Snaliens
- December 21, 2019
- JFerreira
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Get on itch.io Store"Snaliens" is a puzzle-based video game where players help adorable extraterrestrial creatures escape a challenging planet by manipulating different devices and pieces. Each Snalien has a unique skill, and players can explore five continents with no timers or limited moves. The game offers puzzle variety and flexible controls using keyboard, gamepad, or mouse.
PC
Windows
Linux
Xbox
Reviews
- Snaliens features a charming mix of sokoban and snake mechanics, providing a variety of engaging puzzles that encourage creative problem-solving.
- The game has a good difficulty curve, with some challenging levels that offer satisfying 'aha' moments when solved.
- The minimalist art style and functional design contribute to an enjoyable puzzle experience, making it accessible for puzzle enthusiasts.
- Many puzzles are considered too easy, leading to a lack of challenge for experienced players, especially in the mid-game.
- Some mechanics and puzzle solutions can feel unintuitive or convoluted, which may frustrate players trying to grasp the game's logic.
- The game suffers from uneven difficulty, with some levels being trivial while others are overly complex, leading to a disjointed experience.
- gameplay22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Snaliens is characterized by a diverse array of mechanics that blend traditional sokoban-style puzzles with innovative elements inspired by other genres, creating a rich and engaging experience. While many puzzles are well-designed and encourage creative problem-solving, some mechanics, particularly the trailing tiles and certain level solutions, can be unintuitive and may require additional polish. Overall, the game offers a charming and varied puzzle experience across multiple themed continents, though players may encounter some frustrating moments due to unclear design choices.
“There's a lot of mechanics; you don't just push blocks.”
“It's got a varied set of mechanics and some great puzzle design that at its best packs multiple discovery moments in a single puzzle.”
“Snaliens has quite a mixture of different mechanics and explores how they work together, building circuitry-based contraption puzzles out of the various cables, switches, gates, and other such devices.”
“This is exacerbated by some design elements that aren't entirely clear (e.g. in level 53, I didn't find it at all apparent or intuitive that only the center tile provided electricity), and a few game mechanics with very unintuitive corner cases (I still don't entirely understand the solution to levels 24 and 66; the solution to the first section in level 70 visually makes no sense; and nor does the solution to level 92, where the energy-transferring laser can activate wires even though they don't point towards it; and separately in level 92, for some reason it's possible for the snail wire thing to have multiple potential orientations).”
“More fundamentally, I didn't like the core puzzle mechanic of having a chain or snail of wires behind your characters, because these snails move in seemingly unpredictable directions and are extremely tedious to reason about.”
“While many of the individual mechanics are relatively well explored elsewhere, this game does a good job of mixing some more classic sokoban-style puzzle objects with some stuff clearly inspired by Snakebird.”
- graphics3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are described as functional and minimalist, with a cutesy art style that contrasts with the challenging puzzles. Overall, the visuals are appreciated for their charm, despite the lack of music.
“I appreciate the art style in this game.”
“Don't be put off by the cutesy graphics; the puzzles pack a real punch.”
“The visuals are functional, and there's no music, so the presentation is quite minimalist, but that's okay.”
- music3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game features a minimalist presentation with no music, relying solely on sound effects for audio. While the visuals are functional, the absence of music is noted as acceptable by users.
“There's no music in the game.”
“Windowed mode and resolution options are also available, and a single volume slider, but since there's no music, only sound effects, it's enough.”
- story3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The story is minimal and largely inconclusive, conveyed through a few brief, dialog-free cutscenes featuring three snaliens who crash-land on an unknown planet. Overall, players find the narrative lacking depth and coherence, with a payoff that feels unsatisfactory.
“The story is told in a couple of short, dialog-free cutscenes, and is as follows: 3 snaliens are minding their own business in their spaceship (snailship?) when suddenly they have to crash-land on an unknown planet.”
“And their payoff is dumb - an inconclusive story bit in a game without story.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the core puzzle mechanic involving unpredictable wire movements, which complicates gameplay and detracts from the overall experience.
“The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the grinding mechanics to be frustratingly tedious, often leading to burnout.”
“The constant need to grind for resources detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
