Fifteen years ago I’d have told you the best games around included a mild British swear in one installment in the Ratchet and Clank franchise called, Up Your Arsenal. It is a fantastic joke for parents, as kids will look at their parents in confusion, while the parents snicker at their child for unknowingly (Mildly) swearing. However, you don’t get those Ratchet and Clank style games anymore; at least not since Deus Ex made the latter a racial slur. It has become unbelievably hard to find a child-like wonderment in a platformer now. Sure, we’ve had some Mario games, we’ve had Sonic Mania, and we’ve had the remakes of Oddworld and Crash games, but only A Hat in Time fits the “fun for all the family,” platformers I think.

This is where I’d like to say Snake Pass isn’t part of the gaping void that is the “action-adventure” genre: It is a platformer that fits that feel of a Ratchet and Clank game. I’d like to explain the term “tight,” because this is how I explain a good mechanic in a video game such as the web-swinging in Spider-man 2. The movement in Snake Pass is tight, it doesn’t feel arcade-like or anything that would suggest looseness of “you are playing as a snake, but you are playing a game overall.” I’d like to refer to the “realism” argument about Red Dead Redemption 2, which to an extent feels a little more realistic than other games, but still employs arcade sections to it. Snake Pass doesn’t pretend to be real or Pac-Man, Snake Pass is just tight.

In other Puzzle-platformers, Portal, for example, you don’t have that knot tightening as you miss a jump or fall two inches from the portals. It all feels comfortable. Snake Pass doesn’t feel comfortable per se, but is the same level of relaxation; because you are lulled into the sense of calmness of the world you are in. Then you’ll run into several times where expletives will slip out as you fall, the knot tightening. What is beautiful about this moment is how you can sometimes save yourself and that’s the knot, that is the moment that Dishonored was missing.

However, the true star of the game is the movement, and much like the aforementioned Spider-Man 2, the tendencies of the character are almost perfected to realistic qualities. For example, to move forward at a pace you have to slither like a snake; if you try to move in a straight line, you’ll be overtaken by a baby slug on a snail riding a sloth. The feeling of being a snake is not hampered by an overindulgence to make you be the snake. Nevertheless, If you want to, you can avoid doing all the movement and clutching to bamboo that isn’t required; though you are suggested to do so.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a fun platformer that fills you with nostalgia, or you want to go back and see how a fun retro platformer like Spyro, Crash, and Ratchet and Clank was. Collect all the collectibles or play around in the fun little world as a happy little snake. Either way, I will do nothing but recommend Snake Pass to anyone who wants a great colorful platformer.

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Snake Pass

$19.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Snake-like movement
• Fun platforming
• Great knot tightening moments

Cons

• A very repetitive soundtrack