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“Snake” is an old game that used to be played on old electronics, such as early cell phones and TI Calculators. There have been many modernized versions with “SNAKEBYTE” being one of them, though this one is a bit crazier than I expected.

“SNAKEBYTE” is much like the original Snake: you move your snake around eating fruits and other goodies (though I’ve never seen a Vegan Snake before) to make it grow. One innovation to the gameplay is the analog movement, so now the snake has more directions to move easily in (which is a good change, in my opinion). Eating the food, which can fade in and out for certain amounts of time, will of course still makes your snake grow longer but each kind will offer different variables, such as food counter rate, speed, energy rate, and some side effects (like the Mushrooms inverting all axises on the controls).

These Pepeu can climb right up your tail so watch out for them.

The obstacles in the game are enemies that can fade in and out of nowhere, even on top of the food. You have to be careful when navigating around them, especially when they come in hordes that fill up the screen. There is a variety of enemies to encounter, which includes but not limited to stationary Spiky Balls, Ladybugs with random movements, Pepeu that can home in on you, and something called a Night’s Smokey that can restrict your field of vision if she catches you. Then there are bosses who just happen to be bigger snakes who also eat your food, but to beat them, you just need to eat all the required amount to win.

There are five arenas to play in (each with a different theme) and the difficulty increases as you go up the stages as well as climbing the arenas. The difficulty can get ridiculous, but it’s not like “Touhou”’s bullet hell difficulty. To help complete the stages, there are powers that you can acquire by beating special stages to unlock them. These Powers will burn through your energy meter but by completing the stages for stars you can start off with more initial energy. If you complete the Power stages you will also unlock special stages for more stars. Powers help out as long as you have energy (which can be built up by eating), but the sensitivity on the Power buttons seems a bit low.

They drain your energy quickly but having Powers is a must for your snake.

The backgrounds are titled graphics but there’s nothing eye straining. There are even some neat designs so the stages don’t come off as dull. The enemy designs are simple and there is enough of a variety to distinguish which enemy is what. There are some color swapped ones. However, they have a different bio from their counterparts, so they don’t seem too much of the same. The snakes (yours and the bosses) are snake heads with spheres mostly colored in with gradient fill, though they are a bit reminiscent to 90s DOS games (and I’m okay with that).

There is nothing elaborate in the sound department though I would never expect a snake to make a munching sound. Even so, there is a bit of a variety in music. Many of the tracks are catchy, one of which reminds me of a George Thorogood song. These tracks can also be found on YouTube via the credits in the app. One slight off put with the music is that the victory fanfare abruptly ends the track with a jazzy tune.

Pros:
+Fun Snake game with increasing difficulty.
+ Analog controlled snake.
+ Catchy Music.

Cons:
– Jazzy fanfare abruptly ends the catchy music.
– Low sensitivity for the Power buttons.

Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 3/5
Sound/Music: 4/5
Controls: 3/5
Replay value: 4/5

tgg grade 3.5 out of 5

Verdict: 3.5/5
“SNAKEBYTE” is an entertaining and challenging variation of the Snake game from the days of old. With some free time, you can get your fill of fun difficulty while the snake gets its fill of treats.

Title: SNAKEBYTE
Developer: MALKBYTE
Format: Android
Genre: Casual
Resolution: 854 x 480
Release date: 2016-12-28
Difficulty: Incrementally Increases
Spent time: 2+ hours
Average grade internationally: N/A on Gamerankings.com
PEGI/ESRB age rating: PEGI3+/Everyone
Price: $0.99