This is the game that I think Stray wanted to be but it is obviously a snake and not a cat. You are a snake, man. What more do you expect? But, here's the thing, please consider this. Platforming, but as a snake.

Everything about this game, from the tiny details, to the balls to the walls platforming is completely built around the fact that you are a snake, no ifs, ands, OR buts, bucko. You might think that is dumb as bananas, but where I come from we slurp up the crumbs of unique gameplay like it's the last bit we're gonna get for years. (Because it is.)

This game should have won 2017 Game of the Year, and you know it.

Es un juego bastante divertido incluso cuándo hay veces que crees que has conseguido no caerte de pura chiripa. En algún momento del juego dicen: "Piensa como una serpiente" y es 100% real, más pronto que tarde estás enganchado y oteando el horizonte aunque no haga falta alguna ni tenga ninguna mejora. Como juego de puzzles muy bueno, no demasiado difícil de pasar, aunque la mayoría de coleccionables si que suponen un gran reto. Al principio parece que se resiste al movimiento, pero acabas cogiéndole el tranquilo como para acabarlo. También lo recomiendo para niños que ya sepan manejar un mando, pues la historia es 100% inocente y el juego precioso. Eso si, quizás se frustre un poco si no sabe moverse bien.

Disappointing. The core gameplay had so much potential, but the game fails to provide more than just simple levels. After getting accustomed to the unique controls, there's no motivator to keep going. The story is non-existent, there's no reward for getting the collectibles, no hook to differentiate the levels. I had high hopes that the game would scratch that Banjo Kazooie itch due to the similar look and music, but it couldn't come close. Most disappointing game in a while, not because it's outright bad but because it failed to deliver on it's potential. I really wanted to love this game.

Platformers with unconventional movement systems are hard to come by in a world where everyone is trying to be the next Banjo-Kazooie, but rest assured because Snake Pass has you covered. I picked this game up several years ago after I heard a former LittleBigPlanet creator worked on it and was not disappointed. It's a unique experience that totally delivers on its concept, even if it's not exactly a home run.

Gameplay:
In Snake Pass, you play as a snake, and thus, you move like a snake. The gameplay involves you slithering around the environment and using your noodle-like body to wrap around and climb obstacles. The game pulls this off decently well. You hold the right trigger to slither forward, push a button to raise your head, and use the left stick to move your head around to direct yourself. Gravity does the rest of the work. It's got a learning curve, but luckily, the game has a fairly balanced difficulty throughout to let you improve naturally. Can it be frustrating? Yes, but the fun of playing with the physics can be its own reward... sometimes... There are some parts of the gameplay that feel off though. I swear the button that supposedly helps you hang onto things better does not help at all. I don't know what it is about dying in a pit of spikes/lava, but it just feels so awkward and bad (which is probably the weirdest thing I'll ever say in a review, but I promise it makes sense when you're playing the game). This is undoubtedly the most nitpicky of my complaints, but falling off of ledges feels really bad and I always mentally wince whenever it happens. But hey, I may complain and nitpick, but I do still absolutely have to give the developers props for pulling off the movement system to begin with. To my knowledge, it hadn't been done before and I don't think it has been done since.

The gameplay loop sees you climbing through levels and collecting three main collectibles in each, oftentimes doing some light puzzle-solving along the way. It's a little monotonous, but luckily, the game's many levels are always throwing new challenges at you to test your slithering skills to varying degree of success... Oh my GOSH the lava area drives me NUTS. I just have to say it. I have nightmares about the levels in that section. Anyway, the game also gives you a nice amount of side objectives to pursue. There's several blue orbs throughout the levels, often placed in risky locations. They make for a nice way to add some extra challenge. Same goes for the three hidden gold coins throughout each level, though they tend to be more annoyingly obscure. There's also extra modes like a time trial mode and an arcade mode which both change the way you play the game. Safe to say this game has a pretty decent amount of content.

Visuals:
This game looks really good. The environments are ridiculously vibrant and gorgeously designed. The UI matches the game's beauty quite well. I do have one small complaint, and it's that the character models look a little weird, especially the lighting on them. The snake's is pretty good at least, but the fact that its mouth is entirely a shade of light pink in the model doesn't look very polished. (The cutscenes being unskippable is also super annoying)

Conclusion:
Though it definitely has its iffy areas, Snake Pass is an overlooked game worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of unconventional movement systems. It's an experience you can't really get anywhere else. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys 3D platformers.

I mean, before even playing the game, you know that Snake Pass will be very good, you get to control a cute, friendly snake! The fact that actually playing the game is also wonderful is just a bonus. The control scheme of Noodle is a really interesting one that is particularly effective at making you entirely rethink how to approach even the most basic of platforming challenges, replacing thoughts of jumping to new areas with understanding how to slither up the bits of environment surrounding you. It ends up having a dynamic more akin to a puzzle platformer than a more traditional one, where almost every obstacle's challenge stems from working out how to approach something as opposed to the execution of that approach itself.

It's not as if the game doesn't require good execution at all either though, since the control scheme is initially pretty tough to wrap your head around all the intricacies of, particularly the careful balance you often need to strike between being very meticulous and being fast. The level design plays into this very nicely as well, with a lot of sections being built in such a way that you're able to bypass a lot of seemingly difficult challenges if you fully come to terms with the nuances of your movement, leading to an experience that feels rife with discovery that largely feels self-motivated. It goes a long way in making you feel like you're beginning to understand the unconventional methods you need to take to accomplish basic traversal without feeling directly enforced either, leading to a unique experience in a way that isn't as immediately apparent as the fact that you're playing as a snake.

The presentation elevates things that bit further as well, with the beautiful, lush environments and fantastic soundtrack making it pretty pleasant to exist in these levels even if you're stuck at a particular section for an extended period of time while you're further refining your movement. One thing I think would've been nice is something to have added a bit more variety to the individual stages though, as while what the 15 levels here have still make for a fun time, it does begin to wear out its welcome a tiny bit by the final couple, and I think it's just because of the lack of real variety beyond a couple of clever obstacles that still didn't feel like quite enough to differentiate one level from the next. It's definitely not a dealbreaker since there's some appeal in coiling around the various poles and platforms to reach greater heights even after you've done it countless times, but some more unique stage elements would definitely elevate this further. Even with that said though, this is great, would highly recommend for people to play this if they're interested in seeing a rather fresh take on collectathons.

Perhaps the last of the great streamer bait titans, right before the genre switched from endearing one-trick-pony memes into grating merchandise clowns obsessed with their own neverending, crappy lore. Once again, there's only the one joke/trick going on here - but it's a solid enough one to make this feel almost like a diet Yooka-Laylee/Banjo Kazooie when it's at its best. The snake's a cute character, and the intentionally rage-inducing controls feel complicated enough to be funny but good enough to feel natural. Fun, lightly innovative, and has personality but - like most of these - nothing you'll feel like picking up too often after a few days with it.

Pros:
+ Insanely interesting and creative platforming
+ Fun to 100%
+ Groovy music
+ Funny characters
+ Fascinating world design
+ While the game is on the smaller side, it's a great proof of concept and doesn't cost much

Cons:
- Lighting - especially in the sunset levels - can make the game look really ugly and basically remove the nice cel-shading -like effect from the rest of the game
- While the controls do work, it does feel like the character's game feel could still use a bit more polish (maybe by adding hurtbox balls inside the snake's movement rail)
- 100%:ing the game is fun, but it comes with no reward at all