Snow Drop
Platform: Android
Difference Games sends their lovely and slightly macabre Twisted Fairytales on the go with your NOOK or Kindle Fire in Snow Drop, a tile-matching re-imagining of a classic tale. You know the one. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy meets other girl. Girl turns out to be wicked queen. Wicked queen is also wicked jealous and wants to be the fairest of them all. There also might be some heart eating and slaying. I dunno, man, fairytales are hardcore!
In some ways, Snow Drop is almost a bit more interactive storybook than it is actual game. Depending on what level of difficulty you choose, you'll be presented with a series of images on tiles, which are then flipped over. Tap a tile to flip it rightside up, and then find and tap its match so both of them vanish. The more tiles you match in a row, the higher your score and multiplier, while mismatches will net you a small point penalty. Points aren't important here, however, beyond something to gloat about. Once you've cleared all the tiles, you'll be rewarded with the full image beneath and a snippet of story.
While there's nothing really wrong with the matching gameplay, the emphasis here is clearly on the story and art. Compared to the likes of Goldilocks or Robin Hood, Snow Drop plays it relatively straight with its source material. Apart from a mention early on of the Wicked Queen wanting to eat Snow Drop's heart (which trumps anything I have ever threatened anyone else with), it's a great choice to read with your kids. While it does feel like the narration was rushed towards the end in a "... and then everything turned out okay anyway" sort of way, at around fifteen to twenty minutes for a playthrough it's perfect bedtime story length. Which is fortunate, since if you ever wanted a surefire way to get sweet dreams, the richly hued and surreal fantasy artwork contained herein would be the way to do it. It's creative, abstract, and even kind of adorable in the way that makes you feel even worse about your own shameful rudimentary stick-figure capabilities. (Not that I'm projecting.) Snow Drop isn't particularly challenging or groundbreaking, but it is an absolute stunner of an interactive storybook that's perfect for people looking to relax. It's even got a more appropriate and realistic ending than the original did. Now how many fairytale remakes can you say that about?
NOTE: This game was played and reviewed on a Kindle Fire. Game was available in the North American market at the time of publication, but may not be available in other territories. Please see individual app market pages for purchasing info.
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