When I try to think of games where you play as a snake, other than the classic mobile game, I can’t really think of anything. What’s so amazing about Snake Pass, is that it is the only game I know which is based around the strange and unusual movements of a snake.
You play as a snake called Noodle who, with the help of his hummingbird friend Doodle, must navigate a series of jungle temple-based levels. You have to collect a number of special items along the way so that you can then open a portal and progress to the next level.
Unlike most games, these levels aren’t full of monsters or enemies, instead the challenge comes from the fact that you need to carefully coil Noodle around bamboo poles to climb up ledges, while avoiding spike pits, hot coals or bottomless voids. It’s a simple concept and a fairly short game, but it’s very enjoyable and finally getting Noodle across a particularly difficult area is always very rewarding.
There are several stylistic choices which help make the game even more enjoyable. Firstly, Noodle himself is a very expressionate Snake and it’s funny to watch him react to the different hazards – both in terms of his facial expressions and the noises he makes. Secondly, the world looks very beautiful, which makes the small areas you move around all the more fun to explore. Finally, the soundtrack was created by David Wise of Donkey Kong Country fame and it sounds fantastic – those games all have wonderful soundtracks and this is no exception. In fact, it sounds very Donkey Kong Country-esque, which is a very good thing for me.
Other than being short, another of its downsides is that it can be pretty difficult sometimes. The most annoying thing is when wind is added as a hazard – wind annoys me in every single game it’s in. If you’re aiming for 100%, I think you’ll have a very tough time indeed. But, none of these problems are significant and the game is often very cheap to download. Should you come across it on sale, I highly recommend that you buy it!
Rating: 8.6/10
