Spawn
Recently Fran and I have been taking our morning coffee outside on the back porch, and the lighting there is perfect for playing Game Boy Color games on original hardware. I decided on Spawn for my first game, mostly because I'm a fan of the comics and thought it would be fun to experience a story that I'm familiar with. The gameplay - like most Game Boy Color games - is rather simple, which makes it perfect for short play sessions. At it's core, Spawn is a sidescrolling beat 'em up platformer. The story picks up from the very beginning, and takes you through the first several arcs. There are seven chapters in total, each of which is designed after a sestting in the comic universe - Heaven, Hell, and an alleyway in NYC for some examples. Most chapters have you traversing on the ground whilst fighting enemies with your fists and chains, culminating in multiple boss battles with some iconic villains such as Violator. There are a few collectibles to pick up, the most important of which being health - which is represented by a timer similar to the source material. There are two chapters that deviate from this formula: one of which features Spawn on a motorcycle and requires bike attacks and careful steering, and another where Spawn simply falls to Hell. As a cool detail, Spawn's cape grows as you traverse through the chapters. Each boss battle features a voice-acted "cutscene" between Spawn and the villain. It is quite jarring to hear voice acting from the Game Boy Color speakers if I'm honest, but it was definitely a quirky novelty. Overall, there isn't too much here and it isn't exceptionally polished, but it's worth a shot for a Spawn fan. Look forward to more Game Boy Color reviews coming soon!
Play it for the:
- Spawn fanfare
- Goofy beat 'em up gameplay
- Surreal voice acting
Reviewed on 2026-07-02
"The Game Boy Color has become a part of my morning coffee routine with Fran!"
