It’s odd {that a} match-3 sport acquired me in my emotions a lot that I’m contemplating including making video games to my career of protecting them. However that’s precisely what occurred after my pleasant time with Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To.
It’s a mouthful of a reputation, however damned if the sport doesn’t do precisely what it says on the tin. There are little colourful block-shaped spirits, and also you swap ‘em round to match three (or extra) whereas charming and calming lo-fi beats bang out of your audio system. It jogs my memory of the current pattern in anime the place the titles of shows are hyper-descriptive to the purpose of hilarity, and similar to these exhibits, there’s much more happening than a easy match-3 sport with a chill soundtrack. And I find it irresistible.
In Spirit Swap, you play as Samar, a witch with a stunning technicolor wardrobe who protects the fabric aircraft from mischievous however benign spirits that sometimes cross over and gunk issues up. All through the sport, Samar encounters her gaggle of associates, speaking them by their myriad issues by difficult them to spirit-swapping competitions — suppose Dr. Robotnik’s Imply Bean Machine with a splash of casual discuss remedy.
Swapping is usually easy however has some fascinating gameplay twists. Spirits can solely be swapped horizontally, which implies it’s important to work more durable to swap successfully. The sport will get much more troublesome with the addition of highly effective, spirit-clearing spells which can be unleashed by arranging spirits in particular patterns. For those who nonetheless discover that too easy, the sport has more durable difficulties and an limitless mode when you’re performed with the criminally brief story mode.
Whereas the gameplay scratches my match-3 itch, what I take pleasure in most about Spirit Swap is the characters and their interactions. They’re all sumptuously designed with a wealth of physique shapes, colours, and gender expressions. Greater than that, they’re all voice-acted, and when Samar and the characters discuss to one another, they really sound like actual people having actual conversations. When Samar comforts her good friend Mo due to her current breakup, the best way they discuss to one another sounds precisely like one thing I’d say and the way I’d say it.
And for what seems like a comparatively lighthearted match-3 sport, the builders have stuffed Spirit Swap with social conditions which can be shockingly relatable. One character laments that due to their pure generosity, their good friend group consistently leans on them for assist whereas by no means asking in the event that they need assistance. One other is perceived as quiet and standoffish however reveals themself to be surprisingly deep. (When Samar asks the place that depth comes from, they primarily reply: “No person’s actually requested me.” Which, rattling, I felt that in my spirit.) Even the issues that aren’t instantly relatable are nonetheless enjoyable to expertise. I love that each time you win a match, you’re congratulated with the Arabic endearment “Ya Habibi!”
All these particulars coalesced to make me really feel good — not nearly taking part in Spirit Swap however about video games typically. It’s brief, enjoyable, candy, creative, private, and humorous. And it’s the sort of sport that makes me need to make a sport myself.
Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats To Match-3 To is out now on Steam and Xbox.