Snakebird

Snakebird is a rare, special puzzle game. One in which all of the cards are laid out on the table for you, and you feel like you have no idea what the fuck any of the cards say. A completely closed system of logic, Snakebird is all about your ability to work out a solution to 53 complex puzzles that are simply hard, nothing more. Once you understand the rules of the puzzles, there's no hidden information, no leaps or assumptions about what a clue might mean, and no ambiguous goal obscuring an otherwise easy puzzle solution.

I appreciate that kind of straightforward puzzling. If you've ever played A Monster's Exhibition or Baba is You, there's some similarity between the titles. You'll control a player object in a two dimensional space, operating purely by moving in four cardinal directions, tasked with unraveling environmental navigation puzzles that gives you all you need to know from the moment you start each puzzle. The piece that sets Snakebird apart in my mind is the lack of intricate-to-a-fault meta-puzzles or highly technical and malleable rulesets the other titles bring. Snakebird is simple to the core. Move snake. Snake like food. Snake fall down. Spikes bad. Portal good. That's it. Aside from a couple movable blocks and a few teleporters, there isn't a single other mechanic in the game. And yet somehow as you play the game, the depth, variety, and complexity contained within that ruleset shines from about level 3 onward. Snakebird is constantly falling in unexpected positions, the direction they are facing is constantly a critical piece of the puzzle, you can create "infinite push machines" that allow you to repeatedly move an entire collection of objects with a single movement until a wall prevents you from moving further, snake on snake bridge action is consistently required to solve puzzles.... and more. The amount of unique techniques and puzzle setups the game's mechanics creates is truly staggering, and you'll experience from square one.

Snakebird is a game somewhat famous for its difficulty curve, and to an extent I kind of disagree. While the game does dump you into the deep end of the pond by around level 10, the actual puzzles aren't too difficult to start. The game's creators just throw new an unexpected mechanical ideas at you early and often, and you have to be willing to think about different approaches to puzzles than you've tried before. Many of the game's puzzles, even some of the later ones, I was able to solve in 5 minutes or less. While there are some doozies, like the final level, and a coupe of levels where you have to manipulate movable objects in new and unique ways, I found much of this game to be much more approachable than people made it out to be.

Part of the reason this game is approachable in spite of some of its more difficult moments, is that every single puzzle is solvable with logic. Spamming buttons won't get you anywhere, but the moment you stop and ask yourself "Okay so what is the objective I need to complete to set up the solve?" solutions start presenting themselves quickly. "How do I get to the end? I need this movable platform to be on this space so that I can reach this tile - let's figure out how to get it there". The existence of these very simple checkpoints to reach throughout each level take what could otherwise very daunting levels and turn them into perfectly manageable puzzles with clear goals at all points. Make no mistake, achieving those goals can be tricky, but therein lies the beauty of Snakebird. Every puzzle feels good to solve because as you fiddle with positioning your Snakebird friends in complex and sometimes confusing ways, you know exactly what kind of progress you're trying to achieve. You get all the fun of piecing together tricky sequences of moves without ever feeling like you're flailing around with unlimited possibilities and no idea what progress you're trying to luck into. Nowhere is this clearer than in the final level, where you do some of the trickiest, sneakiest movements with unexpected and clever positioning, yet you're never at a loss for what your immediate goal is. Working backwards from the level end, I was able to figure out the entire end of the level just by counting grid squares and thinking about where everything in the level had to be to make it all work. I just had to set up that mid-level state I had calculated. Despite the actual setup being very challenging, I was never at a loss for the very next checkpoint I was trying to end up at - only for the very clever details of how to get there. Every level follows this formula, even ones that people complain about (Looking at you level *2 complainers. You can figure out what a solution to that one should look like with just a little math, and by math I mean counting)

So is Snakebird a perfect puzzle game? I'm not sure I can say that. There's a couple of really obscure interactions that in my opinion are first introduced (or at least forced) in environments that are a little too punishing. Levels 26 comes to mind, though there are a few others with similar shortcomings. I don't mind having to figure out a mechanical interaction, but for the most obscure ones, I would have loved to see the game force you to encounter them before I had to create and set them up myself. I also feel that even though I just defended *2 from people who claim it is a level that requires a brute force solution, the sort of "playing an awkward game of regular snake" style of level just didn't appeal to me or fit in with the rest of the game.

But I digress. I've talked way too long about this game already, and the problems I have with it are relatively minor. From a pure puzzle solving, level design, and mechanical standpoint, this game kicked ass from start to finish. I loved every piece of it, and highly recommend you throw your money at it. 9.5/10

Don’t be fooled by the bright colors and aesthetic. The game is very fun and challenging. it isn’t too hard but is perfect for someone who wants a challenge! You control one snake (or more) and you need to collect fruit to grow longer. If you have a kid, you might want to let them play Snakebird Primer before this game. 😄😄😄

Simple and relaxing game, yet very difficult in some stages. Love the music the game provides

my fucking brain hurts

The mechanics of this game are quite simple, but it's hands down one of the most difficult puzzle games I've ever played. The concept and level design is just brilliant.

Saw a youtuber play this years ago thought it would be too tough for me but was able to complete in 10 hours, very tough but even more satisfying game would one million % recommend if you enjoy puzzle games and are looking for a challenge.

Exquisite sokoban, yet this game is so pure in its mechanics, that if you don't finish it in a couple of sittings, you may not finish it at all.

For the last couple of months I've tried to play it from time to time, but got pretty bored of it.

Excellent puzzle design, though. May pick it up again some time.

My head is very fun puzzle game. Don't let the visuals fool you, the difficulty of these puzzles is anywhere from medium to difficult. Very fun and head scratching solutions with deceptively simple looking designs.

Sensational!

Snake and bird is you and hard

that's a good puzzle game

TLDR Grid-obstacle puzzle game with “snake” mechanics, colourful and silly, challenging but fair puzzles. [17/20⭐, 12h🏅, 4/5💡]

Context Snakebird is grid-obstacle puzzle game with snake-mechanics: the playable character(s) leave an impassable tail behind. In terms of mechanics, the closest that comes to mind is last year’s great Can of Wormholes, although in Snakebird the snakes move vertically. The game is known for its difficulty, probably also due to the contrast with its colourful and silly aesthetics. If you’d like to try the gameplay with much simpler levels, you can check out Snakebird Primer (which I personally played before this entry).

Writing There’s no plot, you just have to feed snake-birds fruit and lead them into the rainbow through different thematic areas (unrelated to gameplay).

Aesthetics The visuals are simple and colorful, and fit well with the overall silly setting. I also enjoyed the playful soundtrack, although I admit I had to turn it off as playtime increased in the last area.

Gameplay Snakebird is a grid-based puzzle game with gravity, where your own body also acts as an obstacle, in the style of the classical snake game: as you eat fruits (required to beat the level) your tail grows and trails behind your head. Additional mechanics appear as you progress, most notably the need to control up to 3 snakebirds per level.

Snakebird is known for being extremely challenging, and rightly so (although I feel many have been misled by the cute design). There is real no learning curve, but I alsoI felt the difficulty remained stable until reaching the last area where it escaleted further. However, if you’re used to modern Sokoban-style games, you won’t be surprised by the level of difficulty. Level design is very clever, although I felt some were a bit more intricate than necessary (I’m more of a fan of “difficult to figure out, easy to execute”).

The interface is smooth (you can use the keyboard or the mouse, zoom in and out), you can reset the level, undo indefinitely (except through resets), and if you die you get back to the previous state. Progress is auto-saved, including the state of the current level if you quit (but not of all levels).

Value It took me about 12h to beat the 50 levels spread across 6 areas. You can select the levels non-linearly as you unlock them. There is a single progress slot, but you can revisit and solve previous levels. Achievements are related to level progress, no added playtime, and an additional one for finding collectibles.

PS: despite the Steam warning, the game runs in recent macOS versions.

[quote]For more puzzle-game reviews and curated lists check out the Puzzle Trove.[/quote]

one of the best puzzle games of all time, it never felt impossibly hard at all and that's what i love about it, simple simple simple game at it's core but so clever, it's just a ton of fun and it's very much like eating a juicy fruit, sweet but gone too soon! (you can get about 15-20 hours on this)
bought for 5 dollars on sale as well, i think that's a bargain and a steal for a game like this. it is one of my favourite games now.
(also it's very completable, i could beat it in a week, don't have to worry too much about getting stuck on levels forever)
i think i could rate it 10/10? i just can't see anything wrong with it, besides the fact it ends (very unfortunate)

This has got to be one of the best puzzle games I've ever played. The puzzles were well paced and well thought out, the mechanics continuously built on themselves until they all came together in the final few levels to create an extremely challenging last stretch.

Now, I will say, the last regular level, and two of the star levels represented an extreme jump in difficulty from the previous levels, and it formed a difficulty cliff rather than a jump. I won't lie, I had to use google to find the solutions for two of the levels, but I was able to solve every other level.

Overall, I cannot recommend this game enough. I loved every minute, and it was a great time. If you're on the edge of buying it or not, buy it. Also, this game could run on the Motorola Backflip I had in 2nd grade, so your PC can definitely run it.

Creative puzzle game... fun, but difficulty spikes quickly!

GOAT

absolutely amazing. the best puzzle game I have played.

This game is diabolical.

Excellent puzzle game! Difficult, but eventually conquerable. Each puzzle makes you think, with just the right number of new mechanics and approaches introduced at an appropriate time. Graphics and sound are well-done with a high level of polish. Highly recommended if you enjoy puzzle games.

I got this game a few years ago, got frustrated, and dropped the game. More recently i decided to try my hand at it again and I've got to say, this game stole my attention the whole run through the second time.

Very good puzzle game, highly recommend to anyone getting into puzzle games

I think I have a new favorite puzzle game! They nailed the music and sounds, and the look features lively animations that react to what's going on; little things like how your birds get nervous around spikes really make it pop. The puzzles are clever throughout, and get more difficult at a satisfying pace. What a great game!

I love difficult games with simple mechanics. Great concept, brilliant level design, cute graphics. Maybe the best puzzle game I've ever played.

Worth the play, kinda hard as levels progress, def get it on sale

They say it's easier to fool someone than to convince someone they've been fooled, but Snakebird only needed 30 minutes to convince me I'm retarded.

Very hard

The way gravity works in this game killed me then brought me back to life. Very challenging yet incredibly fun. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys having their knowledge of the game's mechanics tested to the edge.

The art is simple yet beautiful, the sound effects are charming, and the music is calming and cute. Overall, a 10/10 game for me.

Super tight and well made puzzler!

:v

Yeah it's a pretty cool game.

Snakebird is a gem, well worth checking out if you're looking for a fairly short yet rewarding puzzle game.

👍

im too dumb for it rating: 4/10

im snakebird gaming so hard rn
pro game for pro people

Good game