Ludography
68/100
Critics2 reviews
The Splatters cover

2012 · SpikySnail Games · Puzzle

The Splatters

Xbox exclusive

In The Splatters you are tasked with unlocking and mastering a variety of stunts and spectacular moves to clear out stages in the most show-stopping way possible. Its splattery liquid physics engine delivers fast-paced game-play that means you will never play the same way twice.

Released
11 April 2012
Platforms
Xbox 360
Genres
Puzzle
Developers
SpikySnail Games
Publishers
Xbox Game Studios
Country
Israel
Age ratings
ESRB E

About

The Splatters is a physics based puzzle video game for the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade. It was developed by Israeli studio SpikySnail Games and published by Microsoft Studios. The Splatters was released on April 11, 2012. A PC port was released in 2013 titled Super Splatters.

The Splatters was originally going to be called "Confetti Carnival", however the name was changed prior to release. The game received positive to mixed reviews from critics.

Media

The Splatters screenshot 1

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The Splatters is a physics based puzzle video game that tasks players with using anthropomorphized globs of goo to clear bombs scattered across each level. When the globs of goo break from contact with an obstacle in the level, they split open, spilling colored goo that causes bombs to detonate once they become coated in the goo. Both the globs of goo and the bombs have different colors, and bombs can only be destroyed by goo from globs of the same color. Players have a small number of irregular launches and other methods of changing the game's physics, called "stunts", to aid in clearing levels.

The game has three modes: Become a Talent, Combo Nation, and Master Shots. Become a Talent includes tutorials and twelve regular levels, and introduces players to the gameplay and stunts. Completing it unlocks the Combo Nation mode, which has 21 levels, and the Master Shots mode, which has 32. Combo Nation tasks players with stringing together long combinations, detonating bombs by launching globs and destroying bombs in rapid succession.

Reception

The Splatters received positive to mixed reviews upon release, and has a Metacritic score of 72. Several reviewers compared the game to Angry Birds. Kyle Hilliard of Game Informer called the mechanics a "cross between Angry Birds and Peggle in all the right ways", while Jason Venter of GameSpot labeled The Splatters as "derivative". Venter praised the ability for players to upload scores and game play videos as a "nice touch that adds a strong competitive element to a single-player game".

Kevin Schaller of Game Revolution praised the accuracy of the game's controls, as well as the game's visuals, which he described as "somewhere between traditional animation and claymation in appearance". Several reviewers, however, had complaints about the game's consistency. Ventner of GameSpot complained that trying the same thing three times would often yield three different results, while Kyle Hilliard of Game Informer lamented how much of a factor luck played in the game. Lorenzo Veloria of GamesRadar felt that the game was too repetitive, and that the Combo Nation felt "less like a puzzle and more like an exercise in trial and error", coming to the conclusion that the game was better suited for phones than the console.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Xbox 36010 April 2012North America

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Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.