Spate narrates of the existential pain of a man who found shelter within the embrace of absynth, neglecting himself and his wife because of his own weakness and incapability towards life. It is the story of a man drowning, a story that you will contemplate through evocative images. If you loved Limbo, Dear Esther or Gone Home, you will definitely love Spate.
Spate is heavily focused on what it can best deliver: story and atmosphere. A desperate and alcoholic father who's seeking for the truth about the death of his daughter, in the desolate, steampunk location of the Xzone, is the perfect main character for an original and very inspired 2.5D indie platform.
Estamos ante una obra maestra que mezcla plataformas con una narrativa profunda e impactante. Es un viaje por la cabeza de una persona que se encuentra al borde del abismo y se embarca en una aventura inolvidable para encontrar lo que ha perdido por su actitud autodestructiva. Es un viaje corto (unas 2 horas) pero muy satisfactorio. Tanto los gráficos como el apartado sonoro son más que notables. Es una joya que solo podía parir el mundo indie.
I just finished playing the game, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm not a hardcore gamer, definitely not a platformer-type , and I found the forgiving controls welcoming, and enjoyed the story. Visually the game is attractive and compelling w/ attention to detail. Spate is not a difficult game, but an enjoyable game for experiencing the story and environments. Voice work is quality. Story was a little dark, but not overly so. Playing time was about 2 hours for me. Main components of gameplay are light platforming elements (jumping, dodging) and very small amount of puzzles. The game's strengths are the atmosphere, visuals, and story imho. Overall, I'd say if the artwork appeals to you and you don't mind a story about alcohol addiction, give it a go. Again - good game. Glad I played it.
Spate isn’t a game that is terribly concerned with action-packed or challenging gameplay. It isn’t going to keep you busy for very long either, taking only a couple of hours at most to play through. But the visuals, audio and narrative combine very nicely to create a strong sense of atmosphere and identity – one which is likely to remain with you long after you finish playing.
Bluth's journey concludes with a choice, but you'll have to repeat the journey to see the other ending. The prospect of spending two more hours with this self-pitying drunk may be too much for even Spate's Kickstarter backers to take. [Issue#147, p.121]
This game really needed better writing. The sparse, basic gameplay is fine, but in order to immerse the player, a game so brooding and atmospheric really needs equally poetic writing. It's really too matter-of-fact, choosing much too often to "tell" rather than "show". The film-noir narrator demonstrates none of the colourful use of language usually so characteristic of that archetype, and tends to explain the story with very little metaphore, almost as if he were reading from a text book.
That being said, the visuals are quite stunning, but not much else can be said about it.
Il potenziale inespresso di Spate è un'occasione mancata per Eric Provan, che con questo progetto esce timidamente dall'ombra mentre altri esperimenti del genere hanno dominato la scena, come Dear Esther, al quale tanto ambiziosamente mirava. Consigliarne o no l'acquisto sarebbe sbagliato visto la natura del titolo, ma valutate attentamente la spesa perché Spate è completamente in inglese (anche i sottotitoli). Detto questo prendete le dovute distanze se non lo conoscete, in virtù del fatto che, narrazione e veste grafica a parte, c'è ben poco da salvare.
SummarySpate is a platformer with a focus on story and atmosphere. Spate is the journey of one man’s struggle and descent into madness that is fueled by his addiction to absinthe following the tragic death of his daughter.