Splasher

About

"Splasher is a single-player comedy shooter game with unique arcade/action gameplay and a cartoonish aesthetic. As a hero armed with a paint cannon, players must save workers and battle the factory's evil boss across challenging levels, using different paint colors for superpowers in time attack and speedrun modes."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+15

91%

Audience ScoreBased on 473 reviews

gameplay79 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

Splasher features fun and colorful graphics, creating an engaging atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
The game offers a solid level of challenge with well-designed levels that encourage skillful play and experimentation with its unique ink mechanics.
It includes various modes such as time attack and speedrun options, providing replayability and catering to both casual players and speedrunning enthusiasts.

The controls can feel unintuitive, especially with movement and aiming mapped to the same stick, leading to frustrating moments during gameplay.
Some players may find the game too short, with only 22 levels that can be completed relatively quickly, potentially limiting long-term engagement.
The difficulty curve can be inconsistent, with some later levels feeling significantly harder than earlier ones, which may deter some players.

gameplay
166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
50%
2%
The gameplay of this 2D platformer is highly praised for its unique mechanics involving different types of ink, which allow for creative movement and speedrunning opportunities. Players appreciate the tight controls, challenging yet fair level design, and the gradual introduction of new mechanics that keep the experience fresh and engaging. While some reviewers noted issues with difficulty balance and occasional frustrating elements, the overall consensus is that the gameplay is solid, fun, and rewarding, making it a standout in the genre.
- “With its unique paint gun mechanic, you can quickly dash through levels, using colors to bounce, stick, or launch yourself across tricky obstacles.”
- “The thrill of chaining jumps and using the paint mechanics to your advantage makes for satisfying, high-speed runs.”
- “The gameplay is this game's biggest strong suit honestly, but without any real engaging enemies, a repetitive art style, and barely any sense of a soundtrack.”
- “A promising start to the game... but it flops horribly when it forces you to fight questionable game mechanics, terrible controls, input lag, and mean-spirited 'nothing other than perfection allowed' level design.”
- “In lacking the common mechanic of 'you slowly slide down the wall/will fall off the ceiling if you stop moving', you remove any and all sense of urgency and skill from these segments, as the player can stop at any time and just laze about.”
- “In closing, while Splasher may be a competent and well-functioning game, its significant issues with difficulty balance and lack of variation or original gameplay elements will leave fans of the reflex platformer genre feeling incredibly underwhelmed.”
music
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
35%
4%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its upbeat and engaging nature that complements the gameplay, while others find it repetitive over time. Some highlight standout tracks that enhance the gaming experience, while a few criticize the soundtrack for lacking variety and depth. Overall, the music is generally seen as a positive aspect that adds to the game's charm and atmosphere, despite some reservations about its repetitiveness.
- “It is an absolute joy all around from the great gameplay, challenging but fair level designs, great art, and good music.”
- “The music keeps up with the presentation, and the art assets have a style all their own.”
- “The techno synth heavy music never gets old and always aided in the gameplay and helped me push forward through some tougher bits.”
- “The gameplay is this game's biggest strong suit honestly, but without any real engaging enemies, a repetitive art style, and barely any sense of a soundtrack.”
- “Pair that with a mind-numbingly boring soundtrack, and you got the perfect concoction for one of the most unsatisfying experiences you could have with a platformer of this nature.”
- “Also, the soundtrack gets repetitive and the art style is boring, newgrounds-flash-tier with little visual variety across the level themes.”
graphics
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
44%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the charming and unique 2D art style that adds personality and polish to the gameplay. While some players appreciate the vibrant colors and attention to detail, others find the visuals repetitive or reminiscent of older flash games, which detracts from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are generally considered appealing and well-designed, contributing positively to the game's identity.
- “The graphics are beautiful and incredibly stylish; enemies stand out, and the inks are clear to see in advance. The game also has various different level types, keeping the visuals fresh, albeit some of them repeat. It's still enough to visually keep things entertaining.”
- “I also absolutely loved the art style and art direction of the game; it really helped to give it its own unique identity in comparison to other 2D platformers.”
- “Awesome platformer with great game design ideas, beautiful graphics, nice music, and a kickass speedrun mode.”
- “Apart from the lazy 2D graphics (in 2017? The first 3D games came out decades ago... the industry moves on), controls are fixed and can't be remapped.”
- “Also, the soundtrack gets repetitive and the art style is boring, Newgrounds-flash-tier with little visual variety across the level themes.”
- “Not a huge fan of the art style—the general flatness and large spans of solid color remind me too much of a free flash game, which cheapens the experience for me.”
story
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
73%
7%
The game's story is generally viewed as minimal and simplistic, serving primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay rather than a focal point. Set in a quirky paint factory, it features humorous elements and a light-hearted tone, but many players feel it lacks depth and complexity, often overshadowed by the engaging platforming mechanics. While some appreciate the charm and art style, the consensus is that the gameplay is the main draw, with the story being a secondary aspect that doesn't significantly enhance the experience.
- “The game has a little story; you work at Inkorp where the working conditions are not exemplary. It is your goal to rescue all the splashers and capture the evil boss. There are some scripted animations which don't take very long, and it has some funny moments.”
- “An awesome, fun, fluid platformer with a nice art style and a light-hearted setting and story.”
- “The only story you get is less of a cutscene and more of a string of pictures telling you how the boss at Inkorp has kidnapped their workers and is doing crazy scientific experiments on them.”
- “The story takes place in a massive paint factory, Inkorp, whose owner has suddenly revealed himself as a mad scientist, kidnapping workers and experimenting on them, as well as using an army of killer robots to do the task.”
- “Not much of a story.”
replayability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
58%
18%
The game offers significant replayability primarily through its speedrun modes, time trials, and collectibles, appealing to players seeking challenges and competition. While some players may find limited replay value in a casual playthrough, the inclusion of leaderboards and various gameplay modes provides ample opportunities for those interested in mastering the game. Overall, it is well-designed for fans of 2D platformers, ensuring a rewarding experience for those willing to engage with its replayable elements.
- “For those who seek more of a challenge, it has collectibles, time trials, and speedrun modes that ramp up the difficulty and its replayability.”
- “Took me 11 hours to 100% but has a good amount of replayability due to the built-in speedrunning tools and leaderboards.”
- “All told, Splasher is a smartly designed, tight platformer that offers up hours of replay value on top of the creative ideas it delivers.”
- “If you're just here to play through, it's not replayable at all.”
- “Not much replay value.”
- “But that's not the worst part - if only that was an issue, I would actually give it a recommendation, because the game length is right. Although it offers some replay value with speedrun mode or trying to collect all of the splashers, I don't feel like going back to it because of one thing.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and integration into the gameplay, with many reviewers highlighting its funny cutscenes, dark comedic elements, and overall lighthearted tone. While the story is minimal, it serves as a backdrop for the humor, which is described as pervasive and enjoyable, adding to the game's charm. Players appreciate the blend of fun mechanics and humorous visuals, making it a standout feature of the experience.
- “There’s a spreading of story layered on top, not enough to hide what it is, but enough to add a good bit of flavor to the game, and sprinkled sparingly throughout is a nice touch of humor.”
- “If you want a fairly challenging 2D platformer with a really cool art style and a dark sense of humor, pick this one up!”
- “And this is less of a story and more of an introduction of what you’ll see at Inkorp because this game is very funny in its style and ambience, and you’ll find out quickly that this game doesn’t take itself seriously in the way that you die and interact with the enemies.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
78%
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game, with some finding it tedious due to distant checkpoints and repetitive tasks that lack challenge, while others appreciate the level design that keeps the difficulty engaging. However, many agree that the need to complete mundane objectives, like rescuing characters or collecting items, feels like filler content rather than meaningful gameplay, detracting from the overall experience. The grind is often described as unnecessary, with some achievements feeling nearly impossible and contributing to a sense of frustration.
- “+ difficult but not tedious thanks to the awesome level design”
- “you'll need a second life for grinding”
- “The game can get quite tedious due to checkpoints being too far apart and complex maneuvers being in the middle.”
- “They don't pose a challenge; they're just there for you to do something tedious in the levels, probably because the devs ran out of platformer ideas and put something to fill the void.”
- “Beating a level will unlock the next one in a completely different section of the hub, requiring you to go through the same series of tediously easy jumps to get to each new level.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game's optimization has been criticized for poor performance, with frequent lag and stuttering issues, even on capable systems. However, players noted that switching to the "forced60fps" beta branch can alleviate some of these problems, and the mechanics offer interesting optimizations for speedrunning.
- “This mechanic adds a lot of interesting optimizations into a speedrun.”
- “Performance is pretty bad on a computer that has no issues with any other 2D platformer.”
- “The only downside is that it has some stuttering issues that can be reduced by switching to the 'forced60fps' beta branch.”
- “Performance is terrible and it lags constantly.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a chill yet precise environment that rewards skillful maneuvers, complemented by an excellent soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. The level design is praised for its quality, drawing favorable comparisons to the Rayman series, contributing to a cohesive and enjoyable atmosphere.
- “The atmosphere is pretty similar (though not as wacky); the level design is absolutely up to par with the Rayman games (heck, it might even be better). It's just a great experience all around.”
- “Music is awesome and matches the atmosphere quite accurately.”
- “Awesome mechanics, good atmosphere.”
- “The chill atmosphere for me is fading to high-detail precision maneuvers that penalize you for failing.”
- “The atmosphere is pretty similar (though not as wacky); the level design is absolutely up to par with the Rayman games (heck, it might even be better).”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a mixed emotional response, noting that while the art style may initially seem off-putting, the engaging gameplay and impactful music contribute to a deeper emotional experience. The use of memorable musical themes enhances the emotional weight of key moments in the game.
- “Despite my success elsewhere, they made me feel tongue-tied.”
- “The fantastical music that plays uses Ori’s memorable leitmotif and gives the sequence a serious emotional impact.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game aligns well with its advertising, offering a challenging experience without the frustration often associated with rogue-likes. Players appreciate that the game maintains its style and integrity throughout, suggesting a fair approach to monetization.
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game's controls are fluid and free of bugs, contributing to a seamless gameplay experience with well-designed levels that enhance overall stability.