despelote

It is more of a work of art than a game. It resonated with me even though I did not grow up in Latin America, let alone in Ecuador, but if you were kicking balls on the streets in the late 90's-early 2000's and grew up in a lower middle-labor class family, and on top of that, if you had your national team in world cup 2002 you will remember this game fondly after finishing it, even though it is a short experience.  I am now feeling old, sad, and nostalgic towards those times when the world had more colours, gracias Julián and the team. what a little hermosa gem, only con for me is coloring choices, which are not very eye friendly. Steam and the game insist that it is more of a controller game but I did not encounter any problems with the mouse and keyboard.

I really wanted to like this game. I’ve seen it promoted in a lot of spaces I respect: Wholesome Games, LatAm Games Showcase, Now Play This, just to name a few. But I personally would not recommend it. I think a game is enjoyable if it’s entertaining to play. It can be critical to what we expect of games (ex. Wanderstop), it can be a personal story (ex. Venba), it can trigger a lot of deep emotions (ex. Gris). But it still has to be a game you appreciate playing. And Despelote does not fit that, as it was more boring than not. The art style? Fantastic and unique. The localization and personal experience component? Spot on. But did I have a good time playing it for the ~2 hours? Not really. The story fragments are too disconnected from each other to make you feel invested in the characters. There was not really a climax, making it not feel like a story driven game. And the mechanics of moving around and playing with a soccer ball were okay but not more than that. Finally, a sma...

Work of art. Despite the short length, this is made by somebody who knows one thing or two about how to make movies. If you are a native Spanish speaker, this could be very memorable. Probably, very memorable, again despite the short length, because it really hits the spot. Paradoxically, you [b]don't have to like Football[/b], even though the game is so much about Football. Difficult or trivial, depends on what challenges you are going for. I don't know if you can "lose" the game, definitely the minigames are surprisingly challenging, really makes you feel like a child trying to play football. Like I said, the story progresses anyway. Awesome game, easy recommendation to almost anybody, would score an own goal again, anytime.

Really enjoyed this. It was mostly what I was expecting, but takes a bit of a turn near the end (NOT a plot twist). Felt like a really good indie movie for much of its run, like you could imagine watching a good A24 movie with this premise, following Ecuador's qualifying games of the 2001 World Cup through the eyes of a child with mixed time and a dreamlike state. The last 30 mins or so really elevated this for me, worth playing thru to the end even if you're like "ok I get it".

I don't know if can be truly objective here because above everything this game gave me a huge surge of nostalgia, I live in Ambato, but I spent many vacations with my cousin and his friends in Quito (the game's setting)... The places, the dialogues, the activities, the people, the events, everything is so well scripted and put together that brought me many memories from my childhood, and that's enough for me to love this game and feel so lucky to have found it. As an Ecuadorian, I am very proud of this game, because although it touches on some social and economic issues of the time it takes place in, it doesn't victimizes us as many cultural products from and about my own country often do, the main protagonists are regular, everyday people that are actually representative and relatable to most of us. As a game, I think it is really nice, although obviously the main purpose of this game is to tell a story, it provides gameplay elements that are really entertaining and become pretty much...

An interactive slice of life of a young boy during a short time of intense pride (but also economic hardship) for Ecuador. Man, I love videogames...

Really loved it. Charming and patient with a great story told in a unique way.

It took me back to my childhood. The game is a series of vignettes where you live through your childhood experiences. The backdrop sets the mood, and its writing makes it feel authentic. It really is a game about the simple pleasures, the boredom, the growing responsibilities as a kid. Thoroughly recommend it.

Its a great short game that could be seen as demo and that's all

i hate football but i like this game. :)