Epic Snail is a mobile and PC game created by RocketSnail Games where the goal is to shoot your other snail opponents. The game is currently in its open beta stage so it’s not fully completed yet.
The game concept was created by Lance Priebe (aka RocketSnail), one of the co-founders and creators of Club Penguin. In an interview with Adam Hamilton, Lance said that he grew up with G.I. Joe and wished that Club Penguin went on a ‘darker route’ with the snowball shooter aspect.
“I’d love a darker side. I always wanted to add the wars. Like, where is the tactical snowball combat? Where’s the trench-fighting? Where’s the snowball forts? The buildings, the bunkers, WHERE ARE THEY?!”
Recently, the game was released on iOS and I took the time to give the game a shot. I will be reviewing the mobile/iOS version of the game. All of this will just be my first impressions as I only played it once… which was today.
First look
The whole concept of this game reminds me about this other mobile game which involves worms. It was a 2D (and in some cases, 3D) battle royale game where you take turns placing mines and shooting the opponent using missile launchers and other forms of guns and firearms. But despite the concept similarities, it also has massive differences such as you play as a snail, it’s not turn-based, and the weapons of choice.
The art style reminds me of the TV show Veggietales. Just the 3D look of the snails just reminds me of the cucumber character, Larry.
It’s clear that the snails are to resemble Lance’s animal mascot, the Rocket Snail so that’s really neat to see.
The Gameplay
This game is a multiplayer battle royal game, where the max players per session are 8. Unfortunately, you can’t choose which session you want to battle at and more players can get added when a current game is in session. There are no private rooms so you will be pitted against other players in the server.
There are currently 2 kinds of battle arenas (which get selected in random): The Snowforts and The Backyard.SnowfortBackyard
There are also 3 types of weapons you can choose. The Missile launcher, the assault cannons, and the canon.Missile Launche
Assault Cannons
Cannon
The most popular weapon of choice from players I’ve faced are the assault cannons due to its rapid-fire capabilities. The missile launcher doesn’t seem to work over on the mobile version of the game and the canon is really powerful but you only shoot once and have to hide just so you can wait for it to recharge.
Controls
The controls are not the ones you’re used to.
It’s like a joystick control but you can only move forwards and back, and moving the stick left to right just rotates you but you don’t move until you point the stick forward or backward.
This will take a lot of getting used to.
Art and music design
The music is very, very quirky!!!
It’s this innocent military game that reminds me of that tanks mini-game over in Wii Play. Very quirky and cute and doesn’t sound that intense compared to other shooter games like Halo.
The 3d art looks really cool. Kinda reminds me of Club Penguin Island but if it’s more military… and snails… But it’s child-friendly and a lot of. the design is REALLY cute.
While this game is Lance’s way to steer away from what Club Penguin was and create a child-friendly war game, he puts in these tiny easter eggs for Club Penguin fans to recognise.
Cross-platforming
This part doesn’t really work well for me at the moment.
The issue was (at least for Mac), I’m unable to log in my main account and just ended up creating another account. And to top it all off, I couldn’t log off or apply with a spare email to save the username of the 2nd account.
Hopefully, this part of the game would be fixed for Mac versions of the game.
My exeprience playing the game
Currently, the game is being played by people who are in the Club Penguin community (with probs a few of their friends). Remember Perapin from my previous post in my side blog? He plays the game… AND HE’S REALLY GOOD!!!
The fact that people in the Club Penguin community are playing the game makes it more welcoming for me to engage with them and the game. Like, being able to recognise each other in a world outside of Club Penguin is such a surreal experience.
Also, having the honour to verse Rocket Snail mano-to-mano is also cool as well (until the battle arena keeps adding more players).
I’d wish there were more customisable options as I don’t want to be green forever.
Overall thoughts
I’m not a fan for shooter games, first person or third person, not a fan. People who know me know that I’d be hiding in one location in either Halo or Counter Strike as I don’t enjoy running around and getting shot constantly by other people.
Epic Snails is a good introduction to the shooting game/warfare genre. It’s child-friendly so don’t expect blood and gore or music that makes you feel stressed. It’s quirky and innocent, and it’s made by the guy who created Club Penguin.
The only thing I dislike at the moment is the controls and me being unable to log in to my main account over on the mac. Hopefully, that gets fixed.
I’d give this a 3.5/5. Since it’s currently on beta, the expectations of bugs and other mishaps are expected but so far, I’m enjoying it!
What are your thoughts on this game? Will you play it? What do you think should be added in this game? Let me know in the comments below!
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