- Publisher: Panic Inc. , Julian Cordero
- Release Date: May 1, 2025
- Also On: PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
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May 14, 2025This is fascinating, formally daring stuff that, in its two-hour playtime, asks more questions about the nature of memory, simulation and identity than a dozen 100-hour epics.
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May 1, 2025Despelote is a moving and masterfully rendered game about soccer, growing up, and so much more.
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May 1, 2025Despelote'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.
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May 1, 2025Despelote is yet another juicy example of the ability of hyper specific stories to unlock universally human feelings, rather than the often misguided attempts to generalise settings and identities to reach more people. I want more games like this, and thankfully smart companies like Panic keep publishing them.
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Jul 9, 2025Despelote 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 memories you had as a child.
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May 19, 2025A silent gem. A tribute to soccer, yes, but above all to childhood, community and memory. Of course, it is not a game for everyone, as it requires patience, sensitivity and a willingness to be carried away by nostalgia, but whoever connects with its proposal will find one of the most moving experiences of the year. For those of us who believe that videogames can be art, Despelote is a confirmation. And a celebration.
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May 13, 2025Despolote is a reminder that video games are so important to the medium of storytelling. Through gorgeous visuals and a story is elation and excitement, this unique experiences manages to keep you engaged and uplifted throughout. It won't be for everyone, but if you're a player that loves to find greatness in independent games, you're going to feel like you've scored a hat-trick with this one.
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Edge MagazineApr 17, 2025When those big swings connect, just as when we manage to knock several bottles off a wall with a single shot, Despelote offers an exhilarating reminder of the narrative ground games have yet to cover. [Issue#410, p.120]
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May 18, 2025Despelote 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.
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May 8, 2025Despelote is one of the year’s most fascinating indie games, one I can recommend without much hesitation.
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May 1, 2025Despelote is an interactive documentary about a country, a sport, and a life. It tells the story of Ecuador as it strives for its first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup. Julian Cordero narrates the story of Quito, the city where he was born, and the summer of 2001, when everyone became part of a collective experience that carried the Ecuadorian national team to the world stage. It was a moment that transformed football from a quiet backdrop in children’s lives into the main character in the lives of adults. It’s a sincere, delicate work, one that’s hard not to be moved by, even (and especially) if you’re not a football fan.
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May 1, 2025Despelote‘s short length will put some people off and the finicky controls could use some fine-tuning and extra settings to adjust. But if you’re even a little intrigued by trailers, the demo, or indeed this review, you’ll find a truly charming and sincere little odyssey with a sweet story to tell and a unique, engaging way of telling it.
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May 13, 2025Despelote 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 remake 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.
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May 19, 2025Sport is a universal language that stirs emotions and connects us to deep memories. In Despelote, we relive the childhood memories of one of its creators, as he witnessed his country being swept up in football fever during a time of profound socioeconomic restructuring.
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May 16, 2025Despelote tells the story of an eight-year-old boy from Quito, while Ecuador is close to achieving its first World Cup qualification. The magic of the game lies in how it manages to portray unique moments of everyday life.
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May 6, 2025Halfway between a game and an interactive autobiographical narrative, Despelote is a short but captivating experience about the carefree nature of childhood. But it's also a solid exposé of the vital place football occupies for an entire society, in all its forms. From barroom discussions to people watching matches on TVs in stores windows to newlyweds forced to put a TV in the reception room, football is everywhere.
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May 1, 2025Despelote is transportive in its vision of a messy childhood.
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May 1, 2025Despelote 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.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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May 27, 2025Among other things, Despelote is a meditation on the creative process, a remembered documentary on life in turn-of-the-millennium Ecuador, and a playable essay on the way sport connects to both individuals and societies. Above all that, though, it’s a game about being a kid, kicking a ball, and watching it sail into the future. It’s a marvel.
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May 2, 2025Maybe 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 explain to you what it means to the people who do. I think in particular it might be an antidote to a UK football culture often defined solely by the megabucks Premier League, with its millionaire players and state-sponsored sportswashing projects. [RPS Bestest Bests]
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