Spartan

+Fun gameplay +Great 2D graphics +Huge levels +Awesome soundtrack -It can get real hard, but it has a difficulty setting that makes it quite easier. (But who wants to play on the easy setting?)

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Fantastic platformer with great graphics, It's challenging and the levels are huge. It feels like a Nintendo game on pc!

I waited a bit to give my review in order to have the full experience and im having a blast! The enemies and levels are awesome and different from other games ive played which is refreshing. The controls are perfect (im playing with a controller which i think the game was meant to be played) and the performance is stellar. There is also an exploring element to the levels which ive rarely seen in platformers and the best part for me.... NO game over and start all over again, which is GREAT!!! The game is fun and challenging and i highly recommend it to everyone... including gamers who dont play platformers that often such as myself.

Muito promissor.

I bought and played through Spartan to full completion on the Nintendo Switch, and since bought the Steam version. I tend to play things on console, but so far I've finished the first world on PC. Thankfully, I can confirm that the two versions are essentially the same; they are both brilliant. The platforming genre is certainly not what it used to be. It has branched significantly, and mobile gaming and a too-big market has led to more and more “procedurally generated”, or “runner”-style games which remove the need for a solid level-design philosophy and lack identity. The “puzzle-platforming” genre has also to some extent undermined the simple joy of movement through an emphasis on puzzles. Innovation CAN be detrimental. Particularly with platformers, it can harm the experience if the game design precludes the need for high-quality nuts-and-bolts platforming; where the MOVEMENT is an afterthought. Spartan is however touted as a traditional hard-core, pixel-perfect platformer, and it definitely is. Behind the (beautiful) cartoonish art-style lies a game designed to test your reactions and really push your patience and spatial awareness. Structurally, the game takes place over four worlds, each with five enormous platforming levels, and each topped off with a boss fight that also involves a modicum of strategy (as well as perfect timing). As the game progresses, the levels become more elaborate and open, and the sizes increase on both axes (the later levels typically took me around an hour-and-a-half to complete). Within each level are hundreds of (optional) coins to find, as well as five artefacts to collect, which are necessary in order to open the portal to the subsequent level. The gameplay is brilliant for a many reasons. Firstly, the abovementioned level design is seriously good. They levels are constructed in such a way that as you play, you gradually build a mental image of them in your head. This is necessary if you hope to track down every last item, since you will increasingly need to backtrack. In a way, Spartan's design reminds me a little of a modern (much-expanded) equivalent to the old Roland... games on the Amstrad. The levels are maze-like, but if you have the mechanical skill and navigational ability, there's always at least one way to get from one place to another. Additionally, switches on later levels both allow access to new areas and make the levels as a whole more navigable for collecting every last item. Numerous hazards await you. As well as the numerous environmental dangers (such as wind, icicles, lava, swinging axes, fireballs, circular saws, and far, far more than 1001 spikes) Sparta is populated by often-erratic enemies that can follow seemingly random movement patterns, or move in fits and starts. The game introduces a steady stream of new enemy-types, each with their very own character and behaviour. With levels becoming bigger, less linear, and more crammed with danger, you will be spending more time (and more King Leo's) with each one... perfect! Within these wonderful levels, we have the royal Spartan himself; King Leo (who we are told is not chubby, but buff… I’m not so sure). To begin with, the guy feels like he weighs a tonne. While he does EXACTLY what you tell him to, his momentum is so great that numerous micro adjustments, either mid-air or upon landing, are necessary to properly pull off many moves. I'm reliably informed that this is due to the use of PhysX, which means that gravity, friction and impulse all effect Leo's movement, and more so in combination. So, on top of his inherent weightiness and momentum, you have to account for his acceleration (be it from falling, wind or the momentum transferred from a moving platform). Jumping off a descending platform will usually be pointless, while jumping off one that is rising may send you flying into a spiked ceiling. Weapons-wise, Leo is equipped with a sword and shield, and while these respond perfectly, I must point out that it takes a very brief moment for him to execute the manoeuvres (as it would in real life). Therefore, you must press the button to swing your sword or raise your shield a split second before their intended use. This is NOT a criticism; it would be daft for King Leo's to life these heavy items instantaneously, and is another aspect of the game’s deep physics. Simply put, the physics governing this game demand a lot of patience to adjust to, but the trade-off is the feeling of mastery (or at least approaching it) and being able to in fact use these physics to your advantage. What makes the game so hard (especially towards the end) is precisely what makes it so good. It gives the player credit. Criticisms that have been levelled at the game (unpredictability, cheap deaths, backtracking, etc.) can be ignored. This is exactly how to do it. I simply can't understand why such complaints are made. If the controls are perfect, the fault can only lie with the player! The one criticism I have of this game as that Leo has just one jump height. I doubt the game would have suffered at all from velocity-sensitive jumping, especially when the rest of the physics are realized so well. I don’t think his current jump should be any higher, but degrees of lower jump would only improve the experience. Spartan was developed entirely by a team of just two brothers. While one seems to have been responsible for all of the above, the other produced Spartan's art and music, and both these aspects really do wrap a healthy layer of flesh around an already-robust skeleton. The colour palette has been carefully considered, and the backgrounds evidence a plethora of animations (the subtly-shifting, heat-haze backdrop to the lava levels at the end look particularly good). Fire, wind, snow, dust, shimmering stars and other effects are understated, but really do add up. The aesthetic is clean, distinctive, but is also one of simplicity. I find the look of many platformers now very garish and far too busy. In a way, Spartan’s visual design is that of an archetypal platformer, and its strength is in its execution. Both the detail of the enemy sprites and how they animate clearly took time and passion (look closely at the heads), and there's a definite coherence and flavour through everything. The music is appropriately Greek-themed and showcases some obvious musical competence, often using rather unusual melodies which gradually instil themselves in your head. In Spartan, nothing is arbitrary. This is a very deliberate, focussed, refined and pure platformer, by a passionate team that clearly wanted to create the best version of their idea. It’s a rich, rewarding experience, and I spent well over twenty hours with it. Ironically, a lot of this richness of the experience comes from the fact that the game is spartan in the adjectival sense (as in "showing or characterized by austerity or a lack of comfort or luxury"). I wonder if this was intentional? This is how platformers of this type should be. I was very pleased to see the hint of a subsequent game after beating the final boss too; I really hope this happens. If you've reached the end of this review (and you know what I'm trying to get at with it) then please support this game, and help to keep the soul of hard-as-nails platforming alive.

Very good game for the price. Especially if you are a fan of 2d platformers and challenging games, this is a must have for you! Cons: -A little repetitive at times -Some minor issues when using a cotroller, but thankfully the developers are listening and they respond immediately Pros: -Very accurate controls -Clean graphics -Challenging gameplay and levels without being unfair -Fun soundtrack -You control freaking Leonidas!! Overall I had a great time playing it, I totally recommend it!

This game surprised me! I love games like this. I love everything about it. It was cute and easy to get into. The gameplay was not as easy as I thought it would be, at least for me. It got more and more challenging over time, which made me want to try to pass levels with friends which I really enjoyed! We laughed, got frustrated, didn't want to give up, would finally pass a level and then couldn't help but to try the next!

A really interesting yet challenging game . Spartan blends platforming with souls-likes difficulty in a fun , quick paced and diverse platformer game. The controls are precise , the style is unique and the there's variety in both enemies and locations. It runs extremely well even on the lowest of systems and the developers are constantly striving to improve and enhance the experience. I highly recommend Spartan to anyone looking for a challenge .

I very much like playing this game so far, it has great performance, beautiful graphics and i can never get tired of this awesome music! Highly recommend.