It is a species known for its bright colors, but also for possessing one of the most dangerous poisons. However, between loading screens we are clarified that ours is vegetarian, has the peculiar name of Noodles (like food), and is the most friendly thing that you can get in your face.
Of course, like false corals, everything cheats. Our creature is adorable, but if you think you are facing an easy game, go preparing yourself. At its core, the new Sumo Digital is a challenge. When I went through the first levels, I thought that this was goin
g to last a couple of hours. I took almost double. And that’s not all. Despite its calm nature, hybrid platforms and puzzles, at the end of my game I checked that I had marked thumbs, the result of the tension that causes you to roll on stage elements, fear of falling and dying … having to repeat your Serpent feat from the last control point.
This feeling you live more than once, the result of a gameplay loaded with peaks of difficulty. It is not well compensated, it is true, but there is something that frees you from frustration: that Noodles really looks like a snake. I do not k
now if anyone has ever created a simulator of these reptiles, but what I’m sure of is that nobody has ever managed, with so much accuracy, to recreate the movement of a snake through an analog controller. Do you think it’s silly? Well, here is something fundamental.
Platforms and serpentine puzzles
To move faster with Noodles you have to meander. You can raise your head to ascend vertically. Also roll up on wooden sticks to propel you. Everything feels natural. The control is the great pillar of Snake Pass , above the design of levels and everyt
Overcoming some levels is a challenge, but it is even more so if you try to collect all collectibles. Completing the game one hundred percent is not easy.
Now comes the not so good, and is that in the end the levels are limited to collect three diamonds, place them on an altar and pass level.
No enemies: only plataformeo and serpent puzleo . In the sobriety of the title is one of his greatest faults, although he can not be denied being true to his calm nature until the last consequences. It is a game of sitting and taking it easy. In fact, you will fail when you get nervous and try to solve situations by fast track.
Snake Pass is a game whose 15 levels do not last long (3-4 hours at the most), but you want that space to dedicate it fully, without haste. The music of David Wise , ex Rare, goes in that direction: that of generating a relaxed atmosphere and keeping you in control until you complete the adventure. Good vibes and calm reign, until Noodles falls to the void, to the lava, to a sea of spikes … and screams of despair.
The freshness of the game is undeniable
The control may have its drawbacks, the camera becomes somewhat rebellious, there may be some repetition in the levels … but the freshness of the game is undeniable. There are parts of driving cranks, with puzlera depth, situations under water, with mobile platforms and ingenious designs. But then there are other parts of lower profile, with less success. The best games are those that are going higher level to level, surprising you continuously.
There are a variety of situations, although not as much as we would have liked. However, Noodles control does the rest, resulting fresh.
Snake Pass surprises you sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. From its ups and downs arises its most questionable aspect, but not therefore deserving of all our attention. It is a title done with grace . When you leave the controller dead and you break the camera, you can see that the grass moves, that the platforms move, that there is life, even though our snake starts to fall asleep and then open an eye to see if you are still there .
It’s colorful, very nice: a little song to nature, picking up the essence of Banjo Kazooie or Crash Bandicoot. A more casual touch, more focused on relaxation than immersion, because that’s what the video game is about, to have a good time, complete it … and if you want to later try its time trial mode , which is the only additional element that the game brings.
Enough? Well probably not, but we must also recognize that Snake Pass proposes interesting things, and that is already a lot today. I think the last snake I handled was Snake (in a Nokia), so in my case it has been an experience with a certain sense o
f nostalgia. Surely, it is not stupid to think about it. The very conception of the title is born from the fact that Seb Liese -its creator- had a snake as a pet as a child. I assume he never bit him … and you should not fear for it either. Noodles is a love and, at best, the worst thing it does for you is fall into the void.
