Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition

The game teeters close to punishing the player with its brutal difficulty but it never felt frustrating to the point of quitting. The simple mechanics and graphics make Lichtspeer approachable to anyone and lends itself well to the Switch’s pick-up-and-play ideology. Grab it if you’re looking for some mindless fun.

Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition is a bizarre juxtaposition of an off-the-wall premise and aesthetics coupled with some basic shooting mechanics that stress trajectory and timing above all else. There isn’t a ton of meat to the gameplay, but it’s a fun little diversion and overall satisfying gaming appetizer.

It's refreshing to get a game that knows exactly what it wants to do, executes on that idea, but doesn't overstay its welcome. The central mechanic of precision projectile motion is unique, and Lichtspeer plays with the formula enough to keep the experience fresh right up until the end.

Though Lichtspeer may not be the deepest experience around, its confluence of moreish gameplay and eye-catchingly ice-cool presentation is a devilishly fun time that has the potential to spear ol’ boredom right between the eyes.

Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition is bonkers (in a good way), has a nice core gameplay mechanic and boasts a nice aesthetic style, but ultimately suffers from cruel difficulty spikes and repetition. Fans of seriously challenging gameplay will get some enjoyment from this, and with a fair amount of time and patience, others will find their way to the credits too. If you have a willing friend, co-op gameplay is definitely recommended!

This improved version of the game launched in 2016 still has that arcade style and uses the Joy-Con for the cooperative games. However, this game still lacks content and is too simple.

When I first started Lichtspeer I was worried the gameplay wouldn’t be varied enough to keep it from getting dull. The new elements provided a nice change, but by the conclusion I couldn’t help but trust my first instincts. It tries to spice it up with some abilities, but ultimately it’s about the core mechanic of throwing the spear. While fun and satisfying to nail an enemy from across the screen, the well runs dry towards the end of your journey, especially with the spike in difficulty when dealing with bosses.

Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition is based on a good idea and its gameplay is certain to attract players for some time. It also hits a wall at one moment, as the countless deaths and necessary repetition will push many players away and risks being finished mostly to fight frustration.

Lichtspeer is mechanically simple but stylistically demented. Set in a world that throws more neon at you than a dodgy warehouse rave, its arcade style gameplay is certainly repetitive, but satisfying enough to keep your interest for a while with the solid spear-hurling gameplay at its core. The addition of co-op multiplayer is well implemented, both enjoyable in its own right and extremely easy to jump in or out of. It's a short, repetitious experience, well-suited to the Switch's portable nature, but its occasionally unfair difficulty is used to pad the game out. Additional content and a bit more variety would make this über compelling, but it's still a good time so long as you keep an eye on your blood pressure.

Lichtspeer: Double Speer Edition is nowhere near as good as it could be, yet it is still enjoyable for short bursts of gameplay. While the core mechanics are sorely lacking in variety and the stages a bit too underdesigned, boss fights stand out as the main justification for the price of admission, to the point where the spear-tossing simulator might have been a legitimate force to be reckoned with had it taken a Shadow of Colossus style approach. Fantastic art and sound direction don't make up for the underwhelming gameplay and lack of online multiplayer, but they do help mask some sore spots. Lichtspeer isn't going to engage on a deep level, nor is it an entirely positive representation of arcade design philosophy, but it can be fun in quick sessions, and there's always something interesting to make note of.