Splasher review

Reviewed on: PC

Sometimes a game, almost casually, manages to win a player over in such a magical way that it is, at times, unbelievable. The most puzzling part of it all, though, is how Splasher did it: precise gameplay, clever level design, charming graphics, good humor and an “old-school” game feeling.

Perhaps the scarcest aspect (mind you, “scarce” and not “poor”) is the story. Here it is extremely simple and very accessible, told in a light, direct way without frills. The dialogue is minimal, almost nonexistent. Does that make it bad? Not at all! The game’s story, all the setting and background are well tied together, well explained and well told, but in an easy and very funny way, through simple little “cutscenes” in the style of Sonic 3 and a few splash arts. In my rulebook, that’s a good thing. It’s not superb, it’s good. A caveat for Doctor Maligno (Doctor Evil), who looks more like a member of the Islamic State, turban little cap and all.

Splasher is very pretty. The art direction took care in choosing the tone of the art: youthful, very upbeat and still soft and pleasant to look at. Together with the vibrant, present color palette, Splasher becomes an easy choice for anyone who wants to escape the more sober colors of today’s big titles and suddenly engage in a gentle play session with their kids, nephews and nieces and/or hangers-on. The soundtrack is nothing special, but it fits well with the light mood, almost “goofing around”, that the game has. In fact, the “goofing around” mood is present in everything, even in the characters.

The mechanics in Splasher are effective and simple, making its gameplay very broad and precise. It’s a platform game, with all the things we like in a game of the genre: collecting a certain number of little things, collecting all the “letters”, getting 100% in all the levels… You already know how the exercise works. The game even has a feeling of Sonic, being very fast, with very precise platform jumps. The controls here are extremely responsive and don’t let you down! Just try to prefer using a controller instead of the keyboard.

But something pulls this sacred set of platformers in a unique way. The liquids. There are three liquids that the protagonist finds shot out by machines, scattered through the levels or fires with his F.L.U.D.D.-style machine: Water, which is your basic attack and can clean the paints; the red paint, which is sticky and provides very ninja moments, climbing walls and ceilings; and the yellow paint, which has rubbery properties, working as a repellent and a spring for propulsion. Of course, the game is rather short (even with the speedrun modes) and we see several clichés of the platformer genre here, but let me tell you that using clichés is not a problem when you do it cleverly. By now, you must have realized that I’m practically a cheerleader for intuitive game design that makes players think and gradually get used to it.

And Splasher does this in a phenomenal way.

Right in the first level, you are gradually accustomed to the mechanic of the three liquids and how they relate to each other. Then, you are introduced to how these liquids interact with enemies. And only then do you get access to your first liquid. It’s a formula that is subtly repeated throughout the game and, without noticing, you’re coping with the game’s ingenious and elaborate, but never hard, puzzles, bonuses and jumps.

Surely, it’s a game worth your time. If you really enjoy platformers or are tired of open worlds, crafting and shooting, Splasher will satisfy you very well! For now it’s only available for PC, via Steam.

STORY: 8.5
AUDIOVISUAL: 9
MECHANICS: 9.5

PC version