It’s been a long time since we saw for the first time dreamy Ecuadorian soccer adventure Despelote, but now, after a few years out of the spotlight, it’s resurfaced with a publisher and a planned 2024 release for PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Created by Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena, Despelote is described as a semi-autobiographical slice-of-life adventure about “childhood and the magical grasp of soccer possessed by the people of Quito, Ecuador in 2001.” The developments come at a time when the country’s national soccer team was on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, helping to instill a sense of hope in a population still struggling with a severe financial crisis.
It translates as a “bittersweet, and at times dreamy” game of bickering and conversation, in which players, looking at the world through the eyes and ears of eight-year-old Julian, explore a dense corner of Quito “full of activity, interaction and abuse.”
All of this is brought to life by an instantly captivating art style that combines urban realism—monochrome photographs adapted to create a striking, stylized 3D space—with bold black-and-white character rendering, as well as on-location audio and some wonderfully laid-back tunes.
“Well, graze and throw your soccer ball around town and see what happens when you kick it in someone’s direction,” teases new publisher Despelote Panic on Game page on Steam. “Feel the city’s transformation as Ecuador move closer than ever to qualifying for the World Cup.”
Panic reopen the trailer brings the news that Despelote will be available on Xbox, PlayStation and PC when it launches next year.