Snapshot | Review

By: Ryan Seiler
Posted: September 19, 2012

Hipsters – those scarf wearing, acoustic guitar playing, Polaroid toting snobs – have had a long history of taking pointless photographs. (No one cares what your Alice Springs Chicken looks like, no matter how many filters you put over it!) Strangely, for all their non-conformist, look-how-unique-I-am attitude, they’re carbon-based mammals, save the thick rimmed glasses. Luckily, Snapshot allows them to live out their wildest fantasies of being a robot with equally terrible taste in photography.  Ironically, though, as of now, Snapshot is only available on PC; which is a little like putting someone’s diabetes medication at the opposite end of an obstacle course. Better luck next time hipsters!

Story/Design

Snapshot follows Pic, an adorable, wide-eyed alien robot set down on a foreign planet ages ago. As he awakens, he sets forth on an adventure chasing a butterfly. See? Not all post-apocalyptic robots are evil, some have insect collecting hobbies. Armed with only his camera, he treks through an empty world, full of peril. And that’s about it as far as story goes. Apart from a few scrapbook-y ‘’cut scenes,” there isn’t a story at all. Not that platforming gameplay absolutely needs narrative, but it does add context to the changes in setting as well as an overall motive.

The environment itself tells its own story. The opening takes place in a forest that eventually transitions into a ruined city a few stages in. Reading between the lines, it’s not hard to find a bit of a backstory to Pic’s wrecked world. He does have a nuclear radiation symbol plastered on his torso after all.

There’s not much else to say so far as narrative goes. Snapshot has a simple premise layered on top of cryptic undertones; a small story of a robot after a butterfly, with a wider story all around. 
Story/Design 7/10

Gameplay

Snapshot’s all about… well, snapshots. Pic can take pictures of certain objects such as boxes and springs, all of which are saved as photos he can later place to accomplish his goal. Up to three photos can be taken and called upon at any time.  With a simple click of the mouse, anything photographed will be transcribed back into the level, maintaining its position, and velocity. It’s a bit like copy-pasting a certain area of the level. Whatever fits into the lens will be transferred to a photo located in the top left corner of the screen.

The first few levels start out simple. Take a picture of a block, reach impassable barrier, place photo of block in front of barrier, then climb block and barrier. After a while, though, far more complex tasks must be accomplished, some of which left me scratching my head. Luckily, Retro Affect built a fantastic learning curve into Snapshot that has zero significant jumps in difficulty; sooner or later you’ll find yourself accomplishing feats that were once seemingly impossible; placing photos mid-air, catching projectiles and launching them back at their cannons, using magnets to launch Pic across gaps, all learned one at a time until you eventually master every skill. Just like any good puzzle game, it’s one long tutorial that’s masterfully constructed. But while the game is not difficult per se, it can be frustratingly tricky. Certain areas require you to complete tasks within a set time, use magnets to reach areas without really knowing where Pic will be thrown,  or even carefully maneuver around spikes; a nerve-racking process considering the precision successful picture placement entails.

There are four acts compiling nine stages, each made of a three level structure, adding up to over 100 levels total. Every new gameplay device is individually taught in its three corresponding levels. First, learn a new trick with a simple solution. Second, learn its dual application - usually more difficult. Then a final test of each one before moving onto the next mechanic. What Snapshot really accomplishes is a feeling of mystery towards the next new trick or skill. If you can just beat this level, you get to tinker with a new trick. It’s freaking addictive!

Snapshot is one of those rare games that could never be ported to another system, i.e. consoles or mobile. The gameplay was designed around a keyboard and mouse, using the two in tandem as well as any first person shooter out there. The keyboard controls Pic, whose movements feel incredibly refined, giving the player exceptional control during tricky platforming. The mouse controls the lens-shaped cursor used to frame shots as well as control your field of view. After playing for a while, keeping the lens ahead of whichever direction Pic is going will become instinctual, revealing more of the level when placed further from Pic.
Gameplay 9/10

Presentation

Retro Affect implemented a strangely non-retro style for Snapshot. The backgrounds all have a highly detailed watercolor aesthetic, causing the less detailed foreground characters and objects to stand out and be easily recognized. (Although I have to add some sprites lack depth and stand out a little too much.) I found myself calling back to my experience with Braid on more than one occasion. The levels themselves look very familiar in terms of their hand drawn look, as well as their old-timey children’s book art style.

Pic’s pursuit of the butterfly is accompanied by an understandably upbeat soundtrack. Each track has an atmospheric quality to it, sometimes giving the world around the little robot a joyful ambience while, in other areas, evoking a deep, brooding significance. These songs grant Snapshot a kind of importance; one other cartoonish platformers would pass up for arcade-like melodies, wrecking the sense of meaning this game exudes.
Presentation 9/10

Overall

Snapshot is a whimsically pleasant little platformer. With a wealth of levels and a variety of puzzles to solve, you’ll have hours of addictive mind-bending gameplay accompanied with a pleasant art style and ambient atmosphere. Just try not to get too upset seeing the cute little guy plummet to his death. It’ll happen a couple hundred times.
Snapshot  8.3/10

Game Info

Platform: PC

Publisher: Retro Affect

Developer: Retro Affect

Release Date: August 30, 2012