97) Despelote (2025)

Inspired by his childhood in Ecuador, Julián Cordero originally conceived of a game that would use the universal language of football in order to convey his memories of growing up. Wanting to avoid the high budget look of sports games like FIFA, as they didn't represent the soccer that he grew up with, he struggled with how best to move forward. With a little help from his University Professor Gabe Cuzzillo, the designer of 2019's Ape Out, he was inspired to bring the place to the front of the game. The game uses a unique blend of documentary style audio and video design along with a first person style gameplay to deliver a memorable and personal, albeit short, experience.

Primarily set in the city of Quito in 2002, we take control of an eight year old Julián as we explore, interact, and engage with our family, friends, and the world around us. We're somewhat free to run around and have the option to cause as much or as little trouble as we like, giving a minor amount of freedom in an otherwise linear experience. In lieu of traditional objectives or puzzles, our exploration can trigger small, unscripted-feeling events that we get to watch play out. At times, it feels intentionally frustrating having characters talk over or around you, but helps sell the feeling of being a child surrounded by adults.

The visuals are striking, with the majority of the environment being comprised of literal grainy photographs while characters and objects you can interact with having a simple, hand drawn aesthetic. While intentionally simplistic, it sets the tone and helps establish the feeling of being a child. While the specific experience of growing up in Ecuador isn't something I have first hand knowledge of, it nonetheless condenses it down to an easily relatable essence.

In the background of our running around, we get to hear adults and people on TV and radio talking about very real events from the time. Coupled with a few interjections from the narrator for context, we learn of how Ecuador was in the midst of a fairly tumultuous time. With political and economic uncertainties, the country's soccer team became an unexpected bright spot for many in the country. As the narrator mentions, Ecuador had been largely absent from the world stage in sports, with their major claim to fame being Jefferson Pérez winning the only Olympic medal in the countries history for race walking in 1996. In 2002, their soccer team defied the odds, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in the country's history.

While I can't claim to care much about sports, let alone soccer, the way in which the game highlights how this event became a major event for the country, the common citizens, and our young narrator is quite amazing. It helps convey the feeling and anticipation that must have palpable at the time and translates expertly. While Ecuador's soccer team may not have won the World Cup that year, you truly get the feeling that they were welcomed back to the countries as heroes.

Despelote is a difficult game for me to recommend. On the one hand, it does an amazing job of transporting the player to another time and place, telling a story that's deeply personal and helps connect with the creators in a way few games can achieve. On the other hand, it is a fairly short experience that is relatively light on actual gameplay. As a product, it's a tough sell, but as an experience, as a piece of art? I can think of precious few better examples within the medium, and fewer still that made me feel so strongly connected to the creator.