasn’t that much variation in the tracks as I would have liked. There is a rare jump here and there, but mostly it’s just alternating left & right turns with the rare obstacle in your path. Some traps or unique objects in a few of the races could have gone a long way. I really love how #RaceDieRun constantly introduced new ways to instakill you for example. And unlike that game and many others, there is no Mario Kart Rainbow Road-like shortcuts to be found here, just incredibly sleek racing that you have to execute flawlessly.

• Not that many levels | If you’re only looking to “beat” Phantom Spark, you’ll be done with the game in just 2-3 hours as there is only around 30 levels and most of them feel largely the same (see above). Personally I didn’t mind it as much, but I can see this being an issue for other people who want more variety and well… just more. Look at how Trackmania had an infinite tail because of its trackbuilding. There is none of that here, so players will be done with the game quicker to never look back after setting some high scores.

• Achievements are reserved for the best | I struggled to even reach Link lvl 1 on a few tracks, which is tied to an achievement for each “boss” you face and all their races, but this goes up all the way to lvl 4. I was also beating them 2-3 times on some tracks while not yet unlocking a new link lvl as this is tied to your arrival time instead and some of those times were a full 15 seconds faster than what I managed and I just can’t see myself getting close to it. Sadly, most of the achievements will forever be outside of my grasp

• Rare bug with Xbox Live | This was not possible for the devs to reproduce when I reported it, but when I started or finished a level, it would try to connect to the internet and as I had just let my Xbox Game Pass run out, it threw up a pop^-up to resubscribe. In the settings, it would even trigger per menu item I went through. The devs have fixed this now (likely just reducing the amount of times the game calls on online information) so should be all good. But it did taint my first 3 hours with the game a bit (more Xbox’s fault for trying to push that subscription on me though – not deducting any points for this, just worth a mention)

How long did I play the review before publishing? 6 hours
How long to beat the story? ~3 hours should do it
How many Achievements did I earn before publishing? 10/24
How long to achieve 1000G | ~5-10 hours (depends on your skill)
You’ll love this game if you like these | Trackmania, #RaceDieRun, Race The Sun

CONCLUSION

Score: 78/100 – Phantom Spark delivers an exhilarating experience for fans of fast-paced, time-trial racing games, reminiscent of Trackmania. Its focus on constant improvement and speed will satisfy those who love pushing for faster lap times. However, it’s not for everyone—if you’re not into high-speed precision and repetition, it may feel less appealing.

Here is the trailer for people who want to see it in action: