[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e are taking an in-depth look at what appears to be the most mind bending and most beautiful puzzle game released on Nintendo Switch so far. Snake Pass is set in a 3D world that only on the Nintendo Switch you can take on the go, and play whenever, and wherever you want.

Let’s Start Slithering

Slither, Curl, Climb – rinse and repeat!

Snake Pass is a beautifully designed level based puzzle game. You slither, curl, climb and sometimes you will fall – but the goal is to make your way through the stunningly beautiful crafted levels. You will pick up all sorts of collectables along the way to master each of the 15 levels. The first time you start up the game you will be greeted by a cheerful, quirky little humming bird. This bird will be there when help is needed, not only will it lead the way, but it can also provide a lift. Pressing Y on the joy-con controller will call the humming bird to lift your tail. This is especially helpful when you are about to slip, or loose grip. The bird never leaves sight, and makes the entire experience a little less lonely and more cheerful as you slither through the levels.

Oh boy, does it look pretty!

One of the most gorgeous, and best looking game on the Nintendo Switch to date. 

One thing you will notice right at the start, is the gorgeous look of the game. The 3D world truly comes to life on the crisp and vibrant screen of the Nintendo Switch. If you climb high enough you can get a good look of the entire level, spotting the collectables and planning where to go next. Trees, grass, water and everything else is beautifully animated. You will find butterflies flying around, waterfalls dripping down, and trees swinging with the wind. It’s an absolute pleasure to explore each of the levels, and the harmony and lovely attention to detail invites the player to explore the levels even more.

Exploration

Go up high or down low. Caves and hidden spots are waiting to be explored.

Talking about exploration in Snake Pass. You may chose to run through the levels, as the main goal is to find the lost keystones to open the gate in order to advance to the next level. But if you wish – you can take the experience a lot farther than that. Every level has hidden caves, secret spots and more to explore. The exploration is usually being awarded by finding gold coins and more. Each level has 3 keystones, 5 gold coins, and 20 blue bubbles to collect. While the keystones are necessary to advance, the other 2 kinds are optional. Finding the gold coins becomes especially more challenging as you advance. Locating the coins may take you some time, but reaching them can be an even more challenging experience.

Refreshingly Challenging

The Game reinvents itself as you advance. 

 

Most games become more difficult as you advance. This is also the case in Snake Pass, each level brings new challenges. You will have to climb higher to reach coins that become more and more difficult to get to. But beyond just making things harder, Snake Pass succeeds in finding new ways to challenge the player with each new worlds to explore. Not only is it becoming more difficult making the game more fun, but it also adds new mechanics to keep players entertained. For example underwater exploration, or pulling switches and levers all add to keeping the gameplay fresh and preventing it from becoming scale. It almost feels like as if the game reinvents itself with every new world you enter. This is especially necessary to prevent the game from becoming stale and repetitive. Snake pass never felt like you had to do the same task over and over again, but instead challenged us to discover new ways to master each and every level.

Even though Snake Pass is a rather short game, given that it only costs $19.99 on the Nintendo Switch eShop – it provides hours of entertainment. And while the main game can be finished in a matter of hours, we believe the replay-ability of the game is high. We found ourselves returning to the same level multiple times in order co collect everything. Exploring little caves and hidden areas make it a lot of fun to revisit a level and slither around to discover every square inch.

Final thought

Play again, and again…

Snake Pass is a refreshing puzzle game. Sumo Digital has successful made use of a retro inspired gameplay, and put a modern and fun twist on it. The game looks absolutely stunning in handheld as well as in TV mode. The animations are pretty, and the level design is carefully crafted with a lot of attention to detail. The 15 Levels within 4 different world settings are amusing, but the game feels short lived. Especially when you don’t go out of your way to collect every coin, it feels the game can be completed within a matter of hours. We were left wanting a few more levels, perhaps Sumo Digital can release a DLC pack with more levels if the demand is there.

Snake Pass is currently available on Nintendo Switch, Steam, Playstation4 and Xbox One

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Thanks to Sumo Digital for kindly providing the review copy of Snake Pass. Review based on the Nintendo Switch Version of the game.