Snake Pass @ EGX 2016

The product of a game-jam and with expertise from one of the developers from the recent Little Big Planet, Seb Liese, Snake Pass is a physics puzzle platformer, to succeed in which you have to slither yourself in the skin of a snake. If you want to move faster, then you have to slither from side to side. If you want to climb, you need to coil around the bamboo posts to reach upwards.

When I played the game for the first time, the demo was pretty much just climbing up posts and collecting eggs. Since then our snake friend, called Noodle, got himself a companion, a humming bird, who can help him solve puzzles and climb up the hard spots by holding up Noodle’s tail. The full game with feature a buddy AI system, and you can already see an example of this in this build as the humming bird lights up when you are next to an objective where the bird helps Noodle proceed to the next level.

In the level that I played at EGX, I had to find and collect three types of crystals to unlock a portal to another world. While searching for crystals, I could also collect shining energy droplets, hidden throughout the level, and some of them quite tricky to find or reach! With some clues and tips from the developer, I managed to find and collect them all, and was – possibly – a little bit too proud of myself.

The controls also feel much better than the last time I played. Slithering and coiling around is easier and more intuitive, and there is now an option for Noodle to grip his supports strongly to get through particularly complicated climbing elements. Checkpoints are also a new addition to the game, just in case you decide to accidentally slither off the edge of the world.

Snake Pass is absolutely charming, full of colour and warmth. It has swayed even the heart of a gamer (me) who traditionally excludes platformers and puzzlers from their gaming menu. There is no confirmation of the date of release for the game, I would highly recommend you keep an eye out for it.