I really wasn’t sure what to make of Freddy Spaghetti at first. You play as the titular character, who is literally a piece of spaghetti called Freddy. What you get here is very much what it says on the tin (and you get spaghetti in a tin, so that’s a great analogy).
Created by the “brilliant” Dr P. Starr (not sure his work will be the most beneficial to humanity), Freddy is a conscious piece of spaghetti who embarks upon an adventure which is, well, mixed in tone.
What do I mean by this? Well, it starts off very innocent and sees Freddy exploring his brave new world. However, before long Freddy decides to increase his size and stomp around town, causing destruction like you would see in a B-movie creature feature. All the while, namely at the start of each level, the good doctor narrates the story, setting the scene and helping us get to know Freddy. This then transitions into the doc giving clues at the start of each level which hint at how to complete them.
The levels, of which there are 50, are split into groups of ten, each set in a different world. The action starts off very easy as you get to grips with how to control Freddy, before gradually getting more and more challenging. Each is very short, and they are a real mixed bag.
Some are simply repetitive, whilst others bring something new to the table (such as scaring off onlookers or destroying a lovely dinner set in rage), and this is where the game is at its ridiculous best. That’s because the spectacle of a huge piece of spaghetti roaming around town undertaking an orgy of destruction is genuinely hilarious. There are a fair few moments that will raise a smile on your face at the very least.
In terms of controlling Freddy, it’s simple to get to grips with but more challenging to master. The triggers and bumpers on each side of your controller will manipulate each corresponding end of Freddy. For example, the left bumper or trigger can be used to move the left end of Freddy, whilst using the left thumbstick to aim in the direction you want him to go. If you hold these down, you can charge a jump meter to move quicker and clear gaps. If you hold both bumpers or triggers down at the same time, and release them, Freddy will launch himself into the air followed by a “whoopeee”, which is incredibly cute for reasons unknown.
Overall, the controls work pretty well. You can gather some proper momentum if you time moving each end of Freddy well, which sees him break into a sort of spaghetti sprint, if such a thing exists. However, as the levels get more difficult they expose the inaccuracies of the controls when trying to navigate a cramped space. For example, there is a level where you have to pass through a couple of metal detector gates (although they seem to detect spaghetti too), which took me quite a few attempts to complete. Some blind luck helped in the end, however I struggled to control Freddy accurately enough to pass through the gate undetected before the sensors came back on. One end of him ended up getting wrapped around the gate, or he would coil up – meaning it was too late to pass through without being detected. Controlling Freddy works best in the levels where he has space to operate: these include rampaging through some local gardens destroying every violet in sight, or jumping onto the tops of cars to set off their alarms. Again, it’s ridiculous but fun.
You’ll unlock some bonus levels as you play the main story, and these see Freddy use a computer keyboard to search for different foods, as well as slinking over piano keys to play different tunes. He’s a talented little soul; sometimes scarily so.
Visually and Freddy Spaghetti looks pretty average in all honesty, but surprisingly the game is optimised for Series X|S and therefore runs at a minimum of 60fps. I have however noticed that the street scenes look extremely similar to those in Drunken Fist, which sent a bit of a shiver down my spine.
Although short and simple, Freddy Spaghetti on Xbox is also a bit mad, making it fun to play for the most part. The levels can be hit and miss, however you can’t help wanting to stick with Freddy to see his adventure through to the end.
