To be fair, having the title on-screen is nice

Snake Pass, the lovingly crafted but ultimately limited game, ran into a problem on Switch. Except this time it wasn't neccesarily mechanical or bug ?r??elated, but rather, completely aesthetic, and not even in-game related -- people hated the new icon.

There's a perceived plague going around on the Switch where s?elect developers will put out an ico?n that doesn't display the title of the game in question. It looks particularly garish next to a bunch of other descriptive icons, and in some cases, the icon itself can just look blown up and unapppealing.

The internet collectively spoke out against Snake Pass' updated icon for those very reasons, and now, Sumo Digital is going to change it back. ?In their own words, a representative commented on the whole matter, stating: "The reaction to the icon change has been interesting, and as this is our first self-published title, it&rsqu?o;s definitely a valid part of our learning experience. It’s also testament to the passion that players have for Nintendo and Switch that a detail like icons are part of the overall gaming experience and connection they have with the handheld. We’ve definitely taken the feedback on board and will be changing the icon back with the next update which is due early next year. It’ll mean the branding isn’t unified but our focus is on our players and community so we’re OK with that."

While Sumo Digital is waiting until next year, Image & Form already changed theirs for SteamWorld Dig 2. It's a silly debate in the grand scheme of things, but I'm okay with most of the suggestions from the community at large. Nothing needs to expand beyond small humble requests, but again, I do like the ability to tell what everything is at a glance -- I already have 50+ games on my Switch, and even though I can easily tell that an icon with a snake is for Snake Pass, it'll be a bit mu?ch deciphering some of the more obscure ones years down the line when my library is double or triple that.

Nintendo Switch?? Owners? Really, Really Care About The Game Icons [Kotaku]

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First DLC coming next month

If you didn't get around to buying Snake Pass on Nintendo Switch for the newly-added time trials, you're in luck: the slithering platform game is on sale. Normally priced at $20, it's 40 perce?nt off on Switch from June 27 to July 4, and 50 percent off on PC (Steam and Humble) from July 5 to July 19.

This is the first Switch eShop discount, right? More Snake Pass deals will come "later in?? the summer," according to Sumo Digital. So if you were more interested in playing on Xbox One or PS4, sit ??tight.

There's also DLC on the schedule, hence that one-second ?teaser?? at the end with the strawberry.

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Time trials are here at last

Nintendo Switch owners have a reason to revisit Snake Pass this week. A new upd?ate introduces time trials and online leaderboards, bringing that version of the game in line with the rest.

Sumo Digital als?o has a number of platform-wide fixes, covering things like broken achievements, exploits, and Noo?dle's unreliable tail grabs. The latter has my attention more than anything.

I'm bad at this game -- bad enough that I don't care to test myself with a time constraint -- bu?t I'm still glad I bought it, all the same. I like supporting original games ??like this. I wanna see more of 'em.

Snake Pass Patch 1.2.0 Notes

Nintendo Switch

• TIME TRIAL AND LEA??DERBOARDS: Time Trial mode is now available for Nintendo Switch players. Battle it out against friends to see who can make ??it to the top of the leader boards with the quickest time

Steam / Windows 10

• RAZER ?CHROMA: support for Razer Chroma Keyboards ??has been added

• 4K UI: fixed a bug where the UI was not displaying correctl??y on 4k monitors for PC players

• STEAM: Steam version now sets to th??e language that Steam is set to rather than the OS of the PC

PlayStation 4

• PLAYSTATION 4 AUDIO:? fixed an issue where PlayStation 4 audio was unintentionally compresse??d

Global

• TAIL GRAB: fix?ed a bug where Tail Grab was unreliable

• TIME TRIAL: fixed a TT exploit where playe??rs could get a time of zero

• TIME TRIAL: ??fixed an i??ssue in Time Trial where some players could not complete the level

• TIME TRIAL: fix?ed an issue in Time Trial that prevented the timer from not displa?ying correctly

• LEVEL 11: fixed an issue where the bal?l would activate incorrectly for some pla??yers

• QUETZALCOATL ACHIEVEMENT: fixed an issue with Quetzalcoatl not triggering correctly for some players. If players have previously reached the requirements, playing a level without??? dying again should trigger the achievement.

• FLOOR IS MOLTEN ROCK ACH??IEVEMENT: The Floor Is Molten Rock achievem?ent now triggers correctly

• CAMERA: fixed an issue where the camera did? not move as fast as intended

• LEVEL 9: fixed an issue where t?he camera would not mo?ve for some players making the level unplayable

• TAI??L GRAB: fixed an issue where Noodle would move faster than intended while Doodle was holding his tail

• GAME ICONS: all platforms have updated game icons

• GENERAL FIXES AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS

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In Japan, at least

Nintendo of Japan has released a sizzle reel for some upcoming indie games releasing on the Switch ahead of the BitSummit conference in Kyoto this weekend (BitSummit is a Japanese indie dev gathering). While a lot of the games are stuff we already have in the West, the big surprise comes in the form of Owlboy being on the Switch (6:30 in the video belo??w). When did that happen?

While I can't tell you if there are any new features for the game, it is most certainly releasing in Japan on the Switch. Whether or not it will come to the West has yet to be determined, but I would imagine so. The game is already available on PC worldwide (and we reviewed it quite favorably?), so? maybe the Switch release is just a timed exclusive for Japan.

Either way, this is great news for people looking to get some more indie action on Nintendo's latest hardware. Other highlights in this sizzle reel include Mighty Gunvolt Burst, YIIK, RiME, Overcooked: Special Edition and Hollow Knight. Also, I love the Cat Mario and Peach puppets.

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Mamba No. 6

Locomotion is something that far too many video games take for granted. Standard fare for movement is often reduced to holding an analog stick in a direction and you'll get where you need to be. This approach is so ingrained in game design that when something as experimental as Snake Pass comes along, it sticks out as a stark rem??ind??er of what developers could be doing (not that they all need to be doing it).

There's a certain progression of emotion to playing Snake Pass. First, it's novel. Then, it's brilliant. Then, it's frustrating. Eventually, it's an amalgamation of all that other stuf??f but maybe more tedious than anything.

Snake Pass (PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One [reviewed])
Developer: Sumo Digital
Publisher: Sumo Digital
Release: March 28, 2017
MSRP: $19.99 

The mechanics of being a serpentine and your tactile connection to them are the core of Snake Pass. It's also the absolute best the game has to offer. Forward movement of Noodle (the snake's name is Noodle) requires holding a trigger and (excuse the pun) snaking the analog stick left to right to simulate a sidewinding motio?n. The other trigger can be used to grip, a way to cling tightly to whatever obstacle you're coiled around. A face button is dedicated to lifting Noodle's head, a maneuver?? that often makes just the slightest bit of difference when trying to ascend a ledge.

It's all so goddamn smart. Neatly slithering across the ground is good and all, but weaving through bamboo poles to further stabilize yourself is downright skillful and savvy. There's a learning curve to Snake Pass and it won't be long until you feel like you've ma??stered it. You've r?eally got the hang of this Being A Snake thing!

Humility will come swiftly as Snake Pass is a fickle mistress. The difficulty ramps quickly as you suddenly realize that you definitely do not got the hang of this Being A Snake thing. I'm not convinced the obstacles get significantly tougher, though; it seems that they just get bigger, extending the amount of time you have to be proficient at snake stuff. The unforgiving (yet perfectly realistic) physics will probably cause Noodle to eventually lose his grip. Snake Pass' hardest challenges are the ones where Noodle is unsafe the longest, not ones that require tricky and clever ??movements.

The reason for all this snaking is in the name of collectible hunting. Each of Snake Pass' 15 levels has 3 keystones that are necessary to proceed, along with 20 orbs and 5 golden coins. The latter are completely optional. The coins usually are found alongside the hardest platforming in the game, and the orbs are just sort of barely off the beaten path. Neither of these are particula??rly important as they ??don't tie into a reward of any kind. They're just a pair of statistics to max out on the level select screen.

This leads to Snake Pass' greatest disconnect from a design perspective. Combing the environment for a missing collectible or two is prohibitively taxing given how long it takes to retread areas you've already explored. But, Snake Pass treats these with relative ind?ifference so maybe you should too. Beating the game endows Noodle with an ability to see all the collectibles in any given level, but that's probably of little consequence for those who are content just getting through the game once.

Noodle isn't completely alone in this venture. He has a hummingbird sidekick. Doodle (the hummingbird's name is Doodle) serves to add some flavor text throughout?? the adventure, but his more important use is that he can lift Noodle's tail. This can help get him up to a hard-to-reach area, but it might also shift the snake's body in a way that causes him to go tumbling. Tread carefully.

If Doodle is No?odle's greatest ally, then the camera is his greatest adversary. On too many occasions, the view will be just off enough that it's impossible to know which micro-movement is necessary. In particularly perilous situations, you might have both index fingers on a trigger, the left thumb on the left stick, the right thumb on a ??face button to hold Noodle's head up, and find yourself needing to also move the camera with the right stick. It's irritating, especially when you know you were in position to succeed.

The edge to all those frustrations is eventually dulled, though. You come to accept Snake Pass for what it is, you learn to expect whatever niggling annoyance is going to happen next. It's all easy enough to come to terms with, like Snake Pass is some sort of anesthesia. More than an?ything, I just found myself wishing it were over sooner; fifteen levels is a lot of ground to cover, especially when the game does little to meaningfully vary gameplay.

Snake Pass' legacy won't be any of that negative stuff I mentioned. It'll be remembered as a quirky thing that's an exemplary example of how games can offer non-traditional experiences. And, to be quite honest, I love it for that. I thoroughly enjoyed my first hour or so as I leaned into its serpentine sensibilities. But, Snake Pass' choice of animal is unfortunately fitting as this gam??e just doesn't have legs.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by th??e publisher.]}

The post Review: Snake Pass appeared first on Destructoid.

Side to side

"The best way to get ?a snake to look like a snake is to find someone who's owned a snake."

The thing that first drew me to Snake Pass was the curiou??s fact that its creator, Seb Liese, used to be a biology teacher. Now Sumo Digital is talking shop about how one might convincingly achieve snake movements in a video game (divide that sucker into spheres), and I'm drawn right back in.

Lastly -- and this just can't be stressed enough -- the snake's name is Noodle. Noodle!

The post See how Snake Pass got its slithering movements just righ????t appeared first on Destructoid.

Use your Noodle

It took me a few minutes to wrap my head around Snake Pass. The 3D platformer seems to have all the trappings of a golden era Rare joint. From enchanting environments, right down to a duo of goofy-looking animal heroes??, almost every part of Sumo Digital's upcoming game is reminiscent of a genre that's not only admired, but also poised to make a big comeback in 2017.

But Snake Pass' defining feature isn't just that it looks like a modern-day Nintendo 64 platformer. Instead, it's the lack of a proper jump button that makes it stand out. By leaning into the game's serpentine inspir?ation, Sumo Digital has created a platformer that excels by mechanical subtraction, not by relying on genre familiarity and nostalgia.

I recently sat down with Sumo Digital and played through one of Snake Pass' early levels. I wasn't sure what to expect at first, but I found out quickly that while the "snakeformer" has an i?nitial learning curve, slithering around is way more intuitive than it ha??s any right to be.

The main reason that playing a 3D platformer without a dedicated jump button takes some getting used to is the fact that Noodle, Snake Pass' main character, controls more like a Mack Truck than a Mario. To move forward, I ??had to hold R2 while snaking the left analog stick upwards in a reverse "S" motion. It's a bit jarring com??pared to the feeling of total control that comes with most platformers, honestly, but the serpentine movement makes sense given you're playing as a character who literally has no legs.

Once I felt comfortable enough moving along a flat surface, I wanted to see how Noodle handled in a vertical situation. Pressing X (or the bottom face button equivalent) allows the copper-toned snake to raise his head. By carefully guiding his head upward and pressing L2, Noodle can coil and climb almost any object in his path. Pulling off a successful climb, even on a short pole, is delightful. I've never played a game that featured serpentine-based movement (outside of Snake, bless up), but my time with Snake Pass proved sometimes lacking legs has? its ??own set of unique advantages.

Because every level is built around Noodle's unique style of movement, Snake Pass is a bit more relaxed than many of its genre contemporaries. The stage I played had no time limit or enemies to bother me. Instead, the lush ?jungle and its moss-covered ruins were loaded with collectibles and objects to climb at my own pace. I fell into a groove pretty quickly as I slithere??d around the level and poked my head in every nook and cranny, testing my newfound snake skills.

According to Sumo Digital, each level in Snake Pass contains three different types of collectibles. Only one -- a series of geometric shapes that unlock the titular 'snake pass' at the end of a level -- are required to advance the critical path. The coins and ethereal Wisps scattered throughout levels are more of an open-ended challenge. Talented players can nab ever collectible in each stage while younger or more inexperienced players can focus on the essential items before building up to tougher ones. Even though I spent just shy of thirty minutes with Snake Pass, it was more than apparent that Sumo Digital have managed to build a game that is a??t once accessible to everyone. Its appeal, at least based off of my experience, is that it can be meditative to some ??and a challenge to others, all while looking slick and inviting.

If you're keen to experience Snake Pass's serpentine charms, you ca?n check it out on March 28, when it releases on Steam, Xbox One, PS4, ?and the Nintendo Sssssssswitch.

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Snake Pass

I'm not overly fond of snakes, but I like the potential of a puzzle-platformer in which you play as one that slithers and wraps around objects semi-realistically. This is Snake Pass, a PC game from Sumo Digital that came out of its first internal game ja??m. It'll be playable later this week at EGX Rezzed 2016.

The designer, Seb Liese, used to be a biology teacher before he joined the industry several years ago. His "snake physics" prototype fared well at the game jam and was adapted into ??what we see today.

While we know Sumo for its work on other people's properties (Dead Island 2, Crackdown 3, Forza Horizon 2), it plans to "explore the possibility of creating [its] own IP" with titles like Snake Pass.

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