Despelote Reviews
Despelote's creators tell a remarkable, pseudo-autobiographical tale about football, Ecuador, and community - but also one about the act of remembering, and the creative act itself.
Despelote is a moving and masterfully rendered game about soccer, growing up, and so much more.
Set during Ecuador's 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign, this fascinating, semi-autobiographical game gives you control of the life of a soccer-mad eight-year-old
Despelote is an emotional leap into childhood, among soccer balls, dreams and nostalgia. As little Julián, we relive the excitement of 2001 in Quito as Ecuador, in the midst of an economic crisis, dreams of World Cup qualification. The game blends deliberately retro digital photography, hand drawings, and ambient sound design to render a touching and well-directed autobiographical tale. Part of the gameplay includes Tino Tini's Soccer 99, a purposefully crude demake of Kick Off that perfectly reflects the nostalgic and messy tone of childhood. It lasts a bare couple of hours, but will stay with you much longer.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Like the drive back home from an away day loss, you’re left wondering: what was the point? Despelote laudably captures the emotion surrounding Ecuador’s qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but it struggles to craft a satisfying video game about it.
You’re presumably capable of kicking the ball and hitting a bottle perched on a fence post, but it feels apt that you miss time and time again, until one of the other, better kids steps in to take the shot and does what you can’t. At which point, you keep at it, because the world goes on.
Whether or not you're a football fan, Despelote has a lot to say about the sport, its fans, and the impact it has on them, and much of it is worth listening to.
Despelote is a short narrative adventure told through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy, as he goes through life while the nation around comes to grips with finally seeing a major sports dream become reality for the first-time in Ecuador's history. The autobiographical tale gives players the freedom to tailor Julian's memories of this momentous time. Encouraging exploration through the joy of kicking a ball. Although the story itself may not resonate with everyone, the way you experience those two hours is in of itself special.
Despelote beautifully captures the mundane but rich childhood experience of play and sport through its gentle slice-of-life narrative. Via its stellar first-person soccer mechanics, intimate scope, and outstanding hand-made visual stylings, it succeeds at capturing a personal autobiographical sense of Ecuador and the quietly affecting experiences of youth.
Apropos its soccer-themed subject matter, Despelote pulls off an impressive hat trick: successfully fusing unique aesthetic, narrative, & mechanical decisions with an assured vision.
Despelote is far more than a football video game. It is a profound and human narrative experience-a heartfelt portrait of a childhood that feels both distant and universally familiar, an ode to the strength of community and to the power of sport to forge bonds, meaning, and hope. It invites us to see the world anew-or rather, through the eyes of a child-and to recognize, in the simplest of gestures, the enduring possibility of telling stories that belong to all of us.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Despelote is a nostalgic first-person exploration of childhood, time, and play. This short story is emotionally gripping while the playstyle of kicking soccer balls and listening to conversations is relaxed and contemplative. Despelote will capture the hearts of many, in similar ways to how soccer did for the people and communities of Quito in the early 2000s. An artful experience that made me feel sad, hopeful, and achingly human.
In the core, it's a short sketch of happy childhood memories, a slice-of-life video game, but somehow it manages to take a place in the heart - and make heart warmer.
Review in Russian | Read full review
A very simple and short game that features a highly nostalgic and creative visual style, along with a storyline that, while rooted in its country of origin, captures the essence of childhood and the magic of football in an almost universal way.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despelote is, above all, the struggle of a people. Of people who, even in the face of adversity, carry on with pride in their country. Who found refuge in football, and who over the years embraced not only the British sport, but many other passions. Even though it took place in Ecuador, the game brought me nostalgia. Latin American experiences are shared – after all, who has never heard an old man complain that you are playing football in the street? Although it is not a perfect experience, Despelote was certainly one of the most memorable I have had in recent times, leaving me slightly emotional at the end. Long live football!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despelote is a fascinating experience. It plays like an interactive documentary, and it feels like a true depiction of a place and time I've never experienced but feel like I can somewhat understand now. As I look back on that day in my acrid garage, or as I remember two years later when I sat in a dark room crying because the Padres lost their playoffs spot on the last possible day, I'll also remember this game. I'll remember me in 2025 crying at 2 a.m. with a controller in my hand alongside the people of Ecuador who were no doubt crying as their team went for glory in 2001. Because that's what sports (and video games) are all about.
despelote is a work with a strong cultural identity, which aims to tell a personal and meaningful story through video games. However, by prioritizing its documentary aesthetic, the title compromises the gameplay and doesn't deliver a satisfactory interactive experience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Warning: despelote may cause unexpected feelings… from a soccer game. Yes, seriously. It’s like Field of Dreams had a baby with a soccer ball and a warm empanada.
despelote is a chill experience, and chill can mean a lot of things. It can be good, it can be bad, and it can be boring. There’ll be plenty of times in life you’ll be chilling with people you don’t know, doing things you don’t care about, but they’ll still be memorable. That’s exactly what despelote is.
“Despelote” is a wonderful game that can convey in just a couple of hours what triple-A titles with mammoth developments are incapable of offering. Ultimately, “Despelote” is like the soccer in this story it tells so well: an island of tranquility in a sea of hopelessness, where you can take refuge from terrifying reality for at least 120 minutes.
Review in Spanish | Read full review