Snakeybus Review

"Curving Ride"

Campaign

April 2, 2020 at 3:50am
By Jason Stettner

This is another one of those wacky sort of games that you’d watch others play and perhaps want to try for yourself. It’s actually got a rather unique concept to it past that, one that might surprise you. It essentially takes the idea of the classic snake game, and throws you into a 3D world that you’re weaving through to grow a bus.

As you drive you’ll hit bus stops, collecting passengers and then after grabbing a certain allotment hitting a drop-off point. It sounds simple, but your large bus can be a real problem as you continue to grow, taking up large portions of the map and preventing progress. Think of this experience like the movie Speed, you can’t ever stop or you fail. There are a wide range of maps to play, and these are unlocked with the mounting score you’re earning as you drive along.

Alongside new maps, you also get some extra bus options which are fun to use. That’s basically the just of the game, not much more to it. After awhile you can get an endless option, and there are minor variations mode wise though it’s largely the same sort of thing as you play along. This creates an element of repetitiveness for sure.

Gameplay

This is a very simplistic sort of game when it comes to visuals, but they do mix it up a lot depending on the map you’re playing. Some of the map visuals aimed for a more realistic look, whereas others lean on an artistic angle. It creates a neat diversion of aesthetics, and you’re not sure what you’re going to unlock next.

The mood is calm and relaxing with rather easy going music, though honestly after awhile I just get tired of things. It’s not a game I think you could necessarily play for a long time despite the well intentioned replayability that’s present. It’s almost too simplistic as you’re just moving a thumbstick around and then occasionally jumping.

It could almost put you to sleep, and I know I’ve felt drowsy when attempting my last Xbox Achievement within it. It’s a neat experiment, and I like how it plays on the concept of the classic game of snake. That being said, it doesn’t really evolve upon the concept much, and it’s a very silly sort of experience.

The Conclusion

Snakeybus is a rather interesting concept that’s perhaps a bit too simplistic for its own good and becomes very repetitive after awhile. I had a good time with it unlocking levels and new buses, but once that was done I was pretty much finished with it. It has some neat visuals, a varied selection of maps and it does something fresh.

I can see people watching this, and wanting to try it. How much gameplay you get out of this really depends on how fast it gets repetitive for you. It does provide a nice sort of zen atmosphere, and I think that aspect was cool. I enjoyed playing this, but I do also clearly see a limited quantity of hours that one would get out of this before moving on and forgetting this exists.

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Snakeybus Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Digerati

Rating Overall: 6.0