Super-Snake

Super-Snake is a video game in the action genre and published by SoftSide Magazine originally released in 1982. It is currently playable on Atari 8-bit.

The ’80s Arcade era granted gamers with one of the most beloved Atari 8-bit classics, Super-Snake. This single screen game, originally released in the summer of 1982, brings forth graphics displaying a rectangular map dominated by alternating shaded squares. The goal of the game is to guide the titular character around the grid and increase its length by eating apples, evading obstacles, and traversing restrictive boundaries.

The controller for Super-Snake is simple, consisting of just a joystick and one single fire button. The joystick directs the snake character along the grid – the faster the joystick is pushed, the quicker and more aggressively the character accelerates in that direction. The fire button is used to pause the action of the game and move up in levels. The difficulty settings for Super-Snake are divided into three basic levels. Beginners are encouraged to start at a low difficulty and build up speed and finesse as the levels increase.

Throughout the game, a red apple appears randomly somewhere on the screen. As the Super-Snake character consumes the fruit, a segment is added to its body extending its reach in the opposite direction of the origin of the dot-eating journey. The larger the snake, the harder it is to master its movements splurging from a wide circle around obstacles. As the level increases, the quantity of obstacles appear and the snake gradually speeds up, making the game much more demanding.

The Super-Snake challenge really amp up when the player exhausts the playfield by filling all the squares, resulting in a game-over situation. Even experienced players can expect a fair amount of difficulty when pitted against the several Atari levels. The adrenaline rush that comes with passing through tight gaps in the grid comes with a palpable sense of relief after scoring extra points.

Super-Snake was an instant hit amongst early ‘80s gamers. Its engaging gameplay and light-hearted design provided an escape from the usual shooter games and racing simulations. It took the high-scoring, basic yet competitive approach of the classic snake game and applied it to an 8-bit format that allowed for simple, straight-forward controls and high octane action. A must-play for any fan of the halcyon days of gaming.

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