Sparc Review - Sweating in the virtual world

Gaming in VR can physically ask a lot of you. Quiet on the couch gaming is not always there. A good example is Sparc. This VR title lets you compete against others by staying the last. The Sparc review shows you what you can expect from this digital sports adventure.

Sports, it is something that is not standard in many. A subscription for the gym is closed, but actually going there is something completely different. Perhaps Sparc can offer a solution in this situation. The VR title can easily be started at home and offers you the necessary physical exercise while playing.

In Sparc you fight in a digital arena against another player in a battle for life and death. That may sound somewhat dramatic, but you must certainly deliver a good fight. The whole game revolves around this principle: you have two players and a ball. The ball is bounced back and forth and it is up to you to hit your opponent with that ball. That way you switch it off and you win the match.

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Pop with those balls

Sounds simple of course, but the gameplay in Sparc shows similarities with for example Rocket League. It is easy to come in, but a big challenge to master it. Everybody can bounce a ball, but hit balls in such a way that they can no longer be held for your opponent, that is the level that you ultimately want to achieve.

The focus in Sparc is therefore entirely on the multiplayer, online multiplayer to be precise. Because this is a VR game, local multiplayer is not possible and you will not find single player content either. There is not even a possibility to play against the AI. Anyone who wants to play alone can at most kill some time in the training area and complete some challenges, but otherwise the challenge can only be found online.

And on that front Sparc offers three different modes. For the beginners there is the Basic mode and once you have played, you can ride your car on the Advanced version, with the Experimental mode as icing on the cake. In Basic mode you have a timer of three minutes, the one with the most points at the end of that timer wins. The Advanced mode removes the timer from the game and allows you to continue until a player has four points.

Design your own digital athlete

The Experimental mode is slightly different and allows you to compete in a room full of crazy corners. With this you can make some really crazy shots and it makes matches more exciting and more unpredictable. Between the jars you also have time to give your characters a lick of paint, to link a unique look to your character. It is similar to the accessories you find in Rocket League, where you can also pimp your car.

So you can give your character your own twist, but the gameplay always remains the same. Regardless of your character or mode. With your hands you try to bounce back the ball in all cases, while you also dodge for hazards. The gameplay works well, partly because movements are also well registered by the hardware you play with. Keep in mind that a set of two Move controllers is required to play. Only VR glasses do not work in this case.

Although the gameplay works well, after a long time the game becomes somewhat monotonous. The variation within the game is unfortunately not big enough to remain really interesting in the longer term. New content may be able to remedy this in the future, but for now there are no plans and you basically have a mode that you have to entertain.

Conclusion

The game prefers quality over quantity. For 30 euros you get a cool eSports-like experience that allows you to compete with other players around the world. The gameplay is challenging at first and works well, but over time the repetition does increase.
Also the lack of full-fledged single-player content feels like a loss and ensures that the prize for the game is not entirely justified. Sparc is well worth it, but you better wait until the purchase price is just a little softer. Wait until the time is right and you can bounce balls until you drop dead tired.

➕ Fast and cool gameplay
➕ Control works accurately
➕ Customize your character to your heart's content

➖ Little content for the price
➖ Repetition continues in the long run

Thanks for reading.