Phantom Spark – PS5 Review

I do enjoy racing games that focus heavily on self improvement. Give me a marker to beat and I’ll happily bang my head against it for enough time to be annoyed. Coming from Ghosts, Phantom Spark looks to tap into this compulsion and, whilst it really nails the controls and the vibe, it runs out of steam too quickly.

Phantom Spark is a game glued to momentum and flow. Whilst there’s definite Wipeout and Trackmania inspiration, it firmly aims at a more zen-like quality. Every pathway mentor encourages you. They’re not out to antagonise and the environments you race around all have a mystical, ancient aesthetic. It makes a change to see characters root for you and it does help contextualise and calm the inevitable frustrations that will arise.

Racing is not direct competition. After completing a dry run of any track, you will face your own ghost, as well as an avatar for the world’s master. These present clear goals to achieve and deliver a good visual benchmark of where they and you can improve. There is further points of comparison on the leaderboard but Phantom Spark doesn’t hit you in the fact with targets to beat or new rivals to challenge.

It does lead to the iron going cold fairly quickly. With 33 main races to beat, it can be over quickly. Tracks rarely take more than 90 seconds to beat and quick restarts are activated in an instant. I didn’t have major trouble clearing these hurdles and that did leave me wanting significantly more to play with. It can feel a touch hollow when a game that is very skill heavy closes the curtains after a couple of hours.

Of course, there’s medals to grab by achieving faster times but, despite being miles off the peak, I didn’t feel incentivised to crunch personal bests. You do gain cosmetics over the course of the campaign but, without any direct competition, it’s for your eyes only. A level playing field exists throughout so this game maybe has a hard time giving the player gifts. That’s a shame because you’re constantly rewarded for beating a personal best. It’s a game that wants you to succeed and I can’t dislike that.

Periodically, the pathway mentors will return by beating your times on previous tracks. This is a great way to have you return to old content but I’m just not in the mood for the leaderboard grind. It does seem like the post-game is all about chasing that perfection. Each track has three medal times to beat. There’s also local multiplayer which could coax some extra time out of you. Shorter trials are also on hand to teach you specific lessons. These usually focus on carrying momentum or tricky corner types. Again, it’s dished out in a chilled manner and its all in service of surpassing your limits.

It does control very well. Precision is required and it can be satisfying to really nail a line through a corner. Maintaining momentum can reap so big time advantages. It’s a conventional setup with your spark controlling much like a vehicle. Right trigger handles acceleration whilst the left trigger pumps the breaks. There’s a good degree of granularity in the analogue triggers which allows for plenty of nuance and finer corrections. You’ve also got some typical engine braking courtesy of releasing the throttle. There’s nuance in the track design with slopes and uphill sections that really had me wondering what the best line was. Nothing is flat and it can be lovely to blast past a ghost because you’ve hit a slope perfectly.

There’s a responsive feel to it and mistakes have felt entirely my own. The third-person perspective is zoomed out enough for the road ahead to be scouted and anticipated. The only obstacles I’m usually concerned with are walls but transitions in surfaces and jumps need to be tackled correctly to make the most out of your run. Having a persistent ghost on hand shows a nice visible representation of where you’re falling short, although I have tendency to focus on that a little too much.

Presentation focuses on a very relaxed experience. The soundtrack has a decent tempo to it but it’s not exactly break-neck. It’s energetic enough to feel pleasant and fits the smooth racing. Tracks have a simple look to them which prevents hitting top speed from feeling busy. It’s easy to read and there’s some nice vignetting happening when you reach your peak. Likewise, there’s a nice indication whenever your old ghost is hot on your tail. I found it easy enough to concentrate on my efforts, even if my personal best was close by. Each mentor’s pathways have their own colour motifs but the building blocks of each track don’t change drastically.

I feel a little short-changed by Phantom Spark. It’s not a hollow experience but the short running time left me wanting much more. There’s a great philosophy behind all of it. Visually, it’s aesthetically pleasing and heavily geared towards encouraging the best out of players. If it wasn’t over so quickly, I’d happily recommend. I’m not one to grind leaderboards, despite how well-tuned the controls feel. There’s a solid game here but it feels like just a taster.