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66

Mixed or average reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 7 Ratings

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  • Summary: Blast fiends by spelling words and make your way to the top of the Spellspire!

    Spellspire is a thrilling mashup of word game and action role playing game. Pick letters from a grid to spell words and shoot them from your wand as spells. The longer the word, the bigger the blast! Collect
    Blast fiends by spelling words and make your way to the top of the Spellspire!

    Spellspire is a thrilling mashup of word game and action role playing game. Pick letters from a grid to spell words and shoot them from your wand as spells. The longer the word, the bigger the blast! Collect gold dropped by slain monsters and buy more potent wands, hats and robes with magical special effects and abilities. Will you reach the top of the Spellspire, and what will you find?
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Negative: 1 out of 6
  1. 80
    On its own, Spellspire is an enjoyable word RPG, somewhat in the same vein as a Puzzle Quest. The replayable nature makes it a nice game to have on hand as a complement to the Switch’s other games. It’s a focused and fun twist on a known formula, well worth checking out if you need a break from Mario.
  2. Nov 29, 2017
    75
    Spellspire is a game that knows what it is, and doesn’t aim for the stars. It’s a more than enjoyable experience worth the price tag. Those looking for a fun little game to play during downtime, or even something to distract the kids, can’t go far wrong here.
  3. Nov 23, 2017
    70
    Spellspire may look simple and unassuming but any attempts to underestimate it should be quickly discarded as this typing game reveals itself to be addictive, long lasting and far from an easy experience.
  4. Nov 29, 2017
    60
    Spellspire is simple, unique, and will make you feel like your English skills are on par with a 10-year old. The fun blend of word puzzle and fantasy adventure is enough to flesh out hours of content, and the snappy interface makes it easy to jump in for a few floors of spellbinding action. Longer play sessions wear a bit thin due to the need to grind, and the inconsistent difficulty makes progression feel less satisfying than it really should. It's not out to impress with its story or visuals, but if you want something quick and easy to play in handheld mode then it's a pretty solid choice. At its current price we'd only really recommend it to players who enjoy word games in general, and maybe keep a dictionary close to hand...
  5. Nov 29, 2017
    60
    10tons' spelling RPG-lite is good fun in short bursts, but the grind will grate after a while. While I wouldn't recommend Spellspire to the majority of Nintendo Switch owners, if you are a fan of mental puzzle games then you will find something to enjoy here.
  6. Jan 23, 2018
    40
    The flaws of the free, mobile version have been carried over to the Nintendo Switch port, and as such, destroy what little fun could be had by this word-scramble title, the reason being that, rather than the ability to craft words, Spellspire is all about grinding.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Nov 15, 2017
    8
    Having played many games throughout the years from all different genres, I was really looking forward to Spellspire because it wasn’t likeHaving played many games throughout the years from all different genres, I was really looking forward to Spellspire because it wasn’t like anything I had previously experienced before. Spellspire is an interesting game that mashes word game puzzles along with an action role playing game. . I have played nearly every 10Tons Game and I enjoy how simple yet addictive their games are and Spellspire is no exception

    You play as a Wizard who has to get past all sorts of levels in a Tower while defeating various monsters. The goal is to pick letters from a grid made out of 10 letters to spell different words and shoot them from your wand as magical spells to defeat the enemies, the longer the word the bigger the attack power

    What I appreciated most in Spellspire is that it made me think and challenge myself to create various words in a limited amount of time before the enemy hits me back. 3 Letter words is the minimum to cause damage on an enemy and I found myself constantly at the edge of my seat, trying to create longer words to inflict more damage.

    Spellspire also has challenging bosses to beat after completing a couple of Levels. You will need to be quick because each of those monsters have different attack times and health. It was fun creating words to destroy those monsters and I enjoyed the variety in the enemies throughout the game.

    The RPG elements in Spellspire are what shine the most. After each kill, you are rewarded with coins which can be spent in the shop. Buying and upgrading different items such as Hats, Robes and Wands is key to successfully beat the game because each item has its own advantages and disadvantages against the countless enemies you will be facing in your adventure. These items have different powers such as wands that create fire and Robs that allows you to deal more damage. I spent a good amount of time in the shop trying out different combinations of items to take along on my adventure

    With 100 Levels in the Tower, 10Tons have delivered a game with plenty of content and replay value. Spellspire is a wonderfully simple game to pick up and play
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  2. Nov 30, 2017
    5
    Ever wonder is Dumbledore is good at scrabble?

    Spellspire is a word game mixed with an action rpg, where you play as a little wizard
    Ever wonder is Dumbledore is good at scrabble?

    Spellspire is a word game mixed with an action rpg, where you play as a little wizard fighting his way through hordes of supernatural enemies. Playing through an evil ridden tower floor by floor, you cast attack spells by spelling different words from the collection of ten letters freshly provided each round. Depending on the length of the word your damage varies with the longer the word, the higher the damage.

    When playing your entering the letters as fast as you can, because when the timer runs out the next enemy in line will attack. Eventually noticing I wasn’t even looking at the character on top, I was just staring at the letters trying to get as many words as a can. This being that yes there are different characters that you're facing but essentially the name of the game is enter the longest word you can, before the timer runs out until the round is over. Having the touch screen on the switch handheld does help with faster key input, but I opted for the d-pad since my switch screen is super clean and I don’t want to change that.

    While playing feels good, I wish that similar to Words with Friends, there was a button to toss the letters around, mixing them up to help you to find new combinations. You will get a lot of repeat batches of letters in the same positions, which you start to remember the combination of letters previously used and can use that to your advantage, but also shows the size of the pool you are drawing from.

    When each enemy is defeated they either drop an item or most of the time, coins. These coins can be spent to upgrade you wizards wares, increase your health, damage, or but new items giving you new special abilities. These upgrades help tons when facing off against powerful bosses, unless you are able to max out the word length on a level, upgrading your wand to a fire wand makes a crucial difference in battle.

    If you replay previously defeated levels and beat them without sustaining any damage, you received a star, these stars can also be used to purchase new items that are otherwise unavailable. Which is a great strategy when facing a particularly difficult opponent.

    That being said the pool of 100,000 words that you have to choose from is a bit odd. You can use some very obscure words such as rubaboo which is a basic stew or porridge consumed by fur traders of North America, or Git british slang for person, but cannot use the word unsee which the oxford dictionary defines as Erase the memory of or no longer register. Which is fine to have a limited amount of words, but they aren’t exactly localized. If play with an American vocabulary you feel a bit hindered in your choices unless you really remember harry potter, which is the only reason I typed in git.

    Spellspire is a word game action rpg that’s really light on the action rpg, which is typicaly used to refer to real time combat, which this is not even close to. So if you are a word game fan, that enjoys a little pressure in your puzzling, this may be right up your alley. But if you enjoy action rpgs and think this may be your zelda like with scrabble elements, i’d say SPELL no to this one.

    Be sure to watch my video review on YouTube channel TheFlannelFox
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