Rating
Despelote
despelote is a first-person exploration game about the universal language of soccer and the ways it can bring people together, or push them apart. Run, pass, and play with dozens of charming, hand-drawn characters in a unique world inspired by the street parks of Quito, Ecuador. The game consists of three “days,” with each one taking place at a d...
Details
- Released
- April 30, 2025
- Developer
- Sebastian Valbuena, Julián Cordero
- Publisher
- Panic
- Platforms
- PC · PS4 · Switch · PS5 · Xbox Series X|S
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Despelote Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
Despelote was a bit of a personal one for me, and I can see why some players may not love it due to it being a walking simulator where you kick a ball around. But for anyone willing to give it a chance, you’ll find a snippet of pure sentiment to engage with as you put on the shoes of its developer. You see Ecuador for its authentic self as a child and witness a moment that you probably never batted an eye at before. But you leave with a fuzzy feeling, wanting to reminisce about your own mem...
A beautiful portrait of a 2001 neighborhood in Quito, Ecuador, taking advantage of the deep personal connections the gaming medium is best for, despelote seamlessly imprints itself on the player's mind.
Mechanically speaking, Despelote is a football (or soccer, if you’re from the US) game. It’s not trying to compete with EA Sports’ or Konami’s offerings, nor emulate arcade classics like many other indies. It merely uses its gameplay hook of kicking a ball towards a single goal (pun intended): delivering a deeply emotional and inspirational storyline set in Ecuador. Intrigued? So were we. Here’s our review of Despelote on Xbox Series X!
There are very few events on the planet that have the global impact of a FIFA World Cup. Yes, at its core, it is merely a sports tournament with an evolving number of teams throughout its long and storied history. However, unlike the Olympics, where it is largely about individuals…
In the 2012 book ‘Rise of the Videogame Zinesters’, game designer Anna Anthropy advocates for games as “personal artifacts instead of impersonal creations by teams” – games not as huge commercial entities but private, unique stories that have more in common with zines (small self-publications) than blockbusters. I open the review with this quote because not only does Despelote neatly fit this description, but it’s also central to the game’s success.
Apropos its soccer-themed subject matter, Despelote pulls off an impressive hat trick: successfully fusing unique aesthetic, narrative, & mechanical decisions with an assured vision.Reviewer's Note: Due to certain story praises/critiques, it's virtually impossible to avoid SPOILERS. Speaking from experience, you'll find an [...]
I kind of love this idea in theory but in practice, I found it utterly dull to play. At one point, your mother gives you a time limit to come home and you can look at your watch to see the time fly by. In that instance, you can wander the city and catch all the subtle conversations, but you could also sit on a park bench and wait until your time is up and the minimal story continues. The game wants you to feel the living, breathing town, meet your neighbors, and understand the importance of this cultural moment. Otherwise, you could blink and miss what makes Despelote truly fascinating. You ha...
Despelote is a great autobiographical narrative that will likely strike a chord with you if you grew up watching events such as the World Cup. While the repetitive gameplay and strange controls are frustrating, the presentation, story premise, and charming moments are more than enough to immerse you in a specific and unique era in history. Plus, with the short runtime and small price, if you like short and sweet games and have a passion for football/soccer, then this is a must-buy.
Being someone from Brazil, I almost take for granted the fact my country always qualifies for a World Cup every four years. For us, not winning it is a disaster. For other nations, just the fact your nation is there is something that makes the entire competition memorable and a source of national pride. I noticed that when I visited Panama in 2018, when the country first played an edition of the World Cup. And this is also the basis behind Despelote, an autobiographical slice-of-life adventur...
This is not just a standout indie. Despelote stands as a real, personal work of art. And it deserves to be remembered as one.
All of those memories were at different scales and all with different levels of attachment. Yet playing through despelote, it appreciates all those moments in football and ascribes importance to all of it. Between its chaotic park gameplay, its heartfelt reminiscence of an Ecuador united through its national team’s brazen and brilliant ambitions, this is a football game that truly understands football way more than most games featuring football and why it matters. Because sometimes, for 90 ...
Maybe I'm so enamoured by Despolete because football has been a constant companion in my own life. My childhood memories are inextricable from hundreds of hours spent playing Sensible Soccer, or from kickabouts at the park in which my friends and I provided our own colour commentary and adopted the roles of regens from our Championship Mananger campaigns. When I dreamed, I too dreamed of football. I think if you've never had that kind of relationship with the sport, Despelote might help expla...