It’s rare to play a cooperative game these days that doesn’t involve killing. Fortunately, Nintendo is volunteering to change that with the upcoming release of Snipperclips on the Nintendo Switch.
It feels beneficial to start off by providing some background information on the unique Nintendo Switch controllers. In order to play Snipperclips, it’s necessary to make use of the innovative Joy-Con controllers to play together and solve puzzles. Each Joy-Con controller is fairly small and has a remarkable amount of features, all thanks to the technology inside it, like a motion sensor. Although this title actually makes use of the traditional buttons found in each Joy-Con controller.
Each player basically controls one of two characters to complete various objectives. As the name implies, it’s possible to cut out certain sections of each character to create different shapes. This is done by getting one character to move in front of the other character that is being cut. To make it simpler, any part of the character that is being cut will appear as green. The idea is to then use these new shapes to fill out the dotted outline that is the objective in some of the puzzles. Each of the characters may also have to be rotated before cutting it and also after creating a new shape. This is to make it possible to completely fill out the dotted outline.
As can be imagined, the process of moving these characters and getting them to do each action requires cooperation. Otherwise, it will result in one of the characters getting completely cut or the incorrect shape being created. Fortunately, Nintendo doesn’t seem too concerned with punishing players for making mistakes. All it takes to undo a mistake is to press a button and the character will go back to its original state.
What is interesting is that puzzles get more intricate with progression. One such puzzle involved working together to get a ball out of a trapdoor and then getting it through a basketball hoop. As can be imagined, this particular puzzle definitely required both players to fully rely on each other, in order to quickly make different actions that would hopefully lead to solving it.
Perhaps it’s a sign that playing it requires knowing the other player fairly well, but it does feel somewhat confusing to initially play Snipperclips. The initial levels involved trying to work out some of the controls and efficiently make use of some of the abilities. It’s also quite demanding in later levels as it’s necessary for both players to have quick reflexes to perform some actions in quick succession. Yet, it could also be the case that the full title will gradually get harder, whereas the demonstration was aimed at showcasing various game mechanics within a very short amount of time.
The biggest surprise that came out of playing Snipperclips was just how comfortable it felt to use the Joy-Con controller. Each action was appropriately mapped out to a button to make it easy to use it. There’s also the fact that both Joy-Con controllers feel more like twins and that seems like the same vibe that Nintendo is going for with the two adorable characters players control. It helps that the art style is just as adorable with its colourful backgrounds and preppy props. The simple nature of this title also meant that it worked perfectly on the smaller Nintendo Switch console screen.
Snipperclips was definitely a pleasant surprise to play and it felt like the sort of tool that team building exercises would quite possibly envy. It does require playing it with someone that can be relied on, but there’s certainly potential for some satisfying puzzle solving, when done with the right person.
Snipperclips is scheduled to be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch this March 2017.
