Snuggle Truck by Owlchemy Labs is the kind
of game you want to hold up as a golden standard
of why games need their gameplay to stand
on their own merit before finalizing the particulars
of the presentation. What started out as a
tongue-in-cheek title about border-running
has transformed in to a fluffy animal smuggling
title, but in either case the game is outrageously
fun, amusing to play and supremely difficult
to put down.
Ultimately your aim is to get your truck and
any animals that haven't fallen out of the
back to a zoo, but navigating the rough terrain
isn't as easy as it sounds. Touching either
side of the screen will cause you to move
in that direction while tilting reorients
the vehicle in an attempt to land smoothly,
preventing hard bounces that are prone to
fling animals from the back of the vehicle.
Power-ups can provide a handy boost, but you'll
need to be careful where you deploy it lest
you smack in to a hazard on the way.
What makes Snuggle Truck so darn addictive
is the variety of challenges that are presented,
with multiple physics-based hazards pulling
multiple duties in order to trick, trap or
slow you down to prevent you from finishing
the level in the time you're after. Each level
features several 'medals' awarding progress
based on how many creatures you're able to
save and how fast you're able to do it. Unless
you're a freak of nature this will require
several replays for later levels, but you'll
find yourself loving every moment of it as
the game highlights tenuous moments by slowing
the game down to a 'bullet-time' so you can
savor your victory or failure with equal amounts
of joy and laughter. This also gives you plenty
of time to absorb the crisp cartoonish visuals
in the game, which while oddly paired with
the game's theme is none-the-less impressive
considering the original concept.
If you're the competitive type you can take
advantage of the leader boards, vying for
faster times on perfect runs with others around
the world. If you prefer a more casual challenge
you can stick to the basic medals, skipping
a few here and there and taking the game as
it comes, complete with loops, explosions
and devious challenges.
Snuggle Truck is a vibrant explosion of fun
and well worth picking up if you prefer your
games to be fast, fun and vibrant.
