Today we are going to take a look at Spitkiss. This mobile platformer promises to bring interesting platforming, colorful graphics and a cute love story to your mobile phones and PCs. Whether it can deliver on this promise is the question we will try to answer today. Spitkiss is available on Steam for 2 dollars and 99 cents, on the Google Play Store for 1 dollar and 99 cents and on the iTunes App Store for 1 dollar and 99 cents or your regional equivalents.

With this review you have a choice of either reading it here in text form or listening to the video review. They both contain the same content.

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Video Review

Text Review

I rarely review mobile games. And there is a very simple reason why. I don’t play that many mobile games. And the case with Spitkiss is that I first saw it on the Steam store. But then I noticed the game has several awards that were given for its mobile version. So I decided to pick it up and give it try.

Gameplay

And as we do often, we will start the review by what I always find to be the most important thing when considering whether you guys should buy a game. How exactly it plays.

Spitkiss takes a very interesting approach to platforming on a cell phone. It works with the fact that phones are touch devices rather than trying to design its mechanics in a more traditional way and then finding a way to make it work. So, instead of traditional controls, like movement, jump, duck etc. etc. you get only a single “button” design scheme.

So.. how exactly does this control scheme work. Well, just take a look under the main screen. There you have a little thing that looks almost like a fingerprint scanner. That’s where you put your finger and you draw in the direction you want to go in. And from there it’s just rinse and repeat. And I can’t stress enough how well this control scheme is designed.

Seriously, someone who really understands how we use touch devices really worked hard on how to make this work. And yes, obviously, similar control schemes exist on mobile devices for literally years. Especially in casual games. But when it comes to games that try to be a bit more serious, their authors often go for a more traditional scheme that works well on PC or consoles but makes playing on mobile phones just annoying.

Okay, now that I have given sufficient praise to the control scheme of Spitkiis, let's take about some of the things apart from the controls that you will encounter while playing.

When you hear a platformer, you might think that you will be controlling your character, trying to get him from the start of the levels to the end of the levels. But that is not the case here in Spitkiss. Here your character just stands there and he is trying to get a kiss (that is spat) to the other character. Yes, I know, it sounds weird. But actually it's a good mechanic. And as you might expect, as you progress through the levels getting that kiss to the other character is going to get harder and harder.

At the start it’s just a simple matter of aiming the kiss properly, making the game feel almost like a super easy version of Angry Birds. But over time you need to start utilizing some of the other mechanics Spitkiss has to offer, like the fact that your kisses have the ability to stick to walls, special kinds of walls that work like springs or even colored gateways that you first need to unlock to be able to progress further and other cool mechanics.

Thus in terms of gameplay, I have to say that Spitkiss is one of the best mobile platformers I have ever had the pleasure to play. Seriously, this game has some great gameplay and I hope future mobile platformers take a look at it and instead of trying to adapt traditional mechanics realize that they are working with a totally different kind of device that requires a very different approach to controls, mechanics and even level design.

Story

Secondly, there is the story. And this game actually focuses on the story aspect quite heavily. But… well, it will also be the most controversial point for anyone considering buying their game – especially when they want to buy the game for their young child.

I’m sure that whatever I say here there will be people who will not like what I say. But I’m gonna try not to put my personal politics into the review. So please be civil.

The game will be considered a bad influence by people with more … conservative or traditional views. And on the other hand, the game will be praised with people with very ... liberal or even progressive views.

The game’s story is a love story and it starts very cutely. It’s about a character who falls in love with another character and they are trying to communicate their love for each other. But then another character comes into the picture and suddenly the main character is being split between two different possible partners and just doesn’t know which one to choose.

So far sounds pretty standard, but the point of contention will be the end of the story. The main character doesn’t choose one of her suitors but instead begins a romantic relationship with both of them at the same time.

I don’t think it requires that much explaining to understand why people with more traditionalist views will not like the ending and why people with progressive views will praise it. Especially since the game is very obviously targeted at younger children – I’d say ages 11 – 17.

Now, let's move away from “political” part of the story and actually take a look at the method of storytelling. Because no matter whether you like the ending, the story is actually depicted in a way that again shows the authors of the game understand today's modern children.

There two primary ways the story is told. Through little comic books, that are used to convey the larger parts of the story. And I really like the fact that the authors decided to forgo using any words and tell the story purely through visual imagery as this opens the game even to children from countries that don’t have English as their mother tongue. Good decision there!

The second tool used to tell the story – or parts of it – are emojis that the characters “say” whenever a level is finished. And this is the part I was talking about when I said that the game’s authors really understand today’s youth. If there is an option to use emojis instead of using words, kids nowadays will do it and Spitkiss uses this to its benefit.

Graphics

Next up, we have to talk about the graphics. And the graphics are just awesome. I realize that this will be highly subjective but if you take into consideration the age and gender for which this game is made for you will agree that the graphics are quite fitting.

Honestly, I have no idea what this style is called but I will say, when I asked my students in school (grades 3 – 5) they said they liked it. And because they are exactly the age bracket this game is aiming for with its audience, I’m gonna give them a good grade.

Music

Lastly, let's talk about the music and sounds of Spitkiss. And they are there. They are good. But honestly, because I’m reviewing the game mobile version I don’t think the targeted audience will care about the music that much as Spitkiss will likely be played in the very loud environment of a school class. But the sounds are decent nonetheless.

Performance

In terms of performance, the game worked flawlessly for me. No hickups. No crashes. But that should be expected from a mobile game that you have to pay for.

Conclusion

So… in conclusion: Spitkiss is a great platformer. The controls are created specifically for mobile phones and it really allows for some fun, quick and creative gameplay that we rarely get to see on mobile phones. I wish more developers would take a look at what exactly do touch devices have to offer and used it to strengthen their games rather than trying to work around it. The only point where potentially I could say this game isn’t meant for you or your children is the story. But here it’s totally up to your own personal views to decide whether you think the story is appropriate. But on purely the game quality – Spitkiss gets a great recommendation from me.

So, that’s it for today guys. Hope you like the review and if you did, please consider upvoting the review and following my blog. And comment, if you have something you would like to add. See you guys later with more gaming content.

Disclaimer: All the images have been taken directly from the Steam game page