Skabma – Snowfall Review: A Unique Piece Of Representation In Gaming

Skabma – Snowfall Review: A Unique Piece Of Representation In Gaming

Gameplay progression is also well balanced in Skábma – Snowfall. Initially Ailu’s movements are very basic, but as the game goes on, the player’s use of a Noaidi drum gives them access to different abilities, thanks to freeing spirit familiars throughout the game. This leads to mechanics like manipulating the environment through wind vortexes and creating rock platforms, with a similar feel to Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
Where Skábma – Snowfall truly excels is with its atmosphere. Its cast of characters is small but well rounded, doing what’s needed to keep the story progressing while also giving both an internal view of Sámi culture and what it looks like from an outside observer’s perspective. Meanwhile, the story itself is perfectly serviceable too, even it if doesn’t break new ground in comparison to other nature-centric adventure games.
All of this gives Ailu and the player more time to explore the game world, which is essentially where its gameplay mechanics lie. Skábma – Snowfall is very light on combat and instead tasks the player with 3D platforming, using the skills gained from the spirit familiars to traverse its varied areas. That said, a little more instruction would go a long way towards helping the player’s exploration here; the game eschews the need for the path-following direction of the Fable games, which is a refreshing change, but it does go a little too far in the other direction leading to some head-scratching moments.

Unfortunately, the great potential that Skábma – Snowfall has is held back by a variety of technical issues. In particular the camera is quite tetchy, particularly in internal structures like caves, and tight platforming in these locations can be quite hit and miss. Meanwhile, some of the design choices can be a little bit overbearing, such as visual effects hitting the player when low on health and visual clarity drops based on what environment the player is in rather than more traditional dynamic lighting, and this can make it hard to see what is going on.
This does mean that sometimes Skábma – Snowfall is not quite as fun to play as it should be. Slow load times and frame rate drops can make specific moments a bit of a chore to get through, so it does suffer from an overall lack of polish. This doesn’t take away from what works well about the game, but players should go into the title bracing themselves for some rough around the edges moments.
Overall, Skábma – Snowfall is a bold and heartfelt game that has a wonderful atmosphere and charming if sometimes simplistic gameplay. It is held back by some technical limitations, but players who don’t mind these setbacks will still find an engaging experience.
Skábma – Snowfall releases 22 April for PC. Screen Rant was provided with a PC download code for the purposes of this review.

Our Rating:
3 out of 5 (Good)

#Skabma #Snowfall #Review #Unique #Piece #Representation #Gaming

Skabma – Snowfall Review: A Unique Piece Of Representation In Gaming

Gameplay progression is also well balanced in Skábma – Snowfall. Initially Ailu’s movements are very basic, but as the game goes on, the player’s use of a Noaidi drum gives them access to different abilities, thanks to freeing spirit familiars throughout the game. This leads to mechanics like manipulating the environment through wind vortexes and creating rock platforms, with a similar feel to Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
Where Skábma – Snowfall truly excels is with its atmosphere. Its cast of characters is small but well rounded, doing what’s needed to keep the story progressing while also giving both an internal view of Sámi culture and what it looks like from an outside observer’s perspective. Meanwhile, the story itself is perfectly serviceable too, even it if doesn’t break new ground in comparison to other nature-centric adventure games.
All of this gives Ailu and the player more time to explore the game world, which is essentially where its gameplay mechanics lie. Skábma – Snowfall is very light on combat and instead tasks the player with 3D platforming, using the skills gained from the spirit familiars to traverse its varied areas. That said, a little more instruction would go a long way towards helping the player’s exploration here; the game eschews the need for the path-following direction of the Fable games, which is a refreshing change, but it does go a little too far in the other direction leading to some head-scratching moments.

Unfortunately, the great potential that Skábma – Snowfall has is held back by a variety of technical issues. In particular the camera is quite tetchy, particularly in internal structures like caves, and tight platforming in these locations can be quite hit and miss. Meanwhile, some of the design choices can be a little bit overbearing, such as visual effects hitting the player when low on health and visual clarity drops based on what environment the player is in rather than more traditional dynamic lighting, and this can make it hard to see what is going on.
This does mean that sometimes Skábma – Snowfall is not quite as fun to play as it should be. Slow load times and frame rate drops can make specific moments a bit of a chore to get through, so it does suffer from an overall lack of polish. This doesn’t take away from what works well about the game, but players should go into the title bracing themselves for some rough around the edges moments.
Overall, Skábma – Snowfall is a bold and heartfelt game that has a wonderful atmosphere and charming if sometimes simplistic gameplay. It is held back by some technical limitations, but players who don’t mind these setbacks will still find an engaging experience.
Skábma – Snowfall releases 22 April for PC. Screen Rant was provided with a PC download code for the purposes of this review.

Our Rating:
3 out of 5 (Good)

#Skabma #Snowfall #Review #Unique #Piece #Representation #Gaming