Clid the Snail

There's potential in Clid the Snail. The postapocalyptic setting feels fresher thanks to the new perspective, and the characters are charming, even if they fit expected tropes from stories about a ragtag bunch being forced to come together. A fascinating setting cannot overcome gameplay that feels repetitive due to unexciting shooting mechanics and enemies that fail to become intelligent until you reach a boss fight. It can be fun if you temper your expectations significantly, but for most people, Clid the Snail won't do it for them.

Showing promise in the early stages, Clid the Snail is both a charming shooter filled with a ton of character and visually interesting themes. However, the slow pace, cluttered worlds and repetitive gameplay fail to elevate the game to true greatness.

After some digging, I found that the indie developers at Weird Beluga focused on three design pillars for Clid the Snail “methodical and challenging combat, exploration and puzzles, and an emphasis on narrative.” The team found success with two of these three pillars, the exploration in Clid is quite enjoyable. Made even more so by the absence of a radar like system, I rather enjoyed the very old school approach. Even the story in Clid the Snail hit all the notes of comedy, tragedy and action on queue. But that combat… they absolutely NAILED the challenging part. It’s just a shame that it isn’t much fun and instead just feels like an exercise in futility at parts.