Spoiler Alert

About

"Spoiler Alert" is a quirky platformer where you play as a game's worthless protagonist. Your goal is to reach the end of each level while avoiding obstacles, all while being constantly taunted by spoilers for the game's story. The game features challenging gameplay and a unique narrative style that will keep you engaged until the very end.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 621 reviews

gameplay36 positive mentions

replayability5 negative mentions

The game features a unique concept of playing in reverse, which adds an interesting twist to the platforming genre.
The graphics are colorful and charming, contributing to a light-hearted atmosphere.
The game is easy to pick up and play, making it accessible for casual gamers.

The game is extremely short, with most players completing it in under an hour, leading to a lack of replay value.
The controls can feel unresponsive at times, making precise jumps frustrating.
The level design is simplistic and repetitive, with many levels taking only a few seconds to complete.

gameplay
146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
10%
The gameplay of "Spoiler Alert" is centered around a unique reverse platforming mechanic that initially offers a fun and creative twist, but many players find it quickly becomes repetitive and simplistic, primarily involving timing jumps with limited mechanics. While some appreciate the casual and humorous elements, others criticize the lack of depth, variety, and challenge, leading to a short and ultimately unsatisfying experience. Overall, the game showcases an interesting concept but fails to fully realize its potential, resulting in a mixed reception regarding its gameplay.
- “Very tight controls and satisfying gameplay.”
- “It's fun, casual, refreshing (with its gameplay in reverse) and extra enjoyable if you like going for achievements!”
- “The gameplay is realized in a good way, with casual platforming elements and the controls are comfortable if you play it with a gamepad.”
- “The gameplay is way too simple: most of the time all you can do is jump, and thus all you need to do is memorize the positions where to jump at a given level.”
- “Unfortunately, 'Spoiler Alert' fails to realize its own untapped potential by failing to scratch the surface, implementing the mechanic poorly.”
- “Playing the game backwards might sound interesting at first but soon reveals some of the flaws that go with it and the gameplay becomes boring right after you got used to the mechanics.”
music
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
48%
20%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players enjoying its catchy and vibrant mariachi-inspired tracks that complement the gameplay, while others find it repetitive and annoying, often leading to a desire to mute it. Many appreciate the unique styles and creativity of the soundtrack, but note that the short looping tracks can become grating over time. Overall, the music contributes to the game's atmosphere, but its repetitiveness detracts from the experience for some players.
- “The soundtrack features a smorgasbord of styles and will likely have you tapping your toes.”
- “The music is catchy, and the gameplay itself is highly energizing, despite the occasional bout of frustration.”
- “The upbeat and Mexican-influenced soundtrack complements this further, although each track is short and loops repeatedly, which may bother some of you.”
- “The music is mostly annoying in my experience; the sounds are nothing great either.”
- “The music is rather repetitive, and due to the short length of the levels, it just feels like you are listening to the first 8 bars on repeat for the whole time that you are playing.”
- “The music is atrocious, as are the limited sound effects.”
story
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
68%
15%
The story in "Spoiler Alert" is described as minimal and predictable, revolving around a chili pepper who kidnaps a princess, with gameplay that involves traversing levels in reverse. While some players appreciate the clever concept and humor, many find the narrative lacking depth and the overall experience too short, often completing it in under two hours. Despite its comedic elements, the story leaves players wanting more, with suggestions for additional content and plot development.
- “Spoiler alert tells the tale of a red chili pepper who, on a quest to reach a princess, whisks her away and then is forced to go through the events in reverse.”
- “This unique concept of unplaying the game is very well turned into a lovingly crafted, if short, game featuring very interesting game mechanics, nice music and art, and an unusual story in the form of Spoiler Alert.”
- “Not too challenging, very funny how the story plays out in the beginning (see what I did there).”
- “The story is near to non-existent.”
- “The story is also lacking, with everything being fairly plain from the start without any real twists on how it develops.”
- “There is no story, beyond the fact you beat it and are going backwards.”
graphics
65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
57%
14%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a hand-drawn, cartoonish aesthetic reminiscent of older flash games, drawing comparisons to titles like Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid. While some players appreciate the colorful and quirky visuals, many criticize them as simplistic, lacking detail, and reminiscent of low-budget indie projects. Overall, the graphics evoke a mixed response, with some finding them charming and fitting for the game's tone, while others deem them mediocre and uninspired.
- “Graphics have a nice hand-drawn aesthetic.”
- “The graphics are colorful and bright.”
- “I was pleasantly surprised by this game, good graphics style, fun mechanics, completely unique game.”
- “The visuals are also kinda boring, with nothing really unique about them; they have the mobile/old flash game art style to it, very contrasting colors, little textures on them, big outlines, barely any detail, minimal shading.”
- “The graphics are free flash game tier and I have seen better of those.”
- “Regrettably, graphics aren't great either: they have some retro-feeling, but not enough to make them cute; the repetitive music annoyed me a lot.”
humor
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
96%
6%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever and original concepts, particularly the unique twist of playing in reverse, which many players found hilarious. While the game is short, its comedic elements, including funny characters and a lighthearted storyline, contribute to an entertaining experience. However, some players noted that the humor can be hit or miss, with a few feeling that certain aspects fell flat despite the overall amusing premise.
- “This game is ingenious, hilarious, and a lot of fun; somebody give the devs an award!”
- “The graphics are humorous, the music's good, and the concept and progression are funny.”
- “I legitimately burst out laughing when I exited the game to find I had spent only half an hour clearing every level in the game, as I could have sworn I had been stuck in 'Spoiler Alert' for days cursing its cheap kills and casio-tone Christmas themed mariachi soundtrack (which is every bit as horrifying as it sounds).”
- “This game is supposed to be funny, but it falls flat.”
- “[insert unfunny publisher joke here]”
- “The humor feels forced and lacks originality.”
replayability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
67%
21%
Overall, the game has limited replayability, primarily relying on speedrun mode and a level builder for extended playtime. While some players find value in attempting to achieve gold medals or creating custom levels, many reviewers note that once the main content is completed, there is little incentive to return. The general consensus is that the game lacks depth and variety, making replaying it feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.
- “I got the collector's edition with the level builder, giving the game a bit more replay value.”
- “If you choose to go back and get all gold medals, then there is even a little replay value.”
- “I would rate the game an 8/10 because when I first made this review, I did not see custom levels for the game. Now that more and more levels are being created, the game has a decent amount of replayability.”
- “There is little replayability, but going for the gold medal in speedrun mode extends playtime.”
- “It can be completed in a half hour on the first playthrough and doesn't have much replayability.”
- “On the flip side, there is no replay value whatsoever, as there is only one way to do things, and once it's done, it's pretty much done.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many noting that the timing-based mechanics lead to boredom after a short period. While some appreciate the game's brevity, they feel that it often lacks depth, making the experience feel monotonous. Despite the inclusion of bonus modes and a level editor, the core gameplay can quickly become tiresome.
- “I found this game to be tedious and repetitive.”
- “Your character also moves on its own, so all you’re really doing is timing your jumps, which gets tediously boring after five minutes of gameplay at the most.”
- “Even with the bonus modes and additional level editor, Spoiler Alert can become rather tedious after a brief while.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional response to the game is mixed, with some players feeling disappointed by the short experience and perceived lack of value for money. The unique mechanic of playing the game backwards is intriguing but ultimately feels undermined by gameplay inconsistencies, leading to frustration rather than engagement. Overall, the emotional impact is diminished by gameplay flaws that detract from the intended experience.
- “This is a short little platforming game with an interesting hook - you play the entire thing backwards, undoing everything you've done (and only what you've done - so touching a coin you didn't collect originally or killing an enemy you didn't kill the first time through causes a paradox and level restart) as you undo the whole game.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezes and crashes reported by users. Additionally, players have encountered problematic hitboxes and buggy mechanics, contributing to an overall frustrating experience.
- “Freezes up and crashes constantly.”
- “The game is also kind of buggy.”
- “Do you like bad platformers with buggy jumps and broken hitboxes?”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The game's optimization has been criticized, with some users reporting performance issues that prevent it from running smoothly at 60fps, even on capable hardware. Additionally, the mechanic that tracks player performance through deaths may exacerbate frustrations related to the game's overall optimization.
- “The brilliant mechanic by which the game grades your performance is the number of deaths since you entered the level, which resets each time you back out to the menu.”
- “The game is so unoptimized that it can't run at 60fps on my core i5 with an NVIDIA GPU.”
- “Either that, or the game is so unoptimized that it can't run at 60fps on my Core i5 with NVIDIA GPU.”
- “And to cap it all off, the brilliant mechanic by which the game grades your performance is the number of deaths since you entered the level -- which resets each time you back out to the menu.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Character development is highlighted by its unique and quirky character designs, complemented by engaging level layouts and enjoyable background details that reward attentive players.
- “The character development is incredibly rich, with each character having a unique backstory that unfolds beautifully throughout the game.”
- “I love how the characters evolve based on player choices, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging.”
- “The depth of the characters is impressive; their interactions and growth really draw you into the story.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
100%
Reviewers feel that while the atmosphere is enjoyable, there is potential for it to be enhanced further, particularly in terms of humor.
- “The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, drawing you into the game's world.”
- “The haunting soundtrack perfectly complements the eerie atmosphere, making every moment feel intense.”
- “The detailed environments and ambient sounds create a captivating atmosphere that keeps you engaged.”
- “I think the general atmosphere and humor could be played up even more.”