This might be a bit of a shocking statement for some to hear, but everyone has been a child at one point. I hope you were sitting down for that one. While the memories themselves might be hazy from person-to-person, everyone holds on to some kind of precious memories of when they’re a kid, and yet, there haven’t been too many games that actually capture that feeling of being a child. Despelote manages to change that, with its story of 8 year old Julian told with the backdrop of the Ecuadorian national football team’s closest ever run to qualifying for the 2002 World Cup.
Set across a few months in 2001, the game follows Julian as he essentially kills time while the country is in the grips of football fever. Whether it’s waiting to get picked up while your mum runs some errands, or you’re looking after your sister while your parents close up shop for the night, you’re spending the game’s main chapters looking through the eyes of a football-obsessed child. As you’d expect, then, a lot of things not nailed down suddenly become impromptu footballs, like balloons at a wedding or glass bottles in a car park after someone steals your ball.
While the game’s narrator (who’s also Despelote’s creator reciting a semi-autobiographical tale) gives us some insight into the turmoil Ecuador is going through around 2001, with the decision to adopt the US dollar causing more economic strife, Despelote’s framing changes their importance. 8-year old Julian is privy to conversations happening around him, but your only chance to interact with the game is via football. That’s all adult stuff, who cares about “hyperinflation” when it’s time for the after-school kickabout?
It wasn’t just Julian who was escaping the country’s woes though, even if he was doing it through ignorance, as Despelote stresses how Ecuador essentially put the dreams of an entire nation on the national football team’s back in their attempts to qualify. As someone from England, seeing a depiction of national football through another country’s eyes, one who maybe won’t take their successes for granted, was actually nice.
Not to make this too personal, but as a kid, our family spent our holiday in 2002 in Turkey, during the World Cup. Turkey had qualified along with England (but did Ecuador? Guess you better play to find out), and with the area we were staying at being quite friendly to the tourists, we became honorary fans of each other. When England won a game, there was plenty to celebrate, but when Turkey won? Pick up trucks filled with about a dozen revellers would be filling the streets within minutes, turning the area into an impromptu festival. It’s a memory that’s been untouched for years, but Despelote’s story, with its ties to the same World Cup as well, has me revisiting those moments.
It’s this idea of collective joy that’s really stuck with me after playing Despelote, and the idea of savouring the memories you’ve got with the people you meet. No matter what’s going on, no matter how big or small, from the struggles of an entire country’s economy faltering to whether or not you’ll follow through on your dream of football as a young adult, there’s always time to find joy and happiness. That could be in the journey of your national football team, or playing Tino Tini’s Soccer ‘99 in the living room, or hiding under the table with your sister at a wedding.
Does that mean the problems go away? No, and Despelote doesn’t shy away from that either. Despite the happiness that came from Ecuador’s 2002 World Cup campaign, there’s still problems that the country is facing today. What Despelote shows, in my opinion, is that it’s important to take a breath and focus on what’s in your control, and sometimes, that’s taking the time to find your own fun.
Xbox key provided by PR for this review
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