Snipperclips on the Nintendo Switch isn’t one of those titles where you can understand the experience simply by watching gameplay or reading reviews. Fans of the genre may be hooked already by the unique gameplay idea, but I know I’m not alone in saying that I was skeptical about whether or not I’d enjoy this game.
Spoiler alert: I really like it — however, I recommend this game with some major caveats.
What is Snipperclips?
This couch co-op puzzle game stretches the limits of modern imagination by letting players snip and clip each other into various shapes to solve a variety of scenarios. Emphasis on variety, here, for there are truly a lot of different sorts of puzzles that these stages present slowly throughout the game.
One moment you and your partner will be snipping each other to perfectly fill a pre-ordained shape and the next you’ll find yourself sharpening each other’s tips to optimally pop balloons. Worlds you unlock later down the line offer up new types of challenges while steadily ramping up the difficulty.
Ultimately, you won’t find yourself doing the same type of puzzle more than a few times, replays aside. This is really refreshing, as it feels like many puzzle games like to pick a few types of objectives and stick with them throughout the entire game.
There’s aren’t an overabundance of levels to occupy your time, here, though you can still be sure they didn’t skimp out. For $20. you’re getting 45 stages in the standard 1 – 2 Players World Mode, 21 stages in the 2 – 4 Players Party Mode, and 3 freeform minigames in the 2 – 4 Players Blitz Mode. With the high quality of each stage in mind, that’s certainly nothing to sneeze at.
Can Snipperclips be enjoyed solo?
This game can be played alone, but if this is the main way you’re planning on playing the game, let me just save you the trouble. Snipperclips is incredibly frustrating when you’re flying solo. Not only are many of the puzzles much more difficult to pull off on your own, but the game also loses most of its charm.
The puzzles are difficult, and you’re going to fail a lot as you try to solve them. You may even feel like some of the puzzles are heavily reliant on luck. Half an hour or more of trial and error can go into one puzzle before finally figuring it out. Anyone who gets easily frustrated with this isn’t going to have a good time. However, this is strangely where the co-op shines.
The animations are so charming and vibrant that it really brings the characters to life. It’s easy to project your own personality onto and makes all of the times that you ultimately fail somewhat comical. This is a game devoted to bringing you an unadulteratedly good time with your friends and family rather than the addictive rush of solving a puzzle.
Does Snipperclips leave a lasting impression?
There are three unique worlds with their own themes and levels, each harder than the last. Whether or not the game retains your attention long enough to get through each of those stages, however, is another story.
Mileage will vary, but I found myself quickly getting burned out after a mere half-hour to an hour of consecutive gameplay. It rapidly loses its charm over long play sessions. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, however, if you’re just looking for something that you can whip out for a quick game now and again.
After playing for some time and experiencing the charming co-op experience, I felt rather fatigued. This may be because I muscled my way through it for review, but the novelty simply didn’t last with me. While the puzzles gave my brain a fantastic workout, I simply wasn’t compelled to complete excess stages after the first world. Anything that wasn’t required to unlock a star level ultimately felt superfluous.
Verdict
I was excited to get my hands on Snipperclips, but I was hoping the appeal would last longer for me. It’s still a solid puzzle game, and an excellent choice if you plan to use your Nintendo Switch for local couch co-op. Just don’t expect the allure to captivate you for long.
If you’re looking forward to playing a bit of Nintendo Switch for Game Night every week or so and are willing to return with your friends or family over the course of a couple of months, this game was made for you. Your co-op partners will thank you for it.
If, however, you’re the solo player looking to get the most out of Nintendo’s newest console, you’re not missing out on much by ignoring this title. Check these other titles instead.
Did we convince you to take the cut and pick up Snipperclips? Take a peek at our beginner’s guide on everything you need to know for shredding through any challenge while you wait for your download to finish.
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Published: Mar 9, 2017 11:51 pm