The Spiral Scouts
- July 12, 2018
- Cantaloupe Kids
- 13h median play time
The Spiral Scouts is a solid puzzle game with a boatload of off-color humor, but some parts may prove too challenging for puzzle game novices.
Get on Steam"The Spiral Scouts" is a puzzle-laden, adventure game where players step into the shoes of a new recruit in a mystical scout troupe. Traverse a vibrant, whimsical world and solve challenges to help the troupe's members. With strategic problem-solving and a charming cast of characters, players will work their way up the ranks of the Spiral Scouts.
Mac OS
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Challenging and engaging puzzles that require critical thinking and sometimes pen and paper.
- Colorful and charming art style reminiscent of Paper Mario, with a catchy soundtrack.
- Humor is crude and raunchy, providing plenty of laughs for those who enjoy juvenile humor.
- Writing can be excessively immature and relies heavily on crude jokes, which may not appeal to everyone.
- Some puzzles can feel vague or frustrating, lacking clear hints or guidance.
- The game may not have enough replay value, as many puzzles are unique and once solved, lose their challenge.
- humor373 mentions
- 97 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The humor in this game is predominantly crude and juvenile, heavily relying on toilet jokes, profanity, and dark themes, which can be polarizing for players. While some find the humor genuinely funny and appreciate its absurdity, others criticize it as repetitive and immature, often feeling forced or mean-spirited. Overall, the humor appeals mainly to those with a taste for lowbrow comedy, making it a hit or miss depending on individual preferences.
“Great dialogue and made me laugh quite a bit.”
“This game is funny as hell.”
“The humor is very crude, but this game has tons of character, great music, and charming artwork.”
“Painfully unfunny is the best I can describe it.”
“Imagine South Park, but not funny.”
“This game is horrifically unfunny, relying on a cutesy art style with swearing to try to be 'funny'.”
- graphics153 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of "The Spiral Scouts" are characterized by a charming, colorful art style reminiscent of paper cut-out aesthetics, often compared to the visuals of "Paper Mario." This cute and vibrant design contrasts sharply with the game's crude humor, creating a unique juxtaposition that many players find engaging. Overall, the visuals are praised for their creativity and appeal, contributing positively to the game's puzzle-solving experience.
“The art style is very interesting, paper pop-up, and unique.”
“The graphics are charming, with lots of color and fun character design.”
“The spiral scouts is a challenging puzzle game with cute graphics and polished mechanics.”
“The graphics are colorful and unique; they are what drew me to the game in the first place.”
“However, this is merely a cover for the actual content of the game, as behind the cute aesthetic and challenging puzzles lies the most crude game I have ever played.”
“The only negative I can muster about the graphics is that objects being 2D can cause some frustration during the puzzles that require you to push and pull things across 2 axes.”
- music90 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received a mixed but generally positive reception, with many players appreciating its catchy and fitting compositions that enhance the overall atmosphere. While some found the music repetitive during challenging gameplay, others praised it for its charm and ability to complement the quirky art style and humor. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a highlight, contributing significantly to the game's enjoyable experience.
“The music is surprisingly good, with high-quality tunes that fit the atmosphere.”
“Funny humor, gorgeous art, and a fun bopping soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack for The Spiral Scouts was composed by Jonathan Wandag, who also did the amazing soundtrack for HuniePop.”
“Plus, a soundtrack that'll make your ears beg for mercy... trust me, it's not a good thing.”
“The music was a little meh overall but tolerable.”
“The music is not out of place, but with hard games and puzzles, it would be nice to have longer songs so you don't go insane over the music because you keep hearing the same short loop.”
- story82 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, characterized by wacky humor and absurdity, but often criticized for being crude and juvenile, with some players finding it mean-spirited. While the narrative serves primarily to connect various puzzles, many reviewers felt it lacked depth and coherence, particularly in the final quests, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite its shortcomings, some players appreciated the quirky characters and the lighthearted tone, suggesting that those seeking a fun puzzle game might overlook the story's flaws.
“The story was simple yet effective and full of amusing characters.”
“The plot is actually decent, and the art style suits the tone and the humor perfectly, and I actually ended up liking it.”
“It's a funny story with some really funny characters in it.”
“As for the story, it's very bare-bones.”
“The story is not really interesting and the final conclusion was really lame.”
“The story was nonsense, the characters shallow and flat, and the humor is raunchy and relaxed.”
- gameplay45 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with some players praising the challenging puzzles and polished mechanics, while others criticize the lack of engaging core mechanics and the overwhelming crude humor that detracts from the experience. Many reviews highlight that while the puzzles can be enjoyable and thought-provoking, the overall execution suffers from poor dialogue, frustrating controls, and a lack of depth, leading to a divided opinion on its overall quality. Despite these issues, some players find the gameplay fun enough to warrant a recommendation, especially at a discounted price.
“The gameplay is excellent; the puzzles are just hard enough.”
“The Spiral Scouts is a challenging puzzle game with cute graphics and polished mechanics.”
“Good concept, gameplay is pretty fun, and the overall art and music direction is really well done.”
“And how do you plan to distract players from the abysmal gameplay with all this puerile humor?”
“The problem here is that there aren't any dedicated puzzle-solving mechanics in this game.”
“The gameplay struggles to stand out from underneath the heavy-handed writing.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is often tedious and frustrating, particularly during the final stages where players must collect numerous items or complete inconvenient puzzles. Many users feel that the repetitive nature of these tasks detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than engaging gameplay. However, some elements, like collecting badges, are noted as enjoyable and visually appealing, providing a slight counterbalance to the grind.
“The only complaint I have is the final part, which was ridiculously tedious and made me look up a guide because I got tired of aimlessly running around, trying to find a total of 30 'items' for the last achievement.”
“There is not an actual solution that needs to be solved; you just have to do a specific thing that often requires tedious amounts of time to grind through.”
“The only con that really comes to mind is how tedious it is to walk around and load screen after screen for some of these puzzles.”
- character development9 mentions
- 78 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The game features charming and colorful character designs that contribute to a vibrant and carefree atmosphere. While the character development is limited, the existing characters are interesting and well-designed, reminiscent of styles like Paper Mario. Overall, the art direction and character aesthetics are praised, enhancing the game's appeal.
“The graphics are charming, with lots of color and fun character design.”
“Environments are vivid, character designs are nicely done, and the game has this overall carefree atmosphere to it as a result.”
“The art style is reminiscent of Paper Mario and the character design is awesome!”
“The art direction really could have gone somewhere, especially the character designs (most of them).”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its vibrant art style and laidback, carefree environments, which many players find appealing. While the music enhances the overall experience, some reviewers feel that the writing detracts from the potential of the atmosphere, making it less suitable for those seeking a strong narrative. Overall, it is praised for its cute character designs and comedic elements, though it may not resonate with everyone.
“I enjoyed the variety of puzzles, the art style, and laidback atmosphere; these were the game's strongest points.”
“The music is surprisingly good, with high-quality tunes that fit the atmosphere.”
“Environments are vivid, character designs are nicely done, and the game has this overall carefree atmosphere to it as a result.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
“Despite the vibrant environments, the overall atmosphere fails to evoke any real emotion or tension.”
“The game attempts to create a unique atmosphere, but it ultimately falls short, leaving players feeling disconnected.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is considered low, with many players noting that once the puzzles are solved, there is little incentive to replay due to a weak story and characters. The short length and lack of varied experiences further diminish its replay value, leading to a consensus that it offers only a singular enjoyable experience.
“The game offers a unique experience with each playthrough, making it enjoyable to revisit.”
“There are multiple paths and choices that encourage players to explore different outcomes.”
“The puzzles are engaging enough that I found myself wanting to replay them for the challenge.”
“One negative is that the game is fairly short with not a whole lot of replay value.”
“Zero replayability due to the nature of the game and weak story and characters.”
“As is often the case with these games, there is little to no replay value due to the uniqueness of the puzzles, so you need to rely on one fun experience.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its heartwarming narrative that intertwines themes of growth and discovery, evoking a range of emotions from joy to sadness. While it features engaging puzzles of varying difficulty, the emotional depth of the experience is highlighted as a standout element, with some moments being particularly poignant.
“This game is amazing; the puzzles are great. Some are easy, some are harder, and some almost made me cry.”
“It's a heartwarming tale of growth and discovery.”
“I probably forgot to look very closely and thought it was a cute, heartwarming puzzle game.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is well-optimized with no significant performance issues, though some users report consistent FPS drops during the white screen level. While most levels maintain a stable 30 FPS, there is a desire for additional features like button mapping and achievements in future updates.
“A well-optimized game.”
“No performance problems or anything like that.”
“Overall love the game and totally worth the wait.”
“An addictive style of gameplay, but the white screen level is not well optimized because the FPS drops constantly. The other levels were okay (they're always locked at 30 FPS). Maybe add some button mapping and achievements in the future. Overall, I love the game and it was totally worth the wait.”
