To be fair, having the title on-screen is nice
Snake Pass, the lovingly crafted but ultimately limited game, ran into a problem on Switch. Except this time it wasn’t neccesarily mechanical or bug related, but rather, completely aesthetic, and not even in-game related — people hated the new icon.
There’s a perceived plague going around on the Switch where select developers will put out an icon that doesn’t display the title of the game in question. It looks particularly garish next to a bunch of other descriptive icons, and in some cases, the icon itself can just look blown up and unapppealing.
The internet collectively spoke out against Snake Pass‘ updated icon for those very reasons, and now, Sumo Digital is going to change it back. In their own words, a representative commented on the whole matter, stating: “The reaction to the icon change has been interesting, and as this is our first self-published title, it’s definitely a valid part of our learning experience. It’s also testament to the passion that players have for Nintendo and Switch that a detail like icons are part of the overall gaming experience and connection they have with the handheld. We’ve definitely taken the feedback on board and will be changing the icon back with the next update which is due early next year. It’ll mean the branding isn’t unified but our focus is on our players and community so we’re OK with that.”
While Sumo Digital is waiting until next year, Image & Form already changed theirs for SteamWorld Dig 2. It’s a silly debate in the grand scheme of things, but I’m okay with most of the suggestions from the community at large. Nothing needs to expand beyond small humble requests, but again, I do like the ability to tell what everything is at a glance — I already have 50+ games on my Switch, and even though I can easily tell that an icon with a snake is for Snake Pass, it’ll be a bit much deciphering some of the more obscure ones years down the line when my library is double or triple that.
Nintendo Switch Owners Really, Really Care About The Game Icons [Kotaku]
