We’ve seen a great rise in “casual”, physics-based puzzle games over the last few years, thanks to the abundance of smartphones occupying people’s pockets, and the surprise success of titles such as Angry Birds and Cut the Rope. Following in the footsteps of those breakout hits is The Splatters, a new title on Xbox Live Arcade by an Israeli Studio known as SpikySnail Games.
To be honest, it’s a little strange playing a game such as this on the big screen. Everything about it screams “mobile”, from the single screen levels to the three star rating system, and having been spoiled by the cheap (or even free) titles available on iOS and Android, it’s little tough to shell out a full 800 MS points for something so similar. However, once you get over the initial sticker shock, you’ll discover a really fun and highly addictive puzzler underneath.
I’ll try to break down the gameplay, so you have an idea of what The Splatters is. Basically, each level contains a number of bombs scattered about the place - in piles on the floor or clusters hanging from the ceiling. There are also a number of coloured blobs dotted around, each one smiling serenely as though unaware of the horrible fate it’s about to meet. One by one, you aim the blobs and launch them, splattering them against walls and showering goo down on the bombs, setting them off. Just match the colour of the blob with the colour of the bomb, and try not to splat them all before you’ve detonated everything.
Of course, that’s not all there is to it. You’ll earn more points by pulling off tricks with each shot, known as “stunts”. For instance, sliding along surfaces, triggering two distant bombs with the same shot, or raining goo down from high above, will all increase your score and raise your combo meter. You’re also introduced to some additional moves you can pull off after launching your blob, allowing you to hit hard-to-reach places.
I was a little worried when these new moves started showing up, as I worried that before long there would be so many stunt possibilities to consider that the simple fun would be lost. However, the developers keep it really minimal, and the handful of moves you unlock do little more than change your direction in midair and increase your velocity. The most interesting of these moves, and the one that helps set this game apart from others in the genre, is your ability to reverse the direction of everything mid-flight, sending it all back in the opposite direction. For example, you can launch your blob along a slope and into a cluster of bombs, then reverse the direction, sending everything back towards another cluster.
It’s this combination of simple moves and interesting physics that turns a moderately fun title into the type that has you saying “just one more level….” at 3 in the morning, before playing for another hour. Once you master combo chains and start placing high on the leaderboards, it can be hard to put down. As an added bonus, you can view videos made by the top ranking players, showcasing their awesome splattering talents on each level. Not only will these videos impress and entertain you, they’re also a brilliant way to see how long chains of stunts can be performed on every stage. Watch and learn, kids!
So overall, I’ve had a lot of fun playing The Splatters, and I don’t think I’m quite done yet. After all, there are still 3-star ratings to achieve and high scores to top. At first, I was unsure how much time I’d spend with it, but once it all clicked, and I found my blobs shooting gracefully around the slopes and curves, reversing into clusters and showering the whole area with precision-targeted goo, I realised why this game has been getting so much buzz around the independent gaming circuit. I still feel that it’s a little pricey for such a simple title, but if your slingshot’s broken after flinging all those birds, and your scissors blunt from cutting too much rope, The Splatters may be just the game you need.
