Freddy Spaghetti [Xbox]
Freddy Spaghetti, from aptly named developers Playful Pasta, is a wacky, physics-based adventure game where you take on the role of Freddy: a conscious, living noodle. Dr. P. Starr - who brought Freddy to life after some experimentation - narrates each level, explaining what to do or where to go, and giving a little bit more context to the strange things that are happening. The levels consist mostly of fairly simple tasks such as get from point A to point B, but this becomes increasingly difficult as you progress.
If you’ve ever played games like I Am Bread, Octodad, or even the likes of Surgeon Simulator - you’ll know the hilarity (and rage) that comes with floppy physics-based games. Everything is explained to you, you move either end of your noodle-bod with the bumpers (and you can hold in to charge for some extra boost) and you just alternate between them to “walk”. You can jump to some degree, and you can flip super fast to get some speed going. Seems easy enough, but the rope-physics are out to get you. You’ll successfully build up a rhythm and manage to go faster, dodging out of the way of police officers or drones, and then all of a sudden you’re all jacked up and you come to an abrupt halt. Getting used to the controls, and getting a feel for that rhythm is part of the fun of Freddy Spaghetti, and it makes it feel all the more satisfying when you make it to the end of a particularly challenging level.
The art style is quite simple, using - at least partially - the same assets as games such as Hole.io (and as mentioned recently, Doug Hates His Job), as the buildings and everything in general outside from the bus shelters to the yellow bollards and the fencing around green areas like parks are exactly the same, only we’re seeing them from a different perspective (shown in the image below). They are utilised much better than some of the other instances I’ve seen them, giving the world more life and detail. The soundtrack to Freddy Spaghetti is well varied, with different tracks depending on the level setting (and the context!). The menu music has a very daytime-TV vibe to it, whereas the music within each level is perfectly suited, with some jolly tunes, bassy tracks and horror themes depending on the story behind each level, adding to the experience.
The narration is brilliant too, and really adds to the comedic flair of a game that is already so wacky from the get-go. Dr. P Starr will recount events that have led to this, and will try to beckon Freddy to him, apologising for any wrongdoings he has done to him. On one particular level Freddy’s name is called out repeatedly and throughout all of this it kept its humour, with varying shouts and panicked calling-out, preventing it from feeling looping and repetitive.
As mentioned previously, levels are fairly straightforward throughout, and whilst the challenge comes from being able to navigate from one point to another as a wobbly, unpredictable piece of spaghetti, additional hazards are sometimes included to up the ante. A couple of levels had us scratching our heads on how to progress as it wasn’t immediately obvious, but for the most part the narration will keep you on the right track.
Available for £4.99 on the Xbox Store, Freddy Spaghetti will offer you a couple of hours of fun, if a little infuriating, content that will keep you entertained. If you enjoy this type of game, then I’d recommend you check it out as I had a great time with it, and found it to be ever so slightly more palatable (heh) than I Am Bread for ease of control. Overall, it’s a great game to jump into to pass the time, and whilst there’s not a lot to get you back for further playtime after you’ve completed all the levels - as well as the few bonus levels you’ll unlock - it still offered up a decent time.
In the end, we decided to give Freddy Spaghetti the Collecting Asylum rating of 7.5/10.
Have you played Freddy Spaghetti yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!
- V x
Thank you to Ratalaika for the Freddy Spaghetti Xbox review code!
