At first glance, you might think you know exactly what type of game Will You Snail is.
It might look like a hard-as-nails twitch platformer, like Super Meat Boy or N++. It sort-of is. But it also isn’t. Will You Snail is also the story of an evil AI called Squid who finds pleasure in your misery, with puzzles, side-scrolling shooting, surprising minigames and thoughts on simulation theory thrown in there. Yeah, we’re pretty confident in saying you won’t have played anything like Will You Snail before.
Some of its levels are designed to be actual platforming challenges, but unlike other games in the genre, Will You Snail lets you adjust the difficulty. The AI might make fun of you for it, of course. But it’s your call. It’ll get over it. Even on the easiest setting they’re still challenging, but not quite as devilish, allowing you to focus on the game’s more interesting elements such as its story, the AI’s excellent and entertaining narration, and the puzzles.
The puzzles are optional, but for us these were a highlight of Will You Snail. They break up the action and provide a different type of entertainment. In them, you’ll need to string together a series of electricity pylons in order to activate a door. They start off fairly easy, but become more challenging as you progress through the game. The option to skip is there if you need it, at least, which is always comforting to know.
Ultimately, it’s Squid’s commentary that will keep you playing Will You Snail. That, and the snippets of story you’ll find through hidden conversations scattered throughout the levels. There’s a humorous but rather dark narrative to uncover, and it makes working through Will You Snail‘s more challenging levels all the more rewarding. There are over a thousand lines of narration from Squid, and what’s really neat is that it’ll never say the same line twice. It gives the impression that this really is a real, thinking form of intelligence out to get you.
Will You Snail‘s game description claims that the AI predicts your movement, laying traps in different places depending on how you act. Honestly, we didn’t really see this in action – or at least couldn’t tell. To us, the placement of traps (that come in the form of spikes, bullets, lasers, and other deadly contraptions) felt random each time we spawned. Does it matter? Not one bit. The challenge is there either way; the idea that the AI can predict how you’re going to act is a nice gimmick, but it’s not necessary.
We’re really impressed with what we’ve seen of Will You Snail, but what’s even more impressive is that this is the work of one developer, Jonas Tyroller. This is something truly unique, entertaining and imaginative – and for that to come from one solo creator is rather special. So, whether you’re a fan of hardcore platformers, or simply like the idea of an AI that can – maybe – read your mind, go give Will You Snail a try. You won’t regret it.
Will You Snail is out today on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC, priced at $14.99 or your local equivalent.
