SNAFU; Where the Creepy pasta makes you part of its story.
SNAFU is the latest release from publisher TurnVex and developer Stanislaw Truchowski. Once again, this brilliant mind has created a psychological horror that leaves its players wanting more.
Alibaba the main NPC, welcomes you to the Minecraft-esque Medieval Grow your Business Game. Think Animal Crossing meets Minecraft. The NPC’s goal is to assist you in making as much money as possible by selling your “product”. That is until SNAFU starts to corrupt Alibaba’s peaceful world and code. SNAFU is a virus that has infected the simple, peaceful game. As you play through the game, SNAFU destroys the game, the NPCs, and you.
Graphics/Gameplay
The graphics take on a clunky Minecraft-like look. It’s simple yet effective. Once things get creepy, the graphics turn from blocky cuteness to unnerving, otherworldly horror. The simple clunky graphics matched the gameplay; simple turned scary. The game’s simplicity makes the puzzles and problem-solving to collect all the coins and discover the endings.
The gameplay is very good. The goal is to constantly upgrade your businesses by levelling up, earning more money and amazing out all areas of the business – oh, and save Alibaba. The day and night system counts the days as they pass but also makes the atmosphere eerier. If you aren’t a big scaredy cat like me, you can get your business levelled up quicker by adventuring at night. I was so freaked out by both versions of SNAFU that I was a bit lightheaded and had to take a break. Once I returned, though, my goblin brain took over, and I just went for it. It was so much faster getting things done after that.
The gameplay is repetitive, but not in a negative way. The repetitiveness of it lures you into a sense of calming lull, which makes the changing environment and SNAFU that much more terrifying. This aspect is something that Stanislaw Truchowski (TurnVex) is incredibly brilliant at achieving. In his previous games, he utilises repetitive or long periods of calm atmosphere to trick the player into letting their guard down.
This is evident in the difference between Inside Depth 6 and SNAFU. Both games have different stories, gameplay, graphics, and everything. However, both can stay as horrifying without gore-ridden graphics.
Audio
The audio fits the game; simple and not much. There isn’t a background soundtrack like Minecraft has, but there is the atmosphere; birds singing in the morning and during the day, crickets, and such at night. This is starkly contrasted with the unnerving static and horror when SNAFU is near.
Playing with headphones is best; I played with noise-cancelling headphones, and the scares were so much better than without. I’ve played a little since without headphones, and the scares aren’t as effective.
Story
Simply brilliant. The game’s story involves you, the player, directly. This fact only adds to the entire creepiness of the game. Just imagine getting so involved in the little Medieval Grow your Business Game only for the corrupt virus of the game to pop up and come for you suddenly.
The story matches the game’s graphics, which are simple yet horrifying—a pure battle of wills between SNAFU and the player. While SNAFU tries to destroy the calm game, you play on, levelling up and competing against every one of SNAFU’s tricks, finding ways to save Alibaba and complete the game.
While playing, I had so many questions pop up, some of which the game prompted me to think about but never answered, leaving me wanting more and more. This kept the game exciting and kept it stuck in your mind. The game asked me what I was actually doing; I could not stop thinking about that. Even when I left the game, the thought lingered in my mind and pulled me back to it sooner than I thought I would go back.
SNAFU combines the eeriness of old-school creepy pastas in looks and movements. It really does give the unsettling sense that something genuinely sentient and alive has infected the game, your computer and is coming for you.
SNAFU has three endings to it. I’ve found and completed endings one and two of the three. The first ending is good in that it wraps up the game nicely. Ending two has been my favourite so far. It blurs the line between the game and the player much more. As for ending three, I think I know where it is in the game. I just haven’t worked out how to trigger it. But I will update this page once I’ve worked it out.
Difficulty/Controls
The game is simple in terms of controls and whatnot. It’s your basic mouse and keyboard controls. The tricky bit is using your brain. So, if you are a bit slow like me at times, then you’ll find some things longer to work out. The game uses all aspects, like night and day, to force players to explore the game even when they don’t want to. Trust me. Sometimes, I didn’t want to leave my wee house, but to progress the game, I had to.
But, overall, the game is simple and easy to play if you can handle the scares.
Game Time
Regarding game time, I think you could probably complete the main story in about an hour to an hour and a half. I took much longer, between four and a half to five hours of playtime. Most of this time was spent trying to calm down or build me up to leave the wee house. The rest of the time was spent completing as much of the game as I could. I’m pretty sure I spent much time hunting down the last ending before eventually giving up.
As for the time for the story, it fits. You can spend as little as an hour or a few hours exploring the world. Stanislaw Truchowski (TurnVex) games can take longer, allowing the player to explore different things, or you can speed run it and finish quicker. I really enjoy this about the games, especially SNAFU. SNAFU has so many opportunities in it that spending so much time in it is fantastic.
Price
The price for SNAFU is £4.29 on Steam. I got it on release day, and Stanislaw Truchowski (TurnVex) had it on sale, so I think I paid something like £3 something for it. Still, at under £5, it is a good price. Plus, it is in a bundle with other TurnVex games, which, if you enjoy the stories and scares, you should try the rest of them too.
Fun Factor/Replay Ability
I’ve already hit the reply button. I want to see how quickly I can unlock everything and see if I’ve missed anything. Specifically, I want to know if the third ending is hidden somewhere in the game or if there is a secret ending.
Conclusion/My Opinion
In the end, SNAFU is a game I highly recommend. It had no bugs, a good story and good scares. Plus, it’s less than £5. TurnVex games are getting better and better with each release.
Information & Rating
Rating: 6/7
Total Steam Play Time: 4.5 Hours
Did it run with ease? Yes
Name: SNAFU
Publisher: TurnVex
Developer: Stanislaw Truchowski
Edition: Base
Genres: Horror, Psychological Horror, Dark, Adventure, Indie, Action,
My Gaming Laptop Specs
Graphics
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti
Processor
Up to AMD Ryzen™ 7 4800H
Display
15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS (144 Hz / <6 ms Response Time / 100% sRGB / 300 nits / Dolby Vision™ Enabled) 15.6″ FHD (1920 x 1080) IPS (60 Hz / 100% sRGB / 300 nits)
