Splasher review

There you are, all cheerful, cleaning your respectable company when you catch your boss running crazy experiments on your coworkers, turning them into POTATOES!!!

That is the moment your beautiful tale of heroism and altruism begins. In the ghostly INKORP company (which at first only made inks, but you know how greed is, right?) you find yourself running, jumping, washing and painting in order to save your not-so-sharp little friends and stop the company’s CEO once and for all.

Simple story, right? I thought so too. But I believe that was the developers’ intention: simplicity.

Splasher is the classic platform game. With no fuss it throws you into a beautiful colorful universe where the focus is on not making mistakes and reaching the end of the level. Unlike other games in the genre you aren’t required to collect various kinds of collectibles (which are most of the time hidden): in Splasher your only extra task is rescuing your little coworkers who are scattered (quite visibly) around the scenery.

Developed with the consultation of speedrunners, in Splasher we have the “normal” game mode where you can explore everything around you calmly with plenty of time to think about how to save that coworker who for some mysterious reason ended up tucked into an obscure corner of the scenery, and the “RUN, FORREST!!! RUN!!!” mode, where there are no friends to be rescued and it’s up to you to run as if there were no tomorrow and register the best possible time (and there is even a medal).

Graphically the game is very pleasant. It recalls cartoons and will make your kids or other young relatives want to enjoy this multicolored adventure, but I stress that this game is not recommended for those still developing their reflexes, since the little players’ frustration may make your beloved controller end up flying toward the TV. “Hey Lincoln, you’ve said twice that the game is pretty, but what about the music???” Ah… The music… Although nothing exceptional, it does its job of giving the game a fast pace, but I confess that now and then I felt like turning on Spotify just to stop hearing the “thump thump” hammering in my head.

The gameplay is perfect: run, jump and shoot. That is all you will do during the whole play session and in Splasher it isn’t tiresome. With precise controls and challenges designed just right, the development team hit the mark. However much you end up turning into a potato, the game always makes a point of rubbing in your face that you failed because you were hasty and didn’t think fast. And there is no secret: the water jet cleans the ink, the red ink makes you stick (literally) to walls and the yellow ink makes you jump like the Marsupilami.

To wrap up, Splasher is a game worth having in your library. Simple, frenetic and fun, it is perfect for those days when you get home from work/school and want to forget the obligations around you for a while (because you won’t be able to focus on anything else).

Oh yes… I almost forgot… Our dear friend Leon did the review of the Steam version, and if you want to read more about this game before investing your precious money, click here.

NARRATIVE: 8
AUDIOVISUAL: 8
MECHANICS: 9

PlayStation 4 version