Spiral Splatter is a virtual successor to classic steady-hand skill games like Operation and Buzz Wire (Wire Loop). This certainly isn’t the first time we have seen this in video gaming – the Wii has long had its own motion-controlled virtual versions of Operation and Jenga, and Buzz Wire is very popular with the VR crowd at this point.
Spiral Splatter takes a much simpler approach to the steady-hand gaming, requiring gamers only to direct a white dot along a winding pathway between the start and finish locations using the left analog stick, and using one of the buttons to speed-up the movement in an attempt to get a perfect 3-star rating.
Touching any wall or gate will cause the dot to explode (hence the “Splatter”) and the gamer will immediately be transported back to retry from the last checkpoint with the game clock still running. And when I say “immediately” I mean that before the previous dot’s shrapnel has disappeared, the new dot is in motion. This frenzied pace often leads to chain-reaction splattering as the analog stick hardly has time to re-center before the gamer has inadvertently driven the new dot into the very same wall.
The 100 or so levels start out simple, but soon become incredibly complex, with crisscrossing pathways and odd, unnatural shapes. Along the way, gamers will need to manipulate switch boxes that open gates and trigger various Aperture Science-inspired teleports.
The visuals are simplistic, hearkening back to the days of vector graphics but with thicker lines and a soft neon glow. The sound is little more than dreamy atmospheric tones topped off with soft bleeps and bloops from the on-screen action. There is a noticeable looping of the background music, which is odd considering its relative simplicity. Consider it a musician’s complaint, but developer really could have nailed the loop to be virtually unnoticeable.
Spiral Splatter retails for $5 on the PSVita, and while there is also a PS4 version listed on the PlayStation Store, there is no cross play option so gamers will have to shell out another $5 to play it on the big screen – which I would assume to be the better format, as the PSVita’s small screen and analog nub don’t do Spiral Spaltter any favors. If you’ve ever owned an IBM Thinkpad and tried to use that “Trackpoint” nub to do pretty much anything, you already know the pain of Spiral Spatter on the PSVita. I would have much rather reviewed this game on the PS4.
That being said, Spiral Splatter is an average game with a unique look and feel, but it doesn’t really stray too far out of the box. Using the analog controls proves to be very difficult, especially on the PSVita – I can only assume the game would be better overall on the PS4 console. At $5, Spiral Splatter’s price might seem steep for a game that can be downloaded for free on Android and iOS – however, those games feature in-app purchases of $5 to remove advertisements, so it looks to be a wash. That being said, I would definitely recommend taking the opportunity to try one of those free versions before going all-in on the Vita or the PS4.
