Kickstarter games often divide opinions throughout the gaming community. Some seem to think that their contributions aren’t being used as intended, while others believe that they’re helping a studio realise their true potential. Spate by Eric Provan was Kickstarted almost 2 years ago and raised $14,430 which was $2,430 more than they had originally targeted. After a thorough production time, Spate was released on Steam on March 27th. With several comparisons to highly-acclaimed games such as Dear Esther, Bioshock, Super Mario, Donkey Kong: Country and Limbo meant that this was a game with a lot of potential, but also a lot of expectation from such a small production team.
Spate is a 2.5D platformer in a steampunk world where giant robots, steam-powered ships and strange beings reside. You play the role of Detective Bluth who is hired to investigate the mysterious disappearances that have been occurring on an island offshore. While trying to take on his day-to-day job, Detective Bluth must also battle his own demons as he struggles to cope with his daughter’s death and battle his alcoholism. With his love for alcohol being crucial to his character, the protagonist consumes absinthe to enhance his abilities but, in turn, it ultimately blurs the lines between reality and fiction. This ability helps to punctuate wonderful environments and creates a unique art style unlike any game I’ve ever seen.
The voice of the lead character, Detective Bluth, is played by award winning voice actor Jack Blair whose voice fits the role perfectly. As you progress, more and more of the overriding story unfolds and it takes you no time at all to connect with the main character. The situation he finds himself in is very true to life and tells the story of one man’s life being torn apart in an instant and how things are never the same. Although the game involves many weird and wonderful obstacles and backgrounds, the story revolves around one man coming to terms with heartbreak and constantly having to put up with his battle of alcoholism.
With all the recent controversy regarding the length of certain games and how it seems unappealing, I believe that the quality of a game should always take precedence over quantity. Spate took me all of 1 hour and 50 minutes to complete. While some may gasp and write off the game at this fact, I believe that the game is a perfect length for the story and keeps the player on-edge as you find out more information from the protagonist. As you progress, you meet characters including creatures and robots. All of the characters you meet have funny dialogue with Detective Bluth and there are some great laugh-out-loud moments. Without spoiling anything, the ending leaves you with a decision and the ending I chose made me put down the controller, watch in awe and what I witnessed put a huge smile on my face for the rest of the evening. Although it isn’t a vast story, the feeling which the game provoked was memorable and heart-warming at the same time.
While I have mentioned the game has been compared to games such as Super Mario, Donkey Kong and Limbo, Spate is a good platform game. The mechanics are precise and easy to use, like any great platformer should be, but there isn’t a great deal of it. With the game being around 2 hours, there are sections of the game which deliver story, but are endless running on flat surfaces or sliding down hills or rivers. Some of these moments stand out for me as I remember various stages of the game where it seemed as though it was dull sections where you just had to hold down the thumbstick to the right, but the game was actually delivering key dialogue to you. This helps you focus on the story more rather than when you are interacting with the world and you could potentially miss a key detail in Detective Bluth’s story.
Some of the hazards which you have to overcome include rotating platforms, timed jumps onto ledges, aiming cannons to release platforms, flying through huge winds and consuming your beloved absinthe to make your character jump higher and make things easier. These are all mechanics and obstacles which you would normally associate with many popular platform games, but in Spate there is something else. At two points during the game there is a flying ship which you have to manoeuvre over rough terrain and it involves holding jump to make the ship go higher and letting the button go makes it fly lower. The overall difficulty of Spate isn’t huge, but there are a few moments which had me having to restart that section. Fortunately when you do die, you just restart a small section away from where Detective Bluth perished meaning that dialogue isn’t repeated and everything is fresh in your mind.
An aspect of the game which is rightly focused on is the art style both visually and musically. As much as the trailer shows of all the different worlds, the music from this game is eerily wonderful. While the gameplay doesn’t remind me of Bioshock, the music certainly does and creates an atmosphere which again brings to life the emotion and pain that the lead character is experiencing. Award winning composer Mike Raznick has done a terrific job with the music and no matter what your taste in music is, the score is enjoyable and suits the game perfectly.
One of the more surreal aspects of Spate is its graphics. At times it feels as though you are in the middle of a crazy dream or something which someone was created while touring with The Beatles in the late 60’s. The wonderful artwork and environments come courtesy of Eric Provan, formerly of Walt Disney and Sony Animation, and this past experience shows in the quality of this game. Ranging from the brightest top hat filled level complete with a giant snake to the darkest of caves where rain is pouring, it all looks wonderful.
While gaming backgrounds or environments are usually ignored to focus on what the player is doing, you can’t help but look at the beautiful surroundings which are prominent throughout the game. There are numerous unforgettable moments where you pass a certain monument or obstacle and the protagonist will sum it up in a poetic way. At one point he is walking over a giant hand and says: “This is me in the grip of alcoholism,” and it’s a wonderful use of symbolism used to help to portray aspects of the character’s life.
Spate is a wonderfully executed platform game which has relatively simple gameplay, wonderful art and wonderfully composed music. The star of the show for me is definitely the story. While the game looks and sounds brilliant, the way I am still feeling towards Detective Bluth just shows of the impact which games can have in our day-to-day lives. I believe that the length of a game is irrelevant, the experience is all that should matter in any game and I highly recommend playing Spate for its compelling story. It is in no way the best platformer ever, but it certainly does leave a positive lasting impression.
Spate is available now on Steam for £6.99.