World Cup 2026 is here and that means everyone everywhere is crazy excited for some football! And by “football”, I of course mean the sport we Americans call “soccer”, because we are a confused and deeply strange people. Like, the Brits came up with the word soccer—from “Association Football”—and even they aren’t silly enough to use it for a sport that’s played almost entirely with one’s feet. But I digress… It’s World Cup time, and that means everyone on Earth will have footie on their mind.

***Despelote*** has a soccer game within a soccer game.

So for the video game enthusiasts out there, what soccer game will you play? Perhaps some random year of FIFA, from before EA lost the license? Maybe Pro Evolution Soccer, Konami’s flagship football game? The oldschool purists might reach for Sensible Soccer, especially if they are British. The arcade action aficionados (like myself) will probably return to Super Mario Strikers for the umpteenth time, since it rules. Or maybe a significant number of people are still playing Rematch, from Sifu developer Sloclap. There are actually a bevy of options to choose from.

To suggest a rather unusual choice: have you played Despelote yet? Designed by Julián Cordero, with Art & Music by Sebastián Valbuena, and Produced by Gabe Cuzzillo, Despelote is an indie darling brought to us by the lovely folks over at Panic. It is described as, “A slice-of-life adventure about childhood and the magical grip soccer held over the people of Quito, Ecuador in 2001.” And that sums it up pretty well.

But even amongst other quirky indie titles, Despelote is a genuinely difficult game to categorize. It’s part soccer game, part walking simulator “first person narrative exploration game”. The story is certainly a “slice-of-life” look at living in Ecuador circa 2001, but it also kind of feels like a coming-of-age memoir. The overall presentation—which makes use of archival TV footage from the era—almost makes the game feel almost like an interactive documentary. Honestly, I think Despelote has to be the most “independent film”-esque video game I have ever played.

In terms of visuals, Despelote is incredibly unique and eye-catching. This visual style has 3D environments rendered in a monochrome pointalism, with important characters and interactable objects rendered as white handdrawn cartoons—kind of like a teenager had sketched them out on notebook paper. This makes the important details leap into your view, while the surrounding environment is somewhat obscured, the background generally blending into a haze. The overall effect is that certain people (and soccer balls) are strikingly clear and apparent, while the scene around them is comparatively muted. It’s as if you are experiencing a memory that has faded with time, but some specific elements are recalled in sharp clarity.

Random aside here: I love that this game has a video store to explore. As weird as this sounds, I really loved video rental stores and I genuinely miss them today. Recognizing movie posters and DVD covers from the era was a real treat for this old nerd.

On the audio side, Despelote is similarly distinct and interesting. The music features plenty of strum guitar and other Ecuadorian instrumentation. The soundtrack often leans into ambient organ or strings to deliver some hauntingly beautiful melodies. There’s an abundance of environmental noise to hear in Quito, and that goes a long way in reproducing the vibe of the game's setting. There’s also plenty of dialogue throughout the story and, appropriately, everything is in Spanish. So if you are like me, and don’t actually speak Espanol, you’ll be reading subtitles quite a lot. Strangely, making me read subtitles just makes me like this game even more.

Now this is going to sound weird, but—if I’m being honest—I don’t really like the soccer gameplay presented in Despelote. Passing the ball by flicking the Right Stick is something I just could not get used to. Also, it is far too easy to completely lose the ball while dribbling. Moreover, it felt like a real challenge to know if the ball is even at your feet, particularly because the game is played in first-person. That said, I don’t think crafting a top-notch soccer kick-about simulator was actually something the developers tried to do here. Clumsily kicking around with your neighborhood friends does not require tight football gameplay, after all.

One thing I did appreciate was that the football controls function essentially the same way in different contexts. So whether you are playing a 2D (top-down) soccer video game, or kicking around a soccer ball in 3D space, the game controls are basically the same. It’d be even better if the footballing gameplay was more fun, but bonus points for consistency nonetheless.

This point is really more of a “me problem” than anything, but I bought this game for the Switch and I kind of regret it. There is something about quirky independent games like this, where I would rather experience it on a computer than a console. I’m not sure why, but this kind of game feels more at home outside of the console ecosystem. Personally I would recommend playing it on PC or Mac, but it is available everywhere. Relatedly, I find it ironic that the game is rated M-Mature on these platforms for “Strong Language, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco". Again, I don’t speak Spanish so maybe I don’t understand how offensive the language is here, but I can’t imagine giving this game a Mature rating.

Despelote is just undeniably charming. The game is so earnest, so personal, so incredibly authentic, and I genuinely enjoyed playing through the story. And this is coming from someone who didn’t even really care for the soccer gameplay either. Simply exploring 2001 Quito was more than enough for me. Such excellent art direction overall, with interesting perspectives and cool scene transitions. I definitely recommend checking it out.

Plus, this game is the definition of “short and sweet”. It only takes about two hours to complete the whole story. Because Despelote is basically an independent film with twin-stick controls.