Psychedelic platformer Spinch looks like a trip

The last time we wrote about Spinch, back in 2018, we were expecting to get our hands on it that summer. That never panned out, but we’ve now got a new release date to look forward to, September 3, and a weird trailer to tide us over until then. 

As the titular “hyper-agile organism,” you’ll need to bounce, dash and shoot your way through a kaleidoscopic world filled with weird and warped enemies determined to stop you from rescuing your babies—babies, I should add, you can collect and weaponise. Yes, you can use your own children as ammunition. 

Jesse Jacobs’ psychedelic art gives the bouncy platformer a singular style, and you can pause the trailer just about anywhere and see something eye-catching and bizarre. It looks a bit like the strangest parts of a Pendleton Ward cartoon transmogrified into a game.

When you first start bounding around a level, don’t expect it to make much sense. To figure out the ins and outs of these colourful death traps, you’ll need to keep replaying sections until you master them. Quick reflexes will help, too. That means I’m outta luck. 

Actually, I might be too quick to give up. There are no lives, and no way to lose the game, and Queen Bee Games says it’s designed for players of all experience levels, not just speedrunners looking for a challenge.

You can grab Spinch via Steam on September 3.