Game On: Marvel gets the formula right with Snap
Card-based games are some of my absolute favourites. There’s just something about a game of cards that are based on characters from a fictional universe that makes it wonderfully appealing.
For example, when I played Gwent and played a card based on a character that I really enjoyed engaging within the Witcher games, the joy was often two-fold as serendipity and strategy combined. My victory almost seemed certain with these characters spurring me on and thus, I cherished completing my deck and collecting as many character cards as possible. I experienced similar joy when I played Hearthstone the first few times.
Marvel gets the formula right with Snap as its game wonderfully weaves in dimensions of its films and other content into the characters of the cards you play. For example, whenever you play the Spiderman card, the moment just before you set it on the field the card is surrounded by webs.
It’s the same with most other characters as each card has its unique animations and abilities. The abilities are based on the card being flipped and revealed on the field (something like the flip effect in Yu Gi-Oh) and they add a nice touch to the game.
When someone like Punisher or Rocket Racoon is played, their abilities are also accompanied by animated sequences as the former fires an RPG and the latter unleashes his many guns. Marvel really wants you to collect and level up these cards and they are therefore designed almost flawlessly.
In terms of gameplay, the game is designed for complete uncertainty as even the terrain/field area is divided into three zones that follow unique rules by themselves. You win if you score higher points on two rows out of three and this is extremely challenging in terms of strategy. What if one of the three rows destroys the other two? Trust me, some do. This game is less about who has the best cards and more about who can come up with the best strategy.
An extremely fun game in terms of the need to adapt, Snap is designed for short windows of play and some very exciting multiplayer combat.
With its game field in portrait orientation, some very effective unique skills and wonderfully designed cards, Marvel gets things right that even Gwent couldn’t.
Three distinct terrains of simultaneous combat, a mere 6 turns of play and some on-the-turn restrategising is an addictive mix. A nearly perfect game for mobile phones, Snap is only let down by its use of forgettable background music and few incentives for progressing up its ranked tiers. A must-play for mobile for 2022!
