Despelote

Despelote
Developers
  • Julián Cordero
  • Sebastián Valbuena
PublisherPanic
ProducerGabe Cuzzillo
ProgrammerJulián Cordero
ComposerSebastián Valbuena
EngineUnity[1]
Platforms
ReleasePS4, PS5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
  • WW: May 1, 2025
macOS
  • WW: September 8, 2025
Switch
  • NA/SA: December 11, 2025
  • JP: December 18, 2025
  • WW: January 13, 2026
GenreAdventure
ModeSingle-player
The two developers of Despelote in March 2025: Julián Cordero and Sebastian Valbuena.

Despelote is a first-person adventure video game and was released on 1 May 2025. It is slice-of-life set in Quito during Ecuador's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where the player is able to explore and play with a soccer ball in the city. The game is autobiographical and from the perspective of an eight year old Julián Cordero, one of the developers.[2][3][4][5]

Gameplay

Despelote is a first-person narrative exploration game, mostly set in Quito in 2002.[6] Players wander the city as an eight year old Julián Cordero, the designer of the game, and interact with locals, observe street life, and use a soccer ball to engage with the environment.[7] The ball can be kicked, passed, and used to trigger small vignettes and conversations that reveal the community's mood during Ecuador's 2002 World Cup qualifying run.[7] The game emphasizes ambient storytelling, with unscripted-feeling encounters rather than traditional objectives or puzzles.[8] It incorporates flash-forward moments as well, with the player controlling Cordero as a teenager as well.[8]

Development

Julián Cordero initially conceived of a game about the "universal language" of football, inspired by his childhood in Ecuador and his time in New York City.[6] Cordero wanted the game to avoid the look of high budget sport games like FIFA, which did not represent the soccer that he grew up with.[9]

After realizing that the game was not working in that format, Cordero's New York University Professor Gabe Cuzzillo, the designer of Ape Out, suggested that Cordero bring the "place" of Quito to the front of the game, using documentary audio and visual design in addition to the gameplay.[6]

Reception

Critical Reception

Despelote received positive marks from critics. Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell called the game something "personal and universal all at once" and praised how the developers handled the experience of childhood memories.[7] Polygon's Oli Welsh felt that Despelote felt "fully realized" and said that it might "be the best game ever about childhood."[10] The Guardian's Keith Stuart compared the game favorably to "the great works of independent game design", comparing it favorably The Unfinished Swan, Gravity Bone, and Virginia. Stuart also called the game "fascinating, formally daring stuff."[8] Rock Paper Shotgun's Graham Smith praised the game generally as a football fan, commenting "In a medium often dominated by genre pastiche and YA fiction tropes, what a treat it is to have a video game that feels true."[11]

RPGFan's Tom Naylor noted in a generally positive review that the kicking controls can be "finicky" and cautioned that the game was relatively short.[12] Slant Magazine's Steven Scaife instead felt that the game's "underlying clumsiness" in its first-person sections helped to capture its "vision of a messy childhood."[13]

Awards

Year Award Category Result Ref.
2025 Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Nominated [14]
Excellence in Audio Won
Excellence in Narrative Nominated
Nuovo Award Nominated
Golden Joystick Awards Best Indie Game Nominated [15][16]
The Game Awards 2025 Games for Impact Nominated [17]
Best Debut Indie Game Nominated
2026 15th New York Game Awards Big Apple Award for Best Game of the Year Nominated [18][19]
Off Broadway Award for Best Indie Game Nominated
Excelsior Award for Best New York Game Nominated
29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game Nominated [20]
Outstanding Achievement in Story Nominated
26th Game Developers Choice Awards Best Narrative Pending [21]
Social Impact Pending
22nd British Academy Games Awards Debut Game Longlisted [22]
Game Beyond Entertainment Longlisted

References

  1. ^ Saver, Michael (June 1, 2025). "Games made with Unity: May 2025 in review". Unity Technologies. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  2. ^ Romano, Sal (December 10, 2024). "despelote add Switch version". Gematsu. Retrieved December 11, 2024. Due out in early 2025.
  3. ^ Robles, Por Gustavo (December 11, 2024). "Despelote confirma su llegada a Nintendo Switch en 2025". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Castillo, Carolina (December 15, 2024). "Videojuego ecuatoriano Despelote llega a Nintendo Switch en 2025". El Comercio (in Spanish). Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. ^ "Despelote: El videojuego ecuatoriano inspirado en la clasificación al Mundial del 2002 que llega a Nintendo en 2025". Ecuavis (in Spanish). December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Gordon, Lewis (April 30, 2025). "A Soccer-Loving Nation's Transcendent Summer Is Reimagined". Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c Tapsell, Chris (May 1, 2025). "Despelote review". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c Stuart, Keith (May 14, 2025). "Despelote review – a beautiful, utterly transportive game of football fandom". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  9. ^ Couture, Joel (March 24, 2025). "Exploring Quito, Ecuador (and soccer fever) in despelote". Game Developer. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  10. ^ Welsh, Oli (May 24, 2025). "Despelote might be the best game ever about childhood". Polygon. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  11. ^ Smith, Graham (May 2, 2025). "Despelote review". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  12. ^ Naylor, Tom (May 1, 2025). "Despelote Review | RPGFan". Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  13. ^ Scaife, Steven (May 1, 2025). "'Despelote' Review: Soccer Fever Is in the Air". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Patches, Matt (March 19, 2025). "The GDC Awards' 2025 Game of the Year winners are in". Polygon. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
  15. ^ Harris, Iain (October 3, 2025). "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 leads the Golden Joystick Award 2025 charge for most nominations, nudging out Death Stranding 2, Ghost of Yotei, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2". GamesRadar+. Retrieved October 3, 2025.
  16. ^ Bevan, Rhiannon (November 20, 2025). "All Of The Winners At The Golden Joystick Awards 2025". TheGamer. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
  17. ^ Lewis, Claire (December 11, 2025). "Here are all The Game Awards 2025 winners". Polygon. Retrieved December 11, 2025.
  18. ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 15, 2025). "After setting records at The Game Awards, Clair Obscur is up for another GOTY". Polygon. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Takahashi, Dean (January 18, 2026). "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 takes Game of the Year at New York Game Awards". GamesBeat. Archived from the original on January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
  20. ^ LeBlanc, Wesley (January 8, 2026). "The 29th DICE Awards Nominees Have Been Revealed, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 And Ghost Of Yōtei Lead The Pack". Game Informer. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
  21. ^ Elderkin, Beth (January 15, 2026). "'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' Leads with 8 Nominations at GDCA 2026". GDC. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  22. ^ McGowen, Andrew (December 9, 2025). "'Indiana Jones and the Great Circle,' 'Ghost of Yōtei' and 'Split Fiction' Among Best Game Contenders in 2026 BAFTA Games Awards Longlist". Variety. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
External videos
Youtube logo
Announcement trailers
video icon Official Nintendo Switch Announcement Trailer
video icon Official PlayStation 5 Reveal Trailer
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despelote