Pinstripe

Pinstripe is an indie game in every sense of the word. The game was developed solo by Thomas Brush over a five year period. What the game lacks in engaging gameplay, it tries to make up for with an interesting premise. The game feels like it has gone through multiple prototype iterations with several single gameplay one offs like a physics puzzle involving pool balls. This is complete conjecture but I feel that Pinstripe used to be an adventure game that was converted into a platformer midway into development. Unfortunately the final product left me feeling like I just played an incomplete video game, riddled with tedious backtracking, poor gameplay and a weak ending.

You play as Ted, a minister aboard a train accompanied by his daughter Bo. The two walk through the train cars only to encounter a mysterious man named Pinstripe. Pinstripe is particularly interested in Bo in an odd creepy fashion. At first Ted doesn't think much of it, but then Pinstripe uses his magic to kidnap Bo and tells Ted that eventually she will be calling him “daddy”. The train suddenly crashes but fortunately Ted remains unharmed. The rest of the game is to figure out where to find Pinstripe and rescue Bo.

I have to admit the game looks very nice. It’s a hand drawn style set in a grim setting similar to the movie “Tim Burton’s The Night Before Christmas”. The art never gets grotesque or gory in a needless disturbing way which I appreciated. However I did not like anything else about the game.

The crux of the gameplay involves walking to the left or right with minor platforming elements. Eventually Ted obtains a slingshot which is used to solve simple puzzles like shooting at a rope hanging from a tree or at a button too far to reach by hand. The game does not feel good to play. The platforming is floaty and lacks momentum. It is also hard to tell what is and is not a platform. The slingshot lacks a draw time so you can spam it as fast as you can press the attack button. There is a heart meter for some reason, even though there are not many enemies to fight. The puzzles are simple and clever, but some are tedious such as the aforementioned pool ball physics puzzle where it is a test of patience rather than skill. Lastly, at a certain point the game blocks your progression and forces you to backtrack to collect 300 frozen tears which is as frustrating as it sounds.

The narrative never really pulled me in. You learn about Ted and the characters in this world, through short dialog sequences and mementos. The writing is depressing and somber without any real meat to it. Most of the characters spout about how their life is [pissing] miserable and how Pinstripe is going to help fix things. The mementos in the meantime do a great job and hint at the game’s mysteries. Sadly, the game loses most of its narrative goodwill with a lackluster boss fight followed by a very abrupt ending.

It is clear that the developer put a lot of time, money and heart into Pinstripe. The art is fantastic and the puzzles are varied. But when I picked up the controller and played Pinstripe, it simply was not very fun to play. The game is not buggy, yet it feels unfinished. The story is severely lacking and needs more content. The gameplay needs fine tuning to make the platforming and combat feel polished. There is a New Game Plus mode which may reveal more narrative tidbits but I simply stopped caring once I reached credits. Pinstripe is NOT a terrible game and I do see a lot of potential if this game were an adventure game instead of a platformer. Unfortunately at its current state, Pinstripe is not a standout indie hit nor should it be worth many people’s time.