Spoxel

[h1] In A Nutshell [/h1] 🔵 [b] Pros [/b] + Unusual but charming and clean-looking 2.5D graphics style, adding uniqueness to the game. + Unique, complex spell crafting system, allowing players to create custom spell types and behaviors from scratch. + Custom weapons, armors and tools creation systems, both in proprieties and looks, allowing great customization. + Decent overall variety of trinkets, equipment, enemies and biomes as the game progresses. + Decent amount of overall content for the price proposed. 🔴 [b] Cons [/b] - In co-op mode desync, lag and netcode stability issues in dungeons, crippling gameplay considerably when they happen. - Balance issues with spell crafting, allowing very powerful damage spells crafting for negligible mana cost, this makes magic users pretty much OP especially early on. - Sporadic stability and server issues such as terrain chunks not rendering properly, map bugs, or crashes. [b]Spoxel[/b] Is yet another game inspired to the crafting-based sandbox formula made famous by Minecraft and Terraria. In the years past, many clones of such games were published, and most lacked originality in order to add something fresh, and be different from the originals that made these sub-genres a reality in the first place. This game does exactly that: even if Spoxel uses a base gameplay structure very similar to the genre's basic standards, it also introduces unique mechanics not seen in any other game, allowing players to have an interesting experience instead of just something already seen before. The most important of these features is the custom crafting, divided in various work tables and allowing players to craft weapons, armors, tools and even spells completely from scratch, adding components to alter the aspect, be they crafted or unique ones found from bosses and dungeons, adding unique as well effects and powers to them. The general gameplay proposed by Spoxel is true to the roots of the genre: dig ever deeper, explore the world, fight to find increasingly rare resources to craft new tools, proceeding from dungeon to dungeon filled with enemies to hoard items and materials to craft new things. Spoxel might be not revolutionary under all gameplay aspects, but the unique ones are significant and add much to the experience in an unique way. Crafting more and more advanced spells and equip from new materials and pieces is satisfying, and complex enough to require several hours to master, especially for spellcraft. [u] In the end, Spoxel is something more than just another Terraria clone, adding enough unique elements to have its own identity, but maintaining the original gameplay true to this genre in itself. The problems about bugs and desync in multiplayer make the whole experience less enjoyable than it should be, for now, but overall it's definitely a game the genre's fans will enjoy and have fun with, as I surely did. [/u] [quote]Liked this review, and want to see more of the same quality? Check out [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39323490]Tamaster's Review Archive[/url] to see all my Reviews in a single, convenient location.[/quote] [h1] In-depth Feature Analysis [/h1] 🎮 [b] Gameplay [/b] The gameplay of Spoxel is divided in Exploration, Combat and Crafting. Exploration, as customary to this genre, is done by either traversing the surface to find new biomes and dungeons, or digging ever deeper into the earth, to find better materials surely, but also more and more dangerous enemies. The possibility of setting a bed as respawn on death is appreciable, while later-on some spells, if crafted properly, will allow instant teleportation to multiple choice locations when used. On death, nothing is lost. Occasional merchants are present to trade money dropped by enemies, but their selection is generally not very useful. A passive quest log is also present and features things like finding specific items, killing a certain amount of enemies, or crafting something, rewarding materials and items. Crafting needs a mention on its own, as making fully customized (looks included) tool and spells if fully possible in this title, and for spells inparticular, it's not a simple affair. As the game progresses and more advanced spell component get unlocked from research, things such as logic ports, mutators and complex effects are unlocked, allowing the construction of very elaborate, and mana-expensive spells, allowing pretty much anything player can think of, from automatic mining to flying to a barrage of meteors pummeling down enemies. This particular aspect makes crafting very interesting and fresh every time something new is unlocked as far as materials go. 📖 [b] Story [/b] N/A 👊 [b] Combat System [/b] Combat in Spoxel is pretty much standard-issue for this genre, with a choice of melee, ranged and magic weapons to defeat enemies. Needless to say, magic combat is the most interesting given the extensive spell crafting the game offers, but also bow and melee users won't be disappointed as custom crafting is available also for them, just in a lesser extent. Each dungeon is filled with enemies and a Boss rewarding essential crafting materials, plus other tools can be found to summon secret bosses or unique events. The world on the contrary has a light presence of enemies except at night on the surface, and is mostly peaceful while exploring. Generally combat results satisfying and good enough for this genre. 💰 [b] Content & Pricing [/b] Priced at 14.99€ and having about 15-20 hours of content depending the pace and number of players involved. I'd definitely say the game is worth its money for an indie title, provided bugs get fixed, at least major ones. 🔗 [b] Balance & Challenge [/b] Balance for magic users is pretty broken at the moment, as with some delving into the mechanics, crafting very cheap spells with low mana cost and high damage is possible, breaking balance especially in early game. Melee and bow classes are mostly alright as far as balance is concerned. [h1] Technical Analysis [/h1] 🎥 [b] Graphics [/b] Unusual 2.5D graphical style blending 3D models on a 2D game plane. The visuals result clean and polished enough, and generally pleasant to look at. Models are a bit janky and not very detailed, while textures and effects are decent enough. for an indie game, that is. 🔊 [b] Sound [/b] Music tracks are a bit repetitive and also combat music can start randomly even while out of it, resulting quite annoying. Effects are generally alright and of decent quality. 🔩 [b] Performance & Stability [/b] In dungeons while in co-op, desync and lag problems can happen pretty often, while performance itself is solid at 4K and all maxed out. [i7 4820K, GTX1080, 16GB RAM]. 💻 [b] Artificial Intelligence [/b] Enemy AI is made of a simple follow and attack patterns typical of this genre, as expected. 🏠 [b] Quality of Life [/b] The absence of quick stacking of similar items makes stashing loot quite a chore, while the map bugging out quite often makes orientation difficult while underground. Apart from these issues, quality of life is generally good. 🐛 [b] Bugs & Issues [/b] Desync issues in dungeons when in co-op are the main problem, while other lesser bugs are also present but not nearly as bad as this one. [h1] Conclusion [/h1] Spoxel is definitely a solid sandbox title for the indie market, if its netcode co-op issues get fixed completely then I see no reason not to fully recommend it, especially for playing with a friend. This product was reviewed using a free key provided by the Developers.

[u] Pros [/u] ✓︎An unique, elaborated, yet easy to comprehend item and magic [b]crafting system that allows full personalization.[/b] ✓︎[b]Good game progression mechanics,[/b] with 6 different dungeons and tiers of materials. ✓︎[b]A high variety of combat styles,[/b] with gear aimed towards some specific or mixed categories. ✓︎Very interesting [b]graphics, that combine nicely 2D and 3D[/b] elements. ✓︎[b]A reasonable price[/b] considering the time required to complete a campaign. [u]Cons [/u] ✕︎[b]Multiplayer mode has some issues with desync and netcode stability[/b], especially in dungeons, as well as the sound the player hears being global, no matter their location. ✕︎Spell crafting system is easy to exploit, allowing creation of [b]unbalanced spells.[/b] ✕︎Tendency of [b]game crashing, map or terrain not being rendered[/b] in certain spots. [b] Spoxel[/b] is a sandbox rpg game with a feeling similar to Terraria, based on dungeon exploring and resource gathering. This game allows very particular crafting mechanics and 2.5d graphics. [h1]Story, Dialogue and Characters [/h1] N/A [h1]Gameplay[/h1] It is based on exploring dungeons, gathering resources and crafting. There are different biomes, each with its unique dungeon types and difficulty tiers. They are necessary to progress ingame, as chests found in there provide specific crafting materials, unique weapon blades and magical research scrolls. Aditionally some dungeons have trinkets displayed on the walls, those can be taken and then used in crafting to imbue equipment with special effects. Each dungeon kind has its own variety of monsters and closes with a boss room. After defeating that final enemy the player receives several items, including power cores, the most important items in this game. Aside from the basic materials, such as wood and stone, there are six different metals. They can be found as ores underground, and have their own hardness values that make them impossible to mine until a certain game stage has been reached. They can be gathered using special spells or appropriate pickaxes. Each ore has its own height range in which it can be found, but there are some instances in which more than one kind of metal can be found. Aditionally, the only resources to regenerate are those that can be planted from seeds, including trees. Crafting involves the use of Power Cores, to imbue items with different quality tiers. They are needed for crafting tools and give the pickaxes and spells mining power values. They can also be used to create powerful armors and weapons. Item crafting is divided between melee weapons, armor pieces. crafting tools and bows. Each item has several parts needed to assembly it and depending on the materials used to create them, they give the final result different proprieties, including special skills. There are also some items that can be found around the world and give items some particular bonuses. In the creation system the player can move and rotate freely each piece, as well as hide it, to obtain the most desiderable effect. Spell crafting is based on coding and combining different effects and requirements. To unlock different spell types, research scrolls are needed. There is also a different type of crafting, involving complex machineries and gems. The technology can create different items, some of which are used in spell crafting. As the player advances, they complete some missions, that give useful rewards, such as bag expansions, otherwise found only in chests scattered in the world and in the dungeons and crafting materials. [h1]Graphics and Soundtrack[/h1] The graphics of this game are quite unique. They combine classic 2D platformer sidescrolling view, together with 3D sprites, items and environments, creating a new dimensional perception, that could be defined as 2.5D. Textures and overall art is really pleasant and clear, but there is an issue with different mineral ores, as many metals look almost the same before they are mined. The crafting system allows free rotation of objects, when positioning them. The soundtracks and sound effects are quite nice and effective, although the tracks change randomly without a defined pattern or criteria. In multiplayer mode the sound that can be heard is not bound to the player's location, but it's shared by all the players, no matter how far they are apart. [h1]Performance, Bugs and Issues[/h1] This is the most troublesome part of the game. The map is not fully charted, as well as the field not always rendering. There is a particular desync issue, especially in the dungeons. Often times, with ranged enemies, the player has to guess their actual position, as they appear elsewhere from where they really are. The game also crashes randomly. The multiplayer mode deals with some netcode problems, as in the combat there are lag spikes, for both the host and players who join the campaign. Playing using a LAN connection makes this aspect less severe and quite acceptable. The server list does not display all the servers and the only way to connect to a server might be using Steam join game function. All the things I listed make the game feel somewhat unpolished, still needing some work. [i]Specs of the computer used:[/i] Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7500U CPU 2.70GHz 2.90 Ghz 8 GB RAM NVIDIA GeForce 950M [h1]Content to Price Ratio[/h1] The game can be completed in 15 to 20 hours, valuing it at 1€ or less per hour, which is not a bad deal. Many of its aspects are innovative and provide a lot of entertainment, making this game fully worth of its price. [i]This product was reviewed using a free key provided by the Developers.[/i] [quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/23741321/]Follow our curator page,[b] Alexander's Club Curations[/b] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/url][/quote]

[h1]Verdict - Interesting[/h1] [i]Spoxel is Terraria that promises extensive customization. Its full potential is sadly locked behind painfully boring progression and uninteresting gameplay. Poor polish.[/i] [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34679419-Is-It-Okay]My Curator page, "Is It Okay?", where I judge games based on innovation and uniqueness.[/url] The unfortunate reality for Spoxel is that it inevitably gets compared with Terraria, whose excellent quality and long history makes Spoxel look pitiful by comparison. This is an unfair measurement, but one that has to be made: What does Spoxel provide that Terraria does not? Fortunately it does have a trump card and it is its customization system. This is twofold - there is weapon/tool/armor crafting, and spell crafting. The former allows you to assemble your own gear with an assortment of parts (crafted or collected), and its stats depend on what parts or gems you add onto it. You can also change its appearance. The spell crafting system is more interesting. It is like Scratch (the visual coding language) - you assemble if/then events to make whatever you want happen. Say, if you want a simple fireball, you can do "On spell cast -> (spell) fires projectile at mouse -> (projectile) does fire damage". This is quite novel, and was really the only reason I was willing to give Spoxel a shot. Given such an amazing system, it's not hard to imagine what possibilities you can do with the spells. Can I rain fireballs down from the sky? Create an instant barrier, or even better, a lava tub that cooks my enemies? The answer to that is... not yet. Spell components are locked behind loot drops, which requires you to enter dungeons, which require you to explore, and this is where we get to the gameplay. The comparison to Terraria is in fact quite on point. The building, combat and crafting systems are near identical. But what Terraria has in depth and variety, Spoxel fails to deliver. Of my two hours of exploration, I only found two identically generated dungeons, a total of 3 research scrolls (it takes 10 to craft one component!), and exactly one type of enemy. The overworld has a few more, but they're all extremely generic (slime and bat? wait, that's basically Terraria again?). I stuck through only by watching another stream, which looks very bad for the game. Speaking of mobs, the AI jumps ridiculously high and gets stuck often; and both the combat and craft balance are quite off. My copper armor is exactly as strong as wood armor; bows are extremely overpowered with knockback; torches are basically free since you only need wood, for some reason; the list goes on. At this point, it's rather clear that Spoxel definitely needs a lot more polish. Its current state is what you would expect of an Early Access game - it's playable, but not quite there yet. I cannot, with my full conscience, recommend this just yet; but this game is not too far away from a unique and enjoyable experience. Some things I suggest the developer(s) can start off with: [list] [*] A creative mode to allow players to explore spell and gear crafting. [*] Tweak the early-game balance. The player starts off too slow, and spells come in too late to keep them interested. [*] Add enemy types that require more finesse to defeat. What about ones with shields that force you to use non-direct projectiles? Or ones that destroy blocks so you can't cheese them? Give the player a reason to use the spells to their full extent. [*] Make the player character move more smoothly and jump more softly. Propelling myself like a rocket feels wrong. [*] Take a note from Terraria with regards to block selection, making block breaking much smoother (very important for a game mostly about breaking blocks). [/list]

On the surface, it's difficult to avoid comparisons with Terraria, but after a little while I saw the appeal in Spoxel. Its main strength (as far as I'm concerned) comes from the organic crafting system: The tiered materials that we've come to expect are there of course (wood - copper - iron - etc), but after the wooden tier, every piece of equipment can be combined from a number of different pieces with some unique bonuses and abilities. This is great for those who like to finetune their character stats and those who like to design things visually. Magic is similar - over time you unlock effects and properties that you can combine to make your own spells. The game does a decent job at rewarding exploration and experimentation. For example, I needed torches to light up the caves and dungeons I was going through. Soon I found enough research to unlock the "light" spell effect. I then created a spell that would light up the area around me so I wouldn't need torches anymore. Later still, I started tinkering with the items I could craft, from which I learned that candles can be crafted into equipment to emit light. This left me with more mana to spend on offensive spells which felt pretty good. There's plenty more of that too - I found some decorative ankhs on the walls of a pyramid. I figured I'd gather a few because they looked cool. Back at my base I find out they can be crafted into items to give a healing stat. Mind blown. I haven't experienced everything yet, but so far it seems promising. (especially with modding!) There are some rough edges currently but the game has never crashed for me.

At the time of this review, I have two hours in. So far, it's looking very similar to Terraria, which is a compliment and not a complaint at all. In fact, I was looking for a game that kept the aspects of Terraria I like and expanded on them. It looks like Spoxel will be that game. I'm really excited about the crafting and spell systems, which should bring many long hours of enjoyment, along with exploration and treasure hunting, which is something I really enjoy doing. The developer is active with the user base both on the Steam forums and Discord, which is nice. I know I'm looking forward to what is to come. I'll update my review when I have more time in the game. EDIT: 4+ hours in. I've found one of the dungeons, got a bunch of goodies, made myself a couple nice swords, found a couple of handy spells and I've just touched the surface of the game. I did notice a screen blanking bug in the snow/ice biome, where the screen would go light blue while I was moving around. I have confidence with time the bugs will be squashed.

Ever wanted to make custom spells, swords, shields and bows u can in Spoxel this game is easy to play even with friends u can even make a sword with a living shark and a blade.

First one to review.. Spell crafting.. nuff said. Dug straight down, was not disappointed. :)

Mi mas sincera opinión, el juego es una maravilla, se puede hacer de todo, desde mineria, combate hechizos y armas personalizadas, todo. Mazmorras, boses, construccion ,personalizacion de personaje. La construcion es una pasada ya que puedes tallar los bloques de muchas maneras y eso para la gente que le guste construir puede crear casas espectaculares. Podria decir mas cosas pero es mejor que exploreis vosotros mismos. Vale ahora mi parte negativa, aparte de no estar en español, que particularmente me da igual ya que me gustan tanto estos graficos que podria jugar perfectamente, es que cuando haces zoom no puedes interactuar con nada, entonces tienes que jugar con la camara bastante alejada. Esta es una pega para mi ya que este tipo de juegos me gusta jugarlo de cerca porque me gusta fijarme en los detalles. Eso no significa que no lo recomiende y que lo vaya a devolver, no lo voy a devolver, voy a esperar que se solucione ese problema para poder jugarlo. Asi que por mi parte recomendado 100% porque puedes tener horas y horas de diversion. Os dejo una review para que veais como es el juego: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz5F8jKB0cE

the idea of the game is great, but the game is a buggy mess with features that seem unfinished like water having no physics, etc. also this game hasn't seen any updates since 2019

This is a fun game so far, I have noticed that alot of things that people said were wrong in reviews have been resolved. Good solid foundation.. Only real beef is the graphics are a little blah... but its a small download and doesn't need much in the way of resources to run. Good Job!