Snake Pass Review

[Harvey]

So I've completed the game and here's my review of Snake Pass

Story: 2/5

There is not much happening in this game's main story as the main objective is to simply restore the gatekeepers and Noodle and Doodle have to restore them all. Unlike most platform games, there's no sense of things that might get in your way or any characters that want to stop you from your progress. It is overall forgettable even for a platform game.

Graphics: 4/5

Like every platform game out there, visuals are breath taking and are vibrant as ever. Only downside here is that graphics can somewhat cause hiccups here and there affecting the frame rate of the game.

Audio: 3/5

On one side, David Wise the composer of this game has done some good songs and these songs are pretty good.

The downside is that there aren't that many songs around here as there is only one type of song played in each and every world and even if its slightly different, it is nonetheless underwhelming to say the least.

Gameplay: 3/5

Now comes the main thing. The game is a puzzle platformer where you guide Noodle, a vegetarian snake to gather the gatekeeper keys inorder to rebuild homes that were somehow destroyed earlier..

But here's where the game is good. Instead of having jumping and moving like any platform character, you control Noodle like as if you are moving an actual snake. For example, to move Noodle, simply moving forward will make him go slower unlike other platform games. Instead, Noodle has to move left and right constantly for basic locomotion.

Instead of having floating platforms to go from place to place, Poles are placed that allow Noodle to cling at them and use them to climb to reach higher places and solve puzzles.

The main objective of the game is to collect three keystone keys and reach the goal.  You are free to collect the keystones in anyorder you wish as the game is non-linear meaning for the most part, you don't need to go on a straighforward path to complete levels which is a good thing as the game encourages you to explore.

The side quest here is to collect all the blue spheres and gatekeeper coins both of which are challenging to not only find but to collect them as well. 

Some of these collectibles can be fairly frustrating because if Noodle dies, those collectibles received earlier have to be collected again. However, this issue is minor since majority of the checkpoints are in such short distances and it is also possible to reuse the same checkpoints over again so it most likely will not be a more frustrating experience interms of 100% the overall game.

But there are instead three flaws of this game that unfortunately stop it from being a platform gem that this game wishes it can be.

The first flaw this game has is its questionable physics. Controls can easily be dealt with since the control scheme is customisable and its quite easy to get used to. However, that does not mean that the game's physics is polished. 

Majority of the times, the game's physics will not go in your favor or doesn't always function as it should. As a result, it is quite unpolished so much so that it is possible to go to areas that should not be possible to do so.

So say that noodle is clinging at the tip of the pole, if you move forward, Noodle should be able to do so with no issues but the physics doesn't allow you to do this at times and as a result, certain luck is needed to get some things done otherwise, you'll be in a mess. This is what makes the main game frustrating a good chunk of the time. It also doesn't help that there's a lack of tutorial or guiandance that this game has which means all the more of trial and error attempts until solved.

The second issue is worlds being rather empty. For a vibrant game like this and especially on a platform game, having some enemies or atleast other things are needed to make the world less empty and help make levels overall enjoyable. In this game's case, levels are quite bland. Nothing is out to get you, you don't face anything different and because of this, there are not that many obstacles other than bottomless pits and spikes & hot coals. You don't even have to worry about drowning when swimming.

Some can argue that having said enemies can make this game less relaxing and more stressful. But such games like Yoshi's Wolly World have proven this and have easy to beat enemies that don't make the game necessarily frustrating.

And lastly, unlike majority of platform games, there is lack of variety in terms of levels. There are a total of 15 levels and there are only four worlds. Forest, Water, Fire and Wind. Now there can be an argument that for 15 levels, these worlds are fairly done but the issue is still apparent since each level of said worlds don't offer anything new nor does each level have new obstacles within each world. If a new thing is shown, its only done once and you don't see it again in other levels. 

Replay value: 2/5

Replayability is also another flaw in this game. The only things to do in this game is 100% all the levels and playing the time trials. The rewards are also underwhelming as well offering little to no satisfaction.

Overall: 3/5

So overall Its still a good game but it is by no means not great. Perhaps a future DLC might help make the game better but as of now, its best to wait for a price drop for this game.

 

Edited June 5, 2017 by Harvey

[Zera]

Nice review. I didn't learn much since I already saw Arlo's review, but whatever. If I had a Switch, I'd play this game.

15 hours ago, Harvey said:

Story: 2/5

If you're gonna unironically rate the story in a platform game, may I suggest the console Klonoa games? They have some of the best stories of platform games I've played (and they're fun).

15 hours ago, Harvey said:

second issue is worlds being rather empty. For a vibrant game like this and especially on a platform game, having some enemies or atleast other things are needed to make the world less empty and help make levels overall enjoyable. In this game's case, levels are quite bland. Nothing is out to get you, you don't face anything different and because of this, there are not that many obstacles other than bottomless pits and spikes & hot coals. You don't even have to worry about drowning when swimming.

Some can argue that having said enemies can make this game less relaxing and more stressful. But such games like Yoshi's Wolly World have proven this and have easy to beat enemies that don't make the game necessarily frustrating.

If Snake Pass is supposed to have a relaxing aesthetic, I think non-enemy interactibles would suite the game better. Like, flowers that you run over, and they bloom, and coins pop out. They do that in Mario...

[Harvey]

3 hours ago, Zera said:

If you're gonna unironically rate the story in a platform game, may I suggest the console Klonoa games? They have some of the best stories of platform games I've played (and they're fun).

The issue in this game is that you don't see cutscenes that can help make the main characters stand out. I don't mind weak stories as long as the characters can stand out but this game doesn't do any of that. I should have mentioned this in the review.

3 hours ago, Zera said:

If Snake Pass is supposed to have a relaxing aesthetic, I think non-enemy interactibles would suite the game better. Like, flowers that you run over, and they bloom, and coins pop out. They do that in Mario...

Mario games usually have enemies that aren't a threat so most of the time, you are a bit relaxed. Even Yoshi's wolly world is a relaxing game despite having enemies.