Despelote ought to feel idiosyncratic. Set in Ecuador during the country's historic World Cup qualifying campaign in 2001, its protagonist is a half-remembered version of the game's lead developer. Yet there's nothing peculiar about it, either. Despelote is a game so authentic and personal that it hits upon universal truths.
A frustrating thing I frequently find myself thinking about games is that they very rarely try to be more than what they are, at least when it comes to AAA ones (or any kind of game that has enough money for a full blown ad campaign). They're just so often… games. No interest or desire to expand the medium. Luckily, there are people doing the work to rethink what games are, and today we now have Despelote, a "semi-autobiographical", almost documentary-like game about playing football in Ecuador in 2001.
