Snakeybus is a weird mix of Crazy Taxi and the classic game Snake.  Take control of an ever-moving bus and pick up and drop off passengers at bus stops.  The more people you pick up, the longer your bus gets.  Pretty soon you’ll see your own bus-snake following behind you!  If you stop moving for too long, or fall into a pit, it’s Game Over.  The game gets more challenging the longer your bus becomes.  It’s available to download on all current game consoles and PC, but reviewed on PS4 here.

Play control is pretty simple.  Steer with the left analog stick and accelerate and brake with the L and R trigger buttons.  But since you’re always moving, you won’t have to use them much.  Press the triangle button to view the action from the driver’s seat, and the X button will make you turn corners tighter.  As you pick up passengers, a jump meter will fill.  Press the R shoulder button to jump, which is handy if your long bus is blocking your way.  Pick up passengers at bus stops and drop them off for points.  At some point your bus will get full and you’ll have to look for a place to drop them off.  Just follow the arrow like how you do in Crazy Taxi.  If you stop moving because your bus is too long and crowding the playfield, or if you stop because you hit a wall or can’t move, or if you fall into a pit or water, the game is over.

There are many maps you can choose from.  Some are based on real cities like Seattle, Miami, or Paris.  Others are fantasy locations like in a dorm room, generic suburb, or cylindrical space station.  You can also choose various modes of play.  Classic is the regular rules, while the timed mode gives you a time limit to drop off passengers, very similar to Crazy Taxi.  There is also an Endless mode that seems pointless because you can only use it on one map, and an Aerial mode that I couldn’t figure out.  As you play, your cumulative score unlocks new maps and buses to drive.  You start out with a regular city transit bus, but can unlock a yellow school bus, psychedelic rainbow party bus, double decker, Chinese parade dragon, and more!  You can even drive the truck from ClusterTruck!

The main problem I had with the game is that many of the maps make it very easy to get stuck in a corner and keep you from moving, which can end the round prematurely.  And being a physics-based game doesn’t help either.  I also wish the game had better instructions, but at least it’s easy to figure out.  But if you want a “just for laughs” kind of game, Snakeybus can be entertaining in short bursts.

Kid Factor:

Snakeybus is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence.  It looks like you run over people when you drive through bus stops, but the people just fly into your bus like rag dolls.  When the game is over, your bus explodes and people fly out, but again, they look like rag dolls so the violence isn’t very realistic.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, and younger gamers may find it a bit difficult.

Tags: Game Reviews