Beat the game last night and wanted to wait until I had done that before following up with my thoughts.
I really love the platforming and controls for the Snake, as well as many of the obstacles you encounter throughout the games levels. Though over time I did feel that the game could benefit from a little added variety, perhaps a few additional mechanics.
The final level of the game features a mechanic where Doodle will carry Noodle through the air, but this doesn't really add anything to the game, as these segments just function as teleporters, moving the player from A to B. The mechanics with the wind were interesting, forcing the player to explore how they approached various, previously simple platforming challenges, but it felt as if these could have been explored a little bit further.
I didn't really enjoy the third world of the game. I felt as though it didn't really do anything that the second, didn't, just a little more punishing as the forgiving pools of water from world 2, were replaced by pools of larva which quickly kill Noodle. For the most part this didn't really do anything but make the level more unforgiving, which when coupled issues I
previously cited with the games checkpointing system make for more frustration, without additional satisfaction as the platforming challenges themselves were largely the same.
In terms of mechanics it would have been nice to see some alternaties to the switch pressing, boulder pushing gameplay mechanics. Perhaps some enemies and whatnot. I know Noodle doesn't have teeth but it'd be neat to see him swallow enemies and spit them out, into hazards and whatnot. Just a thought, the game doesn't really need that, but it could definitely benefit from a little more variety than scaffolding and moving scaffolding.
What really made the game for me however is the amount of agency the player has in getting from A to B. Compared to a tricky jump on a typical platformer, Snake Pass gives the player a temendous number of options with which they may approach each hazard. I really enjoyed getting myself into places I felt like the game didn't want me to be then circumventing many of the games direct challenges by approaching them from unconventional angles. This is great, it makes the player feel smart, and truly for their investment and commitment to understanding the games mechanics.
Still, the game has a number of issues that ideally, could have been resolved to make the game considerably better than it is. For instance, the collectibles have no explanation, and never really mean anything, or motivate the player towards anything. Even if coins each unlocked a piece of concept art or music, and collecting all of the whisps unlocked the levels time trial mode, it would have provided the neccesary motivation for pursuing those collectibles.
Checkpointing is another big issue that affects the experience significantly, and the inability to hop in and out of levels, picking up where you left off, is a big problem. The games difficult as it is, and in many cases it feels as though the game asks you to put a tremendous amount of progress on the line. Repeating segments over and over only to get back to where you fell isn't enjoyable, a tedious process excasserbated by the slow paced nature of the game. There's already a reward for players committed to completing the levels without dying, and there's plentiful reward to be had in seeking to beat the games time trials, so it's not clear if the game really warrants an unforgiving checkpoint system. Perhaps rewarding no-death runs more explicitely (e.g. award an extra badge on each level) while making the checkpointing system a little more lenient (more checkpoints) would have offered the best of both worlds here.
Overall I do love the game, love to the movement system and I think for those that can look past the games issues and commit to thinking like a Snake, there's a tremendous amount of fun to be had. However it's a great game that could have been a considerably better with some more attention to the user experience.