Thank you Kabum for sending us a review code for this game!

In 1976 a two-player game called Blockade was released where both gamers controlled a snake whose goal was to block the other player. A single-player version of Snake was released in 1997 for Nokia 6110 users and Snake II was later released for Nokia 3310 users in 2000. The concept of leaving a trail behind without making contact with it was also popularized in Tron-themed bike games like GLTron.

Cube Snake has snazzier visuals than any of those previously mentioned games. After a splash screen showing the controls for keyboard and gamepad, you’ll begin your journey as a juice box craving snake slithering around a small cyber-punk themed room. With each juice box that’s consumed, the snake will get slightly longer.

Losing the game is accomplished by bumping into your own tail or going past the red-outlined walls. For every five juice boxes consumed, you’ll earn a letter to spell out “FEVER”. When it you have all of the letters acquired, the game will enter into a short frenzy mode where the music speeds up, the lights flash, and there are multiple juice boxes in the room to consume and grow at a faster rate.

After the frenzy mode is over you’ll go back to consuming one juice box at a time and collecting letters again. There is no change of scenery or any reason to press on other than to beat your previous high score. After the game ends, you have the option of submitting your initials manually into a local high score table. I’m not sure why this process isn’t done automatically. In another odd turn of events when entering your initials you have to use the down arrows to progress past the default letter A. I thought changing the letters of the alphabet would be going up, not down.

The game’s menu is another oddity. The game was obviously designed for keyboard and mouse input as there is limited gamepad support. To navigate the menu fully, you’ll need to use your mouse at times. Thankfully, the touchscreen on the Steam Deck works just as well.

If you’re into Steam achievements, I have news for you. Cube Snake has a single Steam Achievement. Sadly, it appears to be a placeholder as it’s title is New_Achievement_Name_2_0. The description is New_Achievement_Desc_2_0 so I’m not sure how to unlock it or if it’s even possible. The global rankings are 0% so I’m in good company of not knowing how to earn it.

The music is nice and has enough variety to not get old or annoying. I think the lack of changing scenery after completing a FEVER mode is a missed opportunity to add variety in the aesthetics. Having different themed levels and music would give Cube Snake more staying power. I saw all that there was to see in thirty minutes.

Despite being sparse in content, Cube Snake does have a couple of things going for it. It’ll bring back memories for Generation X’ers. It’s family-friendly so you don’t have to worry about anything inappropriate being in it. Lastly, it’s only $2.99 so it won’t break the bank. I’d still wait for a Steam sale to see how cheap it can be acquired for.