Fear the Sprongle!

"Fear the Sprongle!" is an entry for the Indie Game Maker Contest 2014, a simple adventure in a world that is going mad. Stylish, with humor, atmosphere and loaded with charme.

You decide killing the menacing evil which is poisoning this world may help people may help you to get rid of your insomnia, so on to kill the SPRONGLE!


There are no Bart signs, only Bort. Bort and Bort and Bort.

This game is an oddball. An incredibly charming oddball.

Your main character is thrown into a weird world, "introduced" to a random person partying up with you and goes on to find the king to be aided on his quest.
The basic layout is simple, but the execution certainly is not.

The world is being corrupted by mist and people are winding up both delusional .. and old. At the hands of some weird creature which name is cursed.
Every NPC has some weird knack or another, and even our main character acts far from normal. The dialogue ranges from amusing to hilarious, even the few items you trade in (such as the lucky lepres foot) are.

The graphcis are solid, not outstanding, but good enough to not distract in any way.
The soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in a game for quite a while. It has a simple guitar base which sets the atmosphere of an abandoned, downward spiralling world very good. It reminds me of Mushroom Men for some reason, just a little bit. The whole game displays similar charme, one we have seen in games like Space Funeral as well.


Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

However, the game also has several issues. Some of which are oddly designed, some of which are due to the deadline.

First of all, while you find gold, you have no way of spending it aside from the inn. But as you are healed automatically after the few battles there are (three in total), you will not need it. And while you can also collect and trade a few items, you have no use whatsoever aside from the collection itself.

Then the journey to collect keys is well-set, but there is little to explore in the area. There are a few treasure chests in which you can find gold, but that is it. There is very little dialogue to be had - and only a rather simple punchline with the zombos to be found. In comparison to the townfolks, the goddess of pointy things, they are rather dull.
There are some interesting areas, such as the boulder ones, but the puzzles fall very flat, as there are none. You equip an item you have found and which is mentioned when you need it - and you are good to go. Now, this is not a big drawback, as it allows for a smooth and easy exploration.
I found the travelling speed to be long enough to find it a journey, but not long enough to be frustrating or boring.


You are still important to me.

Additionally, while the battle system works pretty well (simple attacks with timed bonus attack/defense), it is not used at all. There are three battles against a single enemy. It is as simple as it gets, but it is straightforward fun. It is not too aesthetically pleasing with the clashing artstyles, but still has some charme.
I commend skipping random encounters, though.

And lastly there are many storythreads that are not drawn together at all. There is so much more room to conclude the game in a better manner, to explore your teammate more, to develop different parts of the world. There is a lot room for polish in the general story as well as a better ending.

All in all

This game is very charming and very funny experience. Beyond that, it has a lot of room for improvement.
Play it if you like oddball games, I recommend you to check it out.