Spinch
- September 2, 2020
- Akupara Games
- 5h median play time
A psychedelic platformer blistering with color and quirkiness.
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Spinch" is a single-player platformer game with compelling mechanics and stunning visuals. Players control the shape-shifting organism, Spinch, on a mission to rescue its missing offspring from malformed creatures across six vibrant worlds. With old-school difficulty, fast-paced gameplay, and no lives or game overs, "Spinch" offers a challenging experience for players of all levels.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The art style is unique, vibrant, and visually stunning, creating a psychedelic experience.
- The gameplay mechanics, such as collecting items to use against bosses, add depth and creativity to the platforming experience.
- The soundtrack is catchy and complements the game's aesthetic, enhancing the overall atmosphere.
- The game suffers from significant bugs, including glitched achievements and unresponsive controls, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The difficulty spikes dramatically, especially in later levels, making it feel unfair and punishing for players.
- Level design is repetitive and lacks variety, with some sections feeling empty and uninspired, particularly in the water levels.
- graphics30 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique, vibrant, and psychedelic art style, which draws inspiration from various artistic influences and enhances the overall experience. Many players appreciate the effort put into the level designs and the seamless integration of visuals with the soundtrack, creating an immersive atmosphere. However, some reviewers note that while the visuals are stunning, they may not be enough to compensate for gameplay shortcomings, particularly in certain levels.
“The art style is unique and eye-catching; it's vibrant, and each level looks like a lot of effort and care went into the design.”
“The soundtrack is catchy, and the art style is absolutely gorgeous.”
“Bright, technicolor visuals, punishing difficulty, excellent level design, and tight controls are all hallmarks of this deliciously enjoyable sugar rush.”
“All bonus levels are the same level with different aesthetics.”
“I really wanted to like this game because I adore the graphics, and it's not completely terrible, but I can't recommend it.”
“Really wanted to like the game and support it due to the art style.”
- music30 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the catchy chip tune compositions and their fitting integration with the vibrant visuals. However, some players found the tracks to be short, repetitive, and forgettable, leading to irritation during longer play sessions. Overall, while the soundtrack complements the game's aesthetic, it may not appeal to everyone, with some considering it the weakest aspect of the experience.
“The soundtrack in this game had my head bobbing along to every level, the sound effects were pleasant and not annoying.”
“The game combines solid platformer controls and interesting level designs, with rainbow psychedelia pixel art provided by Jesse Jacobs and a great 'bleeps and bloops' old style video game soundtrack as composed by James Kirkpatrick.”
“The soundtrack is catchy, the art style is absolutely gorgeous.”
“However, the pieces of music are short and repetitive which can get annoying when you are playing a level for 20+ minutes.”
“The music was probably the weakest part of this game, it's fitting but very forgettable and lackluster, nothing I would listen to outside of the game, and even gets a bit repetitive depending on the level.”
“The music and sound design did absolutely nothing for me; I found the sound effects annoying and poorly mixed, such as the sound for killing an enemy with your 'star power' being so much louder than everything else.”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of enjoyable mechanics, such as collecting items for boss battles and speedrunning, but suffers from repetitive elements and floaty controls that detract from the experience. While the initial levels are engaging and the controls are generally well-received, the game becomes less appealing as it introduces new mechanics that can frustrate players. Overall, the gameplay offers a blend of simplicity and challenge, but is marred by issues like reused assets and inconsistent difficulty.
“The mechanics of collecting something in a level, to then use it later on in a boss, is a fun concept I enjoyed.”
“The gameplay is very simple yet addicting due to how well it controls; wall jumping and dashing feel like second nature.”
“Fun gameplay, amazing visuals, and good controls; totally recommended.”
“The beginning levels are extremely basic in terms of difficulty and mechanics.”
“Nothing about the gameplay after world 3 made me want to continue playing it.”
“The game feels great movement-wise and the first few levels really start off good, but as soon as the game decides to switch things up and add new mechanics, it starts to get kind of annoying to play.”
- story4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The story is straightforward and lacks depth, with minimal dialogue and limited narrative content. However, the vibrant art and color themes enhance the overall experience, adding a visual richness to the simplistic storyline.
“The art and colors are lush, and there is a color/rainbow theme throughout both the art and story.”
“Story: there just isn't much story.”
“Story: there just isn't much story.”
“The story is easy to understand with no in-game dialogue needed.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some users report very few glitches and a generally smooth experience, others have encountered noticeable bugs, particularly related to movement and momentum.
“Seems fairly buggy; momentum is sort of all over the place.”
“Very few glitches, but there were some involving movement that were hard to replicate.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, particularly noticeable in later levels where stuttering can hinder gameplay, making it difficult to progress. Despite these early launch performance problems, the overall experience remains enjoyable for platformer enthusiasts.
“Got to level 3, world 3, and the stuttering started, which made the game impossible to continue.”
“Although it’s regrettably marred by early launch performance issues, Spinch is an otherwise wonderful platformer that we’d highly recommend to anybody who just can’t get enough of the genre.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its low replayability, lacking engaging features such as bonus jumps, high score tracking, and varied level layouts that typically enhance replay value in platformers like Super Mario. Users feel that the absence of secret levels and mini-games further diminishes the incentive to replay.
“The game offers a variety of paths and choices that make each playthrough feel unique, enhancing its replayability.”
“With multiple endings and hidden secrets, every run feels fresh and encourages you to explore different strategies.”
“The dynamic level design and random events keep you coming back for more, ensuring that no two sessions are ever the same.”
“It lacks the fun elements of a Super Mario game, such as bonus jumps at level exits, a gamble game for bonuses, a score counter for high score hunting, a power button to switch level layouts, and secret levels with unique twists or mini-games.”
“The game feels repetitive after the first playthrough, with little incentive to return for more.”
“There are no meaningful choices or variations in gameplay that encourage replayability.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the water levels is noted for its immersive quality, but it is significantly undermined by poor physics, which detracts from the overall experience.
Critic Reviews
Spinch (Switch) Review
A psychedelic platformer blistering with color and quirkiness.
80%Spinch Review
Bright, technicolour visuals, punishing difficulty, excellent level design and tight controls are all hallmarks of this deliciously enjoyable sugar rush. Spinch is a short but sweet experience and one that certainly proves itself to be worthy of both your time and money. Although it’s regrettably marred by early launch performance issues, Spinch is an otherwise wonderful platformer that we’d highly recommend to anybody who just can’t get enough of the genre.
80%Spinch Review – Kaleidoscopic platforming
Overall Spinch is a feast of colour and everything is so interesting to look at and absorb, but the game is very clearly designed to be difficult. The length between checkpoints is just too long, especially with much harder modern platformers using more forgiving checkpoint systems. Difficulty needs to be counteracted with speed, if every time the player falls into a pit they have to watch the camera scroll all the way back to their last checkpoint, it begins to feel like such a waste of time. Spinch is definitely a game for people looking for a challenge, and is not going to be easy to stick out if you’re someone looking for casual fun.
70%
