Early access code used with many thanks to Player Two PR.
Even before the recent boom of life sims, Snacko was a featured game in the Wholesome Direct back in 2022. It looked polished even then, and with the opening of early access last month, we have a chance to see the work of its husband and wife development team from Bluecurse Studios so far.
Checking in on their Discord server is exciting, as they answer questions and accept feedback, engaging with the community to an impressive extent. They’re earning a lot of trust that any problems with the game will get addressed, and I share that trust.
Off to a Good Start
A recent priority of Snacko has been to become easily playable on Steam Deck, which I appreciate. Portability is a great fit for cozy games! Snacko really shines, with appropriate onscreen prompts and button mapping that quickly feels natural. Many games only focus on this later on in development. It’s a big reason that I tend to avoid playing anything early access. It is so nice not to have that problem here.
There’s great tutorial guidance as the game begins. Especially if you’ve played farm sims before, you’ll quickly feel confident with all of the basic activities offered. There’s a nice variety of quests, with a main storyline, a bulletin board for side quests for NPCs, and always lots of work to do restoring the town and inviting new residents.
Once you’ve mastered the basics, Snacko gets less straightforward as tasks start calling for materials you’ve never seen. You have to be willing to put the work in, explore and keep track of what you learn. I was a little more frustrated in that area than I usually am when playing this genre, but a wiki is in progress, and Discord is full of answers.
Testing the Limits
As to be expected, not every feature is complete in Snacko yet. Making progress, I could sense where features would be added later to make things less of a grind. One of the most obvious cases is in the mine. Once you unlock the right area, you can take an elevator in a cave to a mine that is procedurally generated fresh each in-game day. Some days the cave is small, some days it’s big enough to get lost in, and some days something goes wrong and you can’t even get out of the elevator.
Sometimes, I can’t tell if something isn’t added to the game yet or if I’m just missing how to get it to work. Snacko’s information on Steam’s store page makes it sound like a lot of the exploring and story progression are optional. Still, a lot of the materials you’ll need for crafting, even for extras like additional villager housing, are only to be found if you unlock more, finish more quests, and follow the plot.
I don’t expect that to change unless they eventually add a separate casual mode from the main game mode. So if you’re only attracted to the idea of customizing and collecting, hanging out with all of the characters, Snacko might not be for you.
Full of Promise
Overall, Snacko in Early Access looks to be an excellent take on the genre, with lovely writing and a charming 2D and 3D art style. It will certainly end up packed with gameplay and features, though this early access stage may not be enough for everyone yet. If you don’t mind the rough edges, there is plenty to do already, and getting to know the characters is a really fun time. Wishlist it and keep an eye out!