Unspottable Review – Almost Catches the Eye

Unspottable Review

A comfortable couch party game that is suitable for two to four players, the objective of Unspottable is to blend in with the other AI characters and not draw attention to yourself. It is like a game of hide-and-seek, except everyone is hiding and seeking at the same time. As a short game, the excitement dwindles as you get familiar with each stage, but it is incredibly easy to pick up again the next day. Without the option for online play, Unspottable may not be one’s game of choice during this time, but it is a great choice to play with your household.

Unspottable has a very simple goal, and that is to find and punch your friends before they find and punch you. All of the action happens on the same screen, where clusters of robots are all running around in one playing field and you and your friends are hidden amongst them. Sometimes it can take a while to figure out which character you actually are, and other times you may find yourself right away. Once you know exactly where you’re located, make sure no one else does.

Domo Arigato

There are multiple stages you can choose from, and each one has its own unique twist to the game. In some levels, the robots don’t punch each other, so if you punch someone you better hope nobody noticed. If you suspect that a friend saw you doing so, there is a distraction button that you can press to zoom the screen into a random corner of the stage. During this time, the game still goes on and you can try to run away somewhere else and blend in with the crowd again. This button isn’t always available in every stage, so you will have to find other creative ways to hide if you need to.

Besides having to hit one another, a few levels have the option of allowing you to leave the room as long as you have collected the required items. You could totally get away with not punching anyone by merely walking by the items on the list, and once you fulfill the requirements you can walk out the door. During this time your friends may be collecting items too, and maybe as you’re walking towards the exit someone decides to punch you. The variations that the game brings makes the simple game more interesting, plus it also gives you a chance to win passively or aggressively.

Looking past the minor violent aspect of the game where you punch your friends and other innocent robots, Unspottable is really suitable for everyone of all ages. There are only a few buttons to learn, such as walking, running, punching, and the occasional distracting. By going through a quick tutorial, you will have already learned and mastered the game’s controls and purpose. The tutorial is always optional and can be switched off before the game starts, but if it’s someone’s first time, playing the tutorial with them is a very fast process.

Rinse, Repeat

It’s an easy enough game to understand, but the level of entertainment isn’t high enough to keep playing for more than an hour. There aren’t that many different stages available, and each challenge lasts a couple of minutes. It can quickly get stale because despite the varying styles of the game, the excitement doesn’t last for long. A little repetitive after playing a few rounds, I can see this being a great way to start game night, but not necessarily the reason we would host a game night.

The greatest thing I desire the most from Unspottable is the ability to play online, which is not something currently offered. In today’s world where we may not have the opportunity to play couch games with our friends, anything online is very desirable. There are elements of the game that would be friendly for online play, and it is unfortunate that I cannot share the hecticness of the game with my friends yet.

Although the game is on the short side, it undeniably offers a fun experience for a small group of family and friends. The main strength of Unspottable lies in how inviting it is for everyone to play, and how easy it is to learn and pick up on a lazy day. As it is strictly local multiplayer, the downside to this is the difficulty of playing with anyone outside of your household. This is a tricky thing to comment on during this time of isolation because the impact of not having online play is stronger than before. However, it offers a great solution for a quick game night with the family, which could be something that is much needed today too.

***A Nintendo Switch code was provided by the publisher***