Spellspire

In an era where everybody talks in poop emojis and annoying abbreviations, I sometimes worry that having a working vocabulary is all but useless. Thankfully, that's not the case in Spellspire, a delightful new adventure game that has you spelling words correctly in order to take down an army of fantasy monsters and climb the massive tower. This is a game that turns 8 and 9 letter words into a weapon and rewards players who know how to not only say "vocabulary," but also spell it.

Spellspire is surprisingly easy to describe, since every level plays out exactly the same way. The goal is to clear out a series of enemies using little more than words. You do this by using the 10 letters picked at random and assembling the longest words you can think of. While you'll receive more money and deal more damage with longer words, simple three and four-letter creations can also be effective. Once you've killed all the bad guys and opened the treasure, you're off to the next floor where you repeat the process all over again.

Of course, there's more to it than that. We're given a chance to buy new weapons and gear between rounds, adding some much-needed role-playing elements. The weapons won't just make you stronger, but will also inflict certain types of damage on the tower's monsters. You'll be able to set them on fire or poison them with each attack, and you'll even be able to upgrade the gear with the cash you collect. Spending your money wisely is often the best way to make the most out of each attack in later levels.

It doesn't come as much of a surprise that Spellspire is a port of a year-old mobile phone game. While moving back and forth between letters is pretty painless on the PlayStation 4, I couldn't help but feel like the concept was better suited for a touchscreen device. In fact, I had a much easier time playing through the game on the PS Vita for that very reason. The game's brief levels are also perfect for a handheld device, making this a better portable game than console experience.

Regardless of what system you play it on, Spellspire ends up running into the same problems. For one thing, it's far too repetitive. No matter what how many role-playing elements they add or enemies you run into, it always comes down to spelling words. This is a lot of fun in the early stages, but gets incredibly boring the longer it goes on. The developers never figured out a way to expand on the creative concept and deliver on its promise. This is a game that is at its best in short doses.

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The visuals are fine but, like everything else in this game, a little repetitive. You'll see a lot of the same enemies repeated from one floor to the next, with the usual palette swaps to indicate they're more difficult. The most exciting moments often come down to the boss fights, which happens every few floors. These are generally one-of-a-kind enemies with a specific strength and weakness. Unfortunately, it still comes down to spelling out a bunch of long words before time runs out and the boss kills you in a single hit.

For as much as I admire the concept, Spellspire's wordplay is just too repetitive for its own good. I can see this being fun on the go or in small doses, but there isn't enough variety to keep the concept fresh over time. No matter how you spell it, Spellspire is a missed opportunity.