Category Archives: App review

Spellsword app review. Spell sword, developed by FireFruitForge and published by Everplay intersctive Games, on the iPad and iPhone, is a fun and addictive little game. An easy five out of five stars.

Graphics

Could be better. Spellsword has the pixel look we’ve all seen before and it looks nice enough but is lacking in detail and readability. Spellsword almost looks like Everplay took the games detailed photoshop images and ran them through a pixel filter rather than pixellating the graphics from step 1. They do grow on you eventually, but imagine blurry huge pixel graphics and you get the idea. Not pleasant, but acceptable for a platformer like this. For reference I was playing on an iPad 3 with retina graphics. Spellsword might look better visually on a lower end device like the iPhone.

Gameplay

Few games are as amazingly fun as this one. Spellsword has that “one more go” element nailed just right. I couldn’t put it down. Deliciously addictive and just plain fun, with no grinding and a 5 hour start to finish. This is where Spell sword earns those five stars and in the end it’s the gameplay that matters most. Perfect.

There are power ups to pick up, upgrades to your character and money to buy. In-app purchases are not necessary at all, except to support the developers who are small time indies Everplay. The game is based on card power ups you find on each level. Touch the cards and events happen on screen from them and another power up appears in a different location. Things like fireballs, a black hole that sucks enemies in and ice shards blasting out. It’s fun.

Spellswords upgrade system is just right, you never feel the levels are too easy or too hard. You get the feeling the guys at Everplay really took their time with play-testing every level for difficulty and sorting them perfectly.

Spellsword comes with 3 mission packs of 20 levels each, with more “coming soon”. No grinding or in-app purchases required to finish all missions.

Sound

The sound effects in spellsword are simply stunning, perfect and with oomph. I love the music too. Some of the best pixel bit tunes i’ve heard in a game app to date. They never get tiring or repetitive. The sound in Spellsword really is something special and worth the buck just to hear it alone. If I was making a pixel app or game and needed music and fx, i’d hunt Duncan McPherson down and hire him.

Spellsword costs $0.99 on the Apple app store.

Speelswords core missions take about 5 hours or less to complete, and there is an endless mode for those wanting more. Although once you’ve finished the main missions available (about 60) it’s ripe for deletion as the leader boards are owned by guys with 5,000+ points.

Definitely a great price and well worth the cost. I’d buy Spellsword again knowing what I now know.

Review scores:
Graphics 3.5/10.
Sound 10/10.
Gameplay 13/10. Deal.

Overall: Spellsword gets a five out of five stars for just plain blasting that gameplay right out the park.

Recommended.