DESPELOTE

The one disappointment of an otherwise exemplary Day Of The Devs showcase was the relative lack of surprises. But one game with which we weren’t already closely acquainted was this Ecuadorian charmer from Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena: a semi-autobiographical firstperson adventure in which you play a football-mad kid from Quito experiencing the excitement of their country’s qualifying campaign for the 2002 World Cup. Its art style is captivating, a blend of cartoonish characters and two-tone backdrops that resemble grainy photos, evoking the sensation of a fuzzy childhood memory.

Despelote has the loose spontaneity of a kickabout in the park – which, naturally, is one of the activities in which you can participate. Flick the right analogue stick and you can pass the ball between your friends, shoot toward a jury-rigged goal, try to knock a row of bottles from a nearby wall, or even boot it at other people in the park to annoy them – including the archetypal elderly gentleman who shakes his fist at you and threatens to take your ball away. When it’s popped by a dog, meanwhile, you will need to find some way (or someone) to repair it. The dialogue – subtitled in speech bubbles – is a joy, with performers actively encouraged to improvise, allowing for a naturalism rarely seen in games. In its own understated way, Cordero and Valbuena’s game perceptively captures the effect sport can have on both national identity and local community.