SpellKeeper

A delightful experience, but WAY too short.

+++ easy & cheap 100 % Steam Achievements

+ nice Puzzle/ Strategy Game with 60 Levels + 10 Tutorials

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3007836041

(--- No 5 Trading Cards)

Good for Achievement Hunters & Casual Indie Strategy Riddlers

https://store.steampowered.com/app/786990/SpellKeeper/

SpellKeeper is a console (Switch) ported mobile app-like block placement/pathing puzzle game where you have limited moves and must place "spells" onto a puzzle grid, which in turn shoot light in different directions depending on where you place your "spells" and where you point them. The objective is to hit every gem on the puzzle grid with the light from your "spells". So it's a fairly convoluted alternative to the tired old Sokobans and Bejewelled/Candy Crush ripoffs we're using to seeing on the mobile app stores, but none of that changes the fact this isn't bloody well Google Play, now, is it? So why is this mobile app like crap here? Anyway.

From a technical perspective, the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard.

There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks. There's no way to ensure this is running at the native resolution of your display. There's no guarantee this game will look right on any PC as a result of this hamfisted design decision.

The game features simple, cartoony 2D graphics, of the type you normally expect to see in low effort mobile apps. 3D graphics programming does require a degree of skill and competence and unfortunately not all developers have the budget or talent to deliver this, despite 3D graphics cards hitting the mainstream in the 1990's. Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.

The controls can't be customised because the game has such a dumbed down, simplified interface that it's just iPhone screen tapping stuff. The fact that the interface is this dumbed down might be seen as a problem in itself, however... this is a fairly shallow experience if you're the kind of gamer that likes to play games with deep, rich control schemes and interaction. You'll get none of that here.

Because this is designed for consoles (and probably mobile phones), it carries a number of deliberate design deficiencies. Compromises were made to cater to the inferior console gaming appliances that the game was designed for. These are unfortunate compromises and limitations that PC gamers shouldn't be forced to accept, but it's evident that PC was a second thought for the console-centric developers. The game is deficient as a result of these choices, and would have been so much better without the handicaps that designing games for consoles forces upon a game. Once more, console peasants have made gaming worse for everyone.

This looks and feels like a mobile app, but it doesn't seem to have made it to the app stores. It's unclear why this was put on Steam instead of the app stores it seems to have been designed for. Maybe it was removed, maybe it was rejected by Apple and Google (they do have more rigorous quality standards than Valve does for Steam, after all). That's going to raise a few eyebrows when the backers ask how much money they made on the app stores.

Regardless, for all intents and purposes SpellKeeper might as well be a mobile app, it has the same limitations and dumbed down qualities. It's impossible to recommend such a game to PC gamers. We don't spend all this money building gaming rigs so we can pretend they're iPhones and play games that might as well be mobile apps.

These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game.

The poor quality of this game is reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the all-time peak player number was only 6 players. This is a remarkably low number, and now, the only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 120 million gamers on Steam and well over 50,000 games for gamers to choose from (over 9,000 completely free titles), the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality game is to be expected.

SpellKeeper has the almost unethical price of around $4 USD, it's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings with the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam.

In general a solid puzzle game.

Pros:
- The puzzles generally are interesting
- The hint doesn't seem to show the "keys" to unlock new areas
(you have enough keys, though won't get all achievements, if you use only the hints)
- easy achievement
- cheap

Cons:
- the story is a bit "soft" and bland
- I DON'T LIKE THE GENERAL GRAPHICS.

So...... maybe I bought too quick.
If you have no problem with the design,
and don't need a special story, just buy it.

puzzles are fun

There are two collectibles in this game, both required to proceed. For one, the game marks which levels have one to collect, which one's you've already collected, and how many total are in your possession. For the other, the game does none of this, you are required to track it all manually. This game isn't nearly good enough to up with that kind of tedious inconvenience.

Deeper and more challenging than it may look, and than the price point indicates. It's sort of like if a light-beam-direction puzzler were combined with chess - each level provides a certain amount of pieces that can extend the light in different directions and for different lengths, and you have to place them so that all gems are lit up.

For a cup of coffee, if you are into puzzle games you can't go wrong. However the game is a bit short with not much replayability as far as I can tell. I cleared most of the game in only a few hours. It also has an angsty preteen vibe.

its amazing gems game, whitch is unique and funny, i like that nuts

This is a decent puzzle board game with pleasant-looking artwork and effects, and a generally soothing atmosphere. There are an adequate number of puzzles, but they are all relatively small, so I would tend to buy it on sale for close to a dollar (which I did). Most of the puzzles provide a challenge by throwing in some distractions and misdirection, which reminds one to think outside the obvious. On the minus side, the story is not believable (if you are a legendary magic user, why does the princess have to teach you your job every step of the way?), the single character is bland, and the writing has some disconcerting English errors (such as "lightened up" instead of "lit up") which the voice actress reads verbatim as if it were perfectly natural.

This is a fun puzzle game. It's a two-dimensional version of the laser puzzles that you may find in "The Talos Principle" and elsewhere. It's difficult without being tedious, and it doesn't wear out its welcome. All achievements are unlockable, and all the levels are doable. I have posted screenshots of solutions to various levels I myself found difficult, but really everything can be solved with logic, trial-and-error, and brute force should the other two methods fail you. This is because you only have a limited amount of choices per level: you may have a 'spell' that allows you to send a light ray from an arrow either north, south, west, or one of the many other orthogonal directions, such as east. So if that's the only spell you get, then you can just rotate it 4 times until something clicks. Now often you'll have 3 such spells, but even so, that means you will stumble upon the solution in 64 (4 by 4 by 4) clicks. And really, if you have any sense of spatial awareness or the most basic understanding of a flowchart, you won't even need to guess as you'll often be able to see the solution. Once in a while, with the diode arrow spells you can solve the board by working backwards.

The game has 4 areas, each with about 15 or 16 fields in it: they are in order of difficulty. Each area adds in a stumbling block that you have to overcome. Literally in the third area, the Castle, where you have impenetrable blocks on the board that your laser can't penetrate. The first area is easy, the second is medium, the third hits that sweet spot of fun where you feel satisfied when you stumble upon and/or solve the level, and the final area, dubbed 'the tower,' is rather hard. Only 20% of Steam players have completed the Tower levels. But that's because I find that the game is most fun when played in small doses.

The game has good replay value because you won't remember 5 minutes after you solved a level as to how you solved it. (That's also why I'm taking screenshots of levels I find hard the first time around.)

This is a very original puzzle game.
The idea is unique = you have to direct light beams in order to free the butterflies from their cocoons.
The puzzle levels are divided into zones and each zone has it's own setting and difficulties.
Difficulty is ok, not too easy and not too hard.
I had good fun especially in the first few hours.
After a while it will get repetitive thou, but this game is short so you will finish this before it gets boring.

I recommend this well crafted puzzle game.

This was a treat to play and something I expect to come back to over the years. It is very polished and has a nice progression in difficulty. The visual and audio presentation is pleasant and it has a calm and relaxed feel to it. Only downside is one puzzle in particular was out of place, but it is not game breaking.

SpellKeeper is a casual puzzle game with interesting mechanics and a nice presentation,

Each level shows you a map of square tiles, some of which are light sources, and others contain butterflies. Your goal is to guide the light to all the butterflies. To achieve this, you receive a limited number of tools for each level (the game calls these "spells", but they function like objects that you can place on the map). These tools spread the light in various ways. The game gradually introduces new tiles (walls, pre-built immovable tools, "moths" that must not be touched by the light, etc.) as well as new tools.

I found the mechanics fun and engaging, but not very innovative - it's a standard "laser and mirrors" game that just uses different names for well-known gameplay elements. The challenge level is fairly low, though the levels usually do contain a few red herrings (e.g. paths that look promising, but will never lead to a solution) and require some out-of-the-box thinking. If you get stuck, you can ask the game for hints, and it will step by step reveal one possible solution. Often several solutions exist.

The game has more than 60 levels, but felt rather short since I rarely spent more than a few minutes in the same level. It took me exactly 4 hours to experience everything that the game had to offer. I believe it is approproately priced for the amount of content.

There is no story, just a backdrop that doesn't make much sense, and some random references to fairy tale tropes. While a story would have been nice, I wasn't really bothered by the lack of it.

I liked the game's colorful graphics and the relaxing music. The sound effects were also well chosen. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the occasional voice acting, which is rather amateurish.

For fans of "laser and mirrors"-type puzzle games, SpellKeeper provides a few hours of fun and relaxation at a cheap price.

SpellKeeper is a pretty fun puzzle game, but the controls can be quite frustrating at times. Pick it up super cheap or in a bundle if you're a fan of puzzlers.

A tile laying puzzle game similar to Hade though with a little more presentation and a little less in mechanics and levels.

It all works well, the difficulty curve is about right, and it almost always has a selection of levels unlocked that you can try regardless. Each stage has a different twist to it, and it holds your attention throughout.

It could have had a little more too it, a few more aha! moments and the like, but otherwise there is not much to criticise.
Its a solid little puzzle game all round.

one of the many laser guiding puzzle games around, something I'm not particularly fond of, but I can't really find a fault in spellkeeper. lovely hand-drawn art, fully voiced, the music and effects aren't annoying and they're on separate volume sliders. and even if I don't care about achievements, I always appreciate if I can check them as part of the game, not by clicking the achievements button that only brings up the steam overlay, or by bringing up the overlay myself.

controls are great, very convenient, it even has hotkeys for the spells, also unlimited undo and level reset, neither of which I felt was needed, and I'm a huge fan of undo. it's just that there aren't that many pieces on the board and I found it easier to move stuff around or remove them with mouse clicks then undo my steps.

there are 60-odd levels, some of which are really tricky just to solve, even more so if you want to grab the semi-optional keys. they're used for opening further level sets in the four locations, but there are more than you need. pay attention to the lines on the level select screen to see which level opens what, it's not entirely linear and means you're never stuck on just one level. either you can do another one in the same location, completed at least 5 there to unlock the next place, or have enough keys to unlock a new set in one of the places already opened up. and if you're really stuck, there's a hint button as well.

there's a level in the wrong place, castle #13 should be in the tower where you learn about the new mechanics used there. not that it's hard to figure out, and maybe the developer thought people would check out the next location before they reach this level, but it still felt random and out of place.

it's not the best game ever, but the only negative I can think of is that the main menu is a bit overcomplicated, too many clicks to continue your game or reach the exit button, and of course even with these minor complaints I can only recommend this game, especially at the price it's going for.

The clunky controls were an instant turn-off: If you want to rotate an item, you have to click on it, then click on one of the appearing compass arrows next to it, being careful not to click a few pixels further out since this will move the item instead of rotating. Seriously??? Most input devices since the 1980s have two or more buttons. Use one for placement, one for rotation!

However, the bigger problem here is the very odd visual representation of the beams / splitters / mirrors. Take a good look at the screen shots: Do you see light beams? No. Everything is tiled, even the beams are represented as light blots. That means you cannot follow how and where the beam propagates, you only see empty bright spots where it "arrives". It's a VERY weird way of frustrating the player's effort to read the level. The puzzles are not hard at all, they are just frustrating to read, like a book with washed-out letters. It's stupid, and unpleasant. I was instantly reminded of other failed games like Optika and Not The Robots: Instead of the gameplay being pleasantly challenging by virtue of the logic, it is frustrated by weird or sloppy design choices or poor controls.

Otherwise, the game tries hard to please with cute background graphics, music and even a story. That's nice, but unfortunately, in a Steam store oversaturated with hundreds of similar puzzle games, if you can't nail the basics, you're fucked. The basics would be: (A) ease of use of the controls/interface and (B) a clear visual style, which leads to (C) enjoyable gameplay.

If a puzzle game fails at the basics, it can only be redeemed by incredibly hard puzzles (e.g. Great Permutator) or ingenious game mechanics (e.g. Gunpoint). This game has neither, so there can be no redemption. Calling it "unique" (as in the game description) is outrageous!

SpellKeeper is a casual logic puzzle game. There are around 60 puzzles in this game. For me it was enough content.

With every new kind of feature, you will get a small tutorial, so you never will feel lost.
The purpose of this game is to free the butterflies by redirecting the light so that it touches the cocoons. You have to place some kind of jewels on the grid so all the cocoons will be touched.
Some levels also contain a key, you have to try to get all the keys, so you can open new levels. This is done the same way, placing a jewel and get the light to touch the key.
There are various kinds of jewels, all let the light flood in different directions
But there is a limited amount of jewels you can use in this game. You have to think hard where you will place them to win a level.

The graphics are really nice for a puzzle game. Music and sound effects are very nice to listen to.

It also has a very nice price tag. I would fully recommend this game to anyone who likes to puzzle.
I would give this game an 8 out of 10

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This was a very fun but challenging game to play. I enjoy solving mirror/laser-puzzles whenever I find them in hidden objects games and here is a whole game with just that kind of puzzle. It was great. It was hard. It was (slightly) frustrating but also easy. Some puzzles I just breezed through while on others I had to take my time. Speaking of time, I've played each of the games' puzzles at least three times (at least!) so my game time of about 15 hours is slightly too long as I also left it running now and then.

So, there's not much of a story or plot although there's a princess saying some things now and then. I admit I didn't really pay attention to that. The graphics are pretty in its simplicity. No glaring colors, although there are glares (or flares?) when the flowers release the butterflies.

There's a tutorial whenever a new feature shows up that's very helpful. If you want or need to replay it then just click on the ? in the top right corner. Each puzzle has a title and I noticed after a while that some of the titles were actually clues for how to solve just that puzzle. Neat!

So onto the game itself. The puzzles are divided in four areas: Village, Garden, Castle and Tower. Each area is further divided into three stages with five or six puzzles in each stage. Each stage's puzzles are connected through a lined path that unlocks the next puzzle, you can't quite pick and choose where to start but that's just fine. Some of the puzzles also contain a key that you need to collect. Those keys are used to unlock the second and third stages in each area. There are more keys than what you need so if you can't figure out the correct path for a key but have no problem in solving the puzzle itself you won't be stuck. You do, however, want to get all those keys.

This game comes with several achievements (both Steam and ingame) which is always a plus in my book. Even better, they all work. They're mostly for unlocking all the stages, finishing all the puzzles and collecting all the keys.

Last thing to mention. I made a guide with solutions for all the puzzles. However, I strongly recommend new players to do their best without looking at them. You'll miss out on the joy of playing and the feeling of accomplishment you get from figuring it out all by yourself. I managed to solve all the puzzles except one without any help and it felt good.