Spitlings
Review
Spitting is a dirty habit
by Howie Howard
reviewed on PC
Spitling Is Where It's At These Days.
Spitting has always been a dirty habit, but with the advent of the Corona pandemic, that is doubly the case. Spitlings however has you doing just that. Spitlings is an action arcade game that could be described by some as being a party game due to the co-operative nature of the game, where two players team up on the same machine with each player using half of the keyboard or two controllers. A multi-player option is available for up to four people playing online. The co-operative gameplay is the major drawcard, but it also excels in online play.
Spit Happens
In Spitlings, bullets aren't shot at enemies like in other games of this type. However, you still need to get spitting mad at enemies that get in the way. The player character is a simple looking block figure that has a big spit filled mouth with teeth in it. At first, I thought the teeth were ammo but that thought was off the mark as I began playing the game. The teeth in the big mouth act as a spit counter. The player character has nine teeth, meaning that it has only nine “spits” available. Each time a spit is made, a tooth is subtracted. Get dry mouth and you could be done, lickity spit. In order to reload, spit needs to be absorbed after an enemy is eliminated. Once the enemy is destroyed, spit happens - and it will be happening all over the walls, ceilings and indeed, everything. Moving your character over the spit stains allows the reload, or gamers can let it fall over them like some sort of spit shower...gross. Sure, that doesn't sound all that appealing but you gotta do, what you gotta do.
Why Is Spit So Puzzling?
The various game screens start out as simple tunnels that eventually turn in to puzzles which can become extremely difficult. There are a hundred or more levels and probably the same number of different Spitlings available for collection and use by the player. Unfortunately new Spitlings, when uncovered, do not come with increased power, they just provide a different look or color. As an example, when unlocked, the block mouthed character can change in to a block with the mouth and horns or some other look. Although the lack of increasingly more powerful player characters might be disappointing it really isn't a problem. Since the game is based more on increasing puzzle difficulty with enemy power remaining the same, increasing the character power isn't necessary. I like the element of collecting as many of the newly uncovered Spitlings as I can. Doing that provides the motivation needed to make progress in the game. Wanting to see what each new Spitling looked like gave me a sense of wanting to keep going.
Spit and polish
I really don't know much about how spit sounds, but the be-bop music and back ground sounds reminded me of the arcade games I used to play from yesteryear. I miss those days, so Spitlings really hit a nice chord for me. So yes, spitting games can make us happy, it made me happy. The 2D retro look adds a lot to this Space Invaders style of game that I really like because the action comes at you from both sides, from above and from below. There's a lot to be said about games that lack high definition graphics as they allow gamers with lower spec machines the chance to play games with fun gameplay mechanis. High definition definitely has it's place in today's video gaming world, but the simple retro look of Spitlings works amazingly well.
Once You Spit, You Can’t Quit!
Even though the subject of spit or spitting itself could be a turn off for some, this version of a spitting game is not at all offensive. Spitlings is a heap of fun and will be a great time for all involved. There's a whole lot to do here and the big bonus is the co-op nature of the gameplay with up to three friends. There is plenty of replayability, as gamers can head back to collect any of the numerous Spitling characters that they missed in their initial playthrough. Luckily, the game comes with an auto-save function so getting the spit totally knocked out of you won't cause too much distress. All in all development team Massive Miniteam have a massive co-op winner on their minimally spit covered hands! It's also a pretty handy little party game that lets you spit with your friends and not get in to trouble for it. Just don't tell mom.
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8.7
fun score
Pros
Heaps of challenging levels. Fun co-op
Cons
Frustration when you get the spit kicked out of you, time and time again.
