I’m not gonna lie. When I first saw despelote, I didn’t care for it. I wasn’t one for the art style, and I’m not a big soccer guy. So if were judging a book by its cover, this game would probably be a disaster for me.
That said, I’m willing to try things out, especially when people I respect are going to go out of their way to recommend them. So let me shoutout the homie Jurge who put me on this one. If anybody from Panic is reading this, and I end up liking this game, you have Jurge to thank. If you know Jurge, you know Jurge. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
Getting back on task here, despelote (yeah, no capitol D) is a slice-of-life about being a kid in Ecuador. The demo began with the action taking place in first person during a boring day of class. The teacher is teaching, and of course, gaslighting the youth over their stupidity today and how we’re lucky to be living because we have it so much easier today than they did. That sort of thing. Eventually, you tilt left to take a look outside, and it’s time for recess.
The teacher then makes sure to tell you recess is only 15 minutes, and you should come back to class right that. Was recess always that short? I don’t remember, and I don’t have kids, so apologies and paid respects to the people that do. In any case, that sucks.
Hella mad.
So, outside, you head over to kick the soccer ball around. You can jiggle the right stick to do different combinations with the ball, and you can tilt it back and forward to kick it. Of course, when you kick the ball, you have to run after it. That’s why I was never much for soccer. In the game, it’s the same thing.
You can choose to kick the ball by yourself or to people who you can’t tell if they’re friends or bullies. Nobody actually physically attacks you, so that might be worth mentioning. Eventually, recess ends, and after a few moments in class, you find yourself back home.
At home, it’s dinner time, and your parents call you down to the kitchen. When I headed over to the kitchen, I saw that the burner was something I could interact with, so I turned the flame on. The dad got mad, but he didn’t do anything aside from turning it off, so I kept turning it on to see if the dialog would drastically change. I don’t know why I was in the mood to make my character so ratchet, but it was just more fun for me to do that. Once dinner started, I had my character inhale his supper, and before long we were back at the pitch kicking the ball again. That’s where the demo ended.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend some time talking about the game’s overall look. It’s very stylish, in my most objective way of putting it. Backgrounds are different shades of the same color, typically green or a brownish sepia tone kind of deal. And every character and interactable is hand-drawn black and white with nicely detailed animations. They look cool, but the washed photo finish of the backgrounds to me just look depressing. Is that the intention? I don’t know. I can request an interview if there’s interest in that.
Dani Rojas’ big moment is right here.
Overall, I was intrigued. I wouldn’t say I want more this instant, but this game was a chill time and I’m interested in seeing how it ends. despelote will be released on the PC, both PlayStations, both Xboxes, and the Switch on May 1. We’re hoping to have a review up before then.
I’m not gonna lie. When I first saw despelote, I didn’t care for it. I wasn’t one for the art style, and I’m not a big soccer guy. So if were judging a book by its cover, this game would…
I’m not gonna lie. When I first saw despelote, I didn’t care for it. I wasn’t one for the art style, and I’m not a big soccer guy. So if were judging a book by its cover, this game would probably be a disaster for me.
That said, I’m willing to try things out, especially when people I respect are going to go out of their way to recommend them. So let me shoutout the homie Jurge who put me on this one. If anybody from Panic is reading this, and I end up liking this game, you have Jurge to thank. If you know Jurge, you know Jurge. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
Getting back on task here, despelote (yeah, no capitol D) is a slice-of-life about being a kid in Ecuador. The demo began with the action taking place in first person during a boring day of class. The teacher is teaching, and of course, gaslighting the youth over their stupidity today and how we’re lucky to be living because we have it so much easier today than they did. That sort of thing. Eventually, you tilt left to take a look outside, and it’s time for recess.
The teacher then makes sure to tell you recess is only 15 minutes, and you should come back to class right that. Was recess always that short? I don’t remember, and I don’t have kids, so apologies and paid respects to the people that do. In any case, that sucks.
Hella mad.
So, outside, you head over to kick the soccer ball around. You can jiggle the right stick to do different combinations with the ball, and you can tilt it back and forward to kick it. Of course, when you kick the ball, you have to run after it. That’s why I was never much for soccer. In the game, it’s the same thing.
You can choose to kick the ball by yourself or to people who you can’t tell if they’re friends or bullies. Nobody actually physically attacks you, so that might be worth mentioning. Eventually, recess ends, and after a few moments in class, you find yourself back home.
At home, it’s dinner time, and your parents call you down to the kitchen. When I headed over to the kitchen, I saw that the burner was something I could interact with, so I turned the flame on. The dad got mad, but he didn’t do anything aside from turning it off, so I kept turning it on to see if the dialog would drastically change. I don’t know why I was in the mood to make my character so ratchet, but it was just more fun for me to do that. Once dinner started, I had my character inhale his supper, and before long we were back at the pitch kicking the ball again. That’s where the demo ended.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t spend some time talking about the game’s overall look. It’s very stylish, in my most objective way of putting it. Backgrounds are different shades of the same color, typically green or a brownish sepia tone kind of deal. And every character and interactable is hand-drawn black and white with nicely detailed animations. They look cool, but the washed photo finish of the backgrounds to me just look depressing. Is that the intention? I don’t know. I can request an interview if there’s interest in that.
Dani Rojas’ big moment is right here.
Overall, I was intrigued. I wouldn’t say I want more this instant, but this game was a chill time and I’m interested in seeing how it ends. despelote will be released on the PC, both PlayStations, both Xboxes, and the Switch on May 1. We’re hoping to have a review up before then.
by Danreb Victorio
