Do you remember when Snow Bros. Wonderland was announced, a new 3D entry in Toaplan’s Snow Bros. arcade series? It was really unexpected. Well, it has a release date now. Clear River Games says it’s coming November 28, 2024 to PS4, PS5, and Switch. No PC? Curiouser.
Part of what makes this really unusual is that Snow Bros. isn’t the best-remembered arcade game you could make a latter-day sequel to. I have a slight fondness for it owed partially to encounters with it in my youth, but even I wasn’t asking for a new one. There was a remake/remaster of the first game released in 2022, which kind of affirmed that it’s fine. It’s okay. It isn’t Bubble Bobble, but it isn’t a complete waste of your quarters in the arcade, either.
Snow Bros. Wonderland doesn’t even seem all that related to the arcade games. You play as either Nick or Tom and the main combat mechanic is rolling up snowballs, so that’s not nothing, but it’s a lot less arcade and more PS1. There’s a lot of very familiar-looking collecting and platforming.
That’s not to say it’s definitely going to be terrible. It’s in the margin of murkiness where the antiquated graphics and gameplay could belie some enjoyable gameplay. I do enjoy those early 3D platformers. It’s just such a strange sequel. There were a lot of casualties that came from trying to shift 2D formulas to 3D, and this looks so evocative of that era. If you told me this is a remaster of a canceled N64 game, I’d wander off to do my research.
Yeah, I’m curious. Whether or not I have time to get around to it in November remains to be seen. In the meantime, we’re still waiting on the Snow Bros. 2 remaster.
Snow Bros. Wonderland will arrive on PS4, PS5, and Switch on November 28, 2024.
Published: Aug 22, 2024 01:20 pm