Phantom Spark – Switch Review

The featured image for Phantom Spark, showing one of the Domain Champions as a large hologram, and one of the sparks, a geometric collection of shapes, racing down a track.

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Phantom Spark is an indie racing game that released for the PC and Consoles on the 15th August 2024. Developed by Icelandic studio Ghosts and published by Coatsink (Thunderful Group), Phantom Spark’s quick restarts, smooth controls, and smoother soundtrack make for a chill time-trial racer that makes you ache for one more run.

Phantom Spark – A Ghost of Racers Past?

One of the ever-present games in my faithful PSP’s disc slot growing up was Wipeout Pure. I was terrible at it, of course (I was eight, to be fair). But! The feeling of speeding around those wide curves stuck with me. So when Phantom Spark seemed like I might be able to scratch that itch (and maybe redeem myself along the way), I was in.

Gameplay

Phantom Spark is made up of three Domains, each with 10 paths to speed your Spark down. There are no laps, just a straight race from point A to point B. And there are no fender-benders on the cards, either – time trials only. Each race has three times set, a bronze, a silver, and that always elusive gold. The only thing between you and those rankings, is the clock!

Though, that may not entirely be true. Each domain has a Champion, a character that serves as your rival/mentor. These characters set the times and will be heckling or helping you along the way. After your first time clearing the track, two ‘ghosts’ appear on either side of your Spark. One is your fastest time down this Path, and the other is the Champion, whose time is set to be just a bit faster than your best. Match your best time to cement your skills, but beat the champion to improve them.

Screenshot from Phantom Spark game. Three racers moving towards a gate that represents the finish line. One is in the centre of the screen, the player character. The other two are ahead, one labelled YOU, and the other labelled Zyn. Their surroundings are an ethereal pink architectural void. — You aren’t racing anyone except yourself and the next fastest time.

It’s a clever, satisfying, and, most importantly, fun system. Instead of beating your head against the wall, you can try and match the computer’s moves, and learn what they ‘know’. And there is a lot to learn!

Racing

Phantom Spark is intentionally simple, but don’t mistake that for a low skill ceiling. With just three inputs, accelerate, brake, and steer (no drifting or combat), the focus is on you and the track. Momentum is the name of the game, here.

The minute-to-minute gameplay is weighing up whether you can make a turn without braking, or even letting off the accelerator. Can your Spark almost touch the inner wall, just so you can shave a few milliseconds off of your time? Is it worth it, when this run has been going so well? The answer entirely depends on how much you want to push it.

And what about when you’ve over-committed to a sweeping corner and end up smashing into the wall, meaning all of your momentum is gone? You can start again with the click of a button. It’s a fantastic frustration-saving feature, which reminded me of Super Meat Boy, strangely.

A single racer in the middle of track, nestled between huge buildings. They have a glowing blue trail behind them, and the floor is a matching blue tiled pattern of sigils. — When your heads in the game, you feel strangely calm.

When you lock into Phantom Spark and meet it where it’s at, it becomes almost a meditative experience. At its best, it combines the arcing curves and breakneck speeds of F-Zero or Wipeout, with the iterative improvement and ‘one-more-go’ of Trackmania.

Multiplayer

Slightly less polished is the local multiplayer. Though not strictly necessary, as this game is made for leaderboards and time-setting, Phantom Spark does offer a split-screen multiplayer mode.

It’s a pretty standard affair, where you select a few of your favourite paths from one Domain and face off against one another. Up to four people can play at once, selecting their own Spark’s skin, and race on the same course live. Though, with no collision between players and the linear nature of the paths, the split-screen mode feels a bit toothless.

More fun is the Hotseat mode. This acts as a formalised pass-the-controller mode, where you and up to three friends take turns trying to ace one 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 amount of time, and the first to run out mid-race loses – and you can see your opponent’s Ghost at all times.

Again, this isn’t Phantom Spark’s main draw. But it is nice to see it included. Even with the split-screen mode being a bit meh, the hotseat mode is enough fun to make up for it.

Graphics & Audio

Phantom Spark’s visual design was the first thing that drew my attention to it, and I’m pleased to say that it delivers. The worlds you speed through are pleasing to look at and be in, and each has a nice central palette. The art style is colourful, and the Sparks themselves have great animation and character.

More importantly, it’s clear what’s happening in each path and domain, and this gorgeous look doesn’t get in the way of the gameplay. This is style in service of substance, not style over substance. I do have one tip, specifically for the Switch version of the game – go into the settings and change the user interface scale to ‘Big’.

A screenshot from Phantom Spark game.A purplish-pink looking track, warping up into the sky and back down, looping through towers and bridges. A character called Zyn is speaking in the bottom left, saying "Some Champions are never fulfilled by this responsibility". — The visual design of the tracks and the world itself is beautiful.

The sound design compliments the game’s minimalist style. Its sound effects are understated, adding to the tranquil atmosphere of the game. All soundscapes have a pleasant ethereal tone to them. The audio experience is subtle, allowing players to immerse themselves in the flow of the race without overwhelming them with intense or distracting sounds.

The soundtrack is fantastic – I’ve had it playing in the background as I write this review, and that’s a pretty high bar. Its electronic and synth-led rhythms drive you forward and faster. All whilst still being smooth and unobtrusive enough to let your brain do the talking.

Longevity

An end-of-race stat screen, arranged around a central circle that shows the player is halfway between bronze and silver ranks. — The skill ceiling is high, but the game gives you the tools to improve.

Phantom Spark is, almost appropriately, a short race to the finish. There are three domains, each with ten tracks and a handful of short time trials. If you’re just looking to get through each track to the next, you’ll be finished with the game in just under three hours.

But that would be stopping you from really getting to grips with the controls and flow state the game provides. If you’re willing to put the time in, and you enjoy the iterative improvement loop, you’ll be coming out of Phantom Spark with around ten happy hours, minimum.

Final Thoughts

Racing isn’t a genre of game I’d usually associate with the term ‘thoughtful’. This isn’t to say they aren’t well thought out – more that they provoke a player’s reflexes and timing more than anything else. You focus on the next turn coming, not the third. Phantom Spark bucks this trend, however. I found myself invested in each track, willing my Spark to make a turn just tight enough to speed through, to shave a thousandth of a second off my time.

If I came into this looking to redeem my eight-year-old self, I failed. This game isn’t a successor to Wipeout Pure. Instead it’s a great time trial game in its own right; stylish and smart. If you like racing games, you should give it a go.

I give Phantom Spark a Thumb Culture Gold Award!

If you’re into racing games, take a look at my review of the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8, or for a more classic flavour, check out Vinno’s review of Formula Retro Racing – World Tour!

Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.

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Joe

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