Sphere Complex is a fast-paced and challenging game that mixes fast moving spheres, puzzle levels, and the ability to race against your friends in a multiplayer environment. To an older gamer like myself, it’s very reminiscent of another great game, Marble Blast Ultra, which was a favorite Xbox Live Arcade of mine back in the day.
Not too long ago I sat down with Frank Oyer, the founder of OC Game Studio and lead programmer of Sphere Complex to do an interview. We spent a lot of time chatting about Mr. Oyer’s interest in racing games, as well as his passion for MBU, and even what makes Sphere Complex such a great game.
So what about it really sets it apart from its competition? Let’s dive right into the details.
Levels
The base game comes with 3 different levels of levels — beginner, intermediate, and hard, each with 12 levels of progressive difficulty. I’m currently midway through the Intermediate levels and they are challenging, but not frustratingly so. I also like that you can solve a level in different ways.
The other cool level factor is that you’re able to make your own levels, which has been something I’ve loved doing in games since the first time I built a sweet skatepark in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3. There is something satisfying in watching your friends get crushed by your course or making a course that really tests your own precision.
Music
The music for Sphere Complex is all kinds of crazy. From pounding bass tracks to salsa beats, the high tempo tunes keep you feeling pumped up while you play. I also feel like the music is very fitting for the levels. There is a good play between the music playing and the colors used in the level design that just meshes really well.
If there was one little thing I’d like to be able to do, it would be the option to add in my own music tracks. I know I could just mute the volume and play my own music in the background, but it’s more of a nit-pick issue than anything.
Visuals
You’re a spinning sphere, so there is really not much to the player visuals. For the most part, Sphere Complex makes good use of basic geometrical shapes — and it works. First and foremost, this is a game about getting from point A to point B as quickly as possible. So while some of the levels do get really flashy with the lights and some surreal art-like layouts, it’s nothing crazy detailed.
Final Verdict
Sphere Complex is a fun and fast-paced indie game with engaging music and challenging levels. Once all the DLC is out, there will be over 50 single player and 10 multiplayer maps to test your skills on. While not the most visually impressive game, it still looks great — and with a price tag of $9.99 it’s an affordable title with lots of bang for the buck.
Pros:
- Fast-paced
- Good music
- level editor
Cons:
- Simple graphics
- long loading screens
- limited multiplayer current build (1.1)
Does Sphere Complex sound like a game you’d play? Played the game and what to share what you think? Let’s talk about it in the comments below!
Note: A copy of the game was provided by the developer for the purpose of this review.
