183: Despelote (with Moises Taveras)

Tales from the Backlog

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There are more than enough sports games to go around out there, but the culture of sports does not begin and end on the field of play. There is an entire culture surrounding sports, and I've never played a game that tackles that culture quite like Despelote (Julián Cordero and Sebastián Valbuena, 2025) does. It also takes you back to a slice of childhood in a way that no other game can really claim- it's really something else. Tune in for the discussion!

Guest info: Moises Taveras (he/him)

• Check out the Despelote review that Moises wrote https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/despelote-review-miraculous-slice-of-life-soccer-game-pulls-a-hat-trick/
• Check out other writing by Moises on Endless Mode https://www.endlessmode.com/author/moises-taveras
• Follow Moises on BlueSky https://bsky.app/profile/platanoranger.bsky.social

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 Title Card
• 0:16 Intros
• 4:11 Personal Histories with Despelote and Sports
• 15:21 Opening Thoughts About Despelote
• 20:01 Story Setup and Community Around Sports
• 38:14 Childhood and Visual Presentation
• 46:52 Taking You to a Time and Place and Sound Design
• 53:26 Gameplay
• 1:07:11 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
• 1:12:32 Moises' Writing and Where You Can Find It
• 1:15:06 SPOILER WALL and Patron Thank-Yous
• 1:16:27 Spoiler Section

Music and game ambiance used in the episode is credited to Sebastián Valbuena

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Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

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