Splot Review

Splot is a simple and unique platformer from Frozenbyte, the developers behind the fantasy puzzle platformer series Trine. Although a simpler game than Trine, Splot boasts a smart set of controls, a good sense of speed, and a race-against-the-clock mechanic that make it charming, compelling, and challenging.

The setup for Splot is a bit nonsensical. It has something to do with aliens and baby chickens or something, but the point is you’re a good alien trying to collect chickens and reach the finish line faster than the bad aliens. So, in addition to being a platformer, Splot is a bit of a racing game.

To control their Splot, players tap on the left or right side of the screen to jump in that direction. Upon hitting certain environmental features, like walls or water, the game controls change so that players can wall-jump, slide, and swim as necessary. At any given moment the controls are simple, but as players move through increasingly diverse and challenging levels, learning how to quickly anticipate control changes can mean the difference between winning and losing a whole level.

As the game progresses, Splot rewards players with power-ups that can be activated at the start of any given stage. Some of these power-ups are pretty passive, like the one that grants additional experience at the end of the level, while others – like the magnet – allows the player to grab all nearby baby chickens without having to accurately gather them.

Although a bunch of this can sound kind of rote, Splot really shines in balancing its racing element with levels that can be completed perfectly with some patience and execution. This balance calls to mind games like the Trials series, or even some runners. These games all provide satisfaction through simply completing levels, but also add an extra layer of challenge for players looking to replay stages to shave down their times and gather every last baby chicken.

In being a game that seemingly encourages replaying and restarting levels that go poorly, Splot can be a little frustrating – even for those familiar with games of this ilk. In particular, in the heat of a set of botched moves players may go to the menu and restart only to realize the power-up that they had saved up for is now gone. In addition, Splot also kind of drops the ball after its initial tutorial, leaving players to experiment for themselves how to dispatch enemies and overcome other new obstacles further down the road.

Despite these flaws, Splot manages to be a pretty great game. At times it may be pretty infuriating, but its gameplay is compelling enough to keep players wanting to perfect each stage. Even though it doesn’t offer much more beyond its general platforming gameplay, Splot has a lot of heart and some good level design behind it, making it pretty easy to recommend.