Sure Instinct

Sure Instinct is one of four entries in the 2021 SNESdev Game Jam, created by BennySnesDev. It is a puzzle game, which is compatible with the SNES Mouse. By: Evan G Last updated: November 7, 2021

The SNESdev Game Jam happened between June 5 and September 10, 2021, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Super NES. The goal was to create a SNES game from scratch in just three months using publicly available resources. The rule was that it had to be playable on real hardware! In the end, there were four entries.

Sure Instinct is a puzzle game that is comparable to Chip's Challenge. You navigate a ball through a maze, and get various power-ups that help you along the way. The game utilizes the SNES Mouse, but I found that it controls perfectly fine with a controller. One of the neat things of this game is that the game boards have front and back sides, and you can affect one side with what you do on the other.

This game is undoubtedly the most polished of the four games entered in the SNESdev Game Jam. In some ways, the graphics style reminds me of Uniracers. The sound is good, and the implementation of a high pitched Japanese voice is a nice touch to make it feel like a Super Famicom game. The levels are fairly long, and there are a few trip-ups that means that you might be forced to reset. Keep an eye on the cracks in the floor, is all I will say!

BennySnesDev seems eager to expand this game, so make sure to leave feedback!

The game has a tutorial level to help introduce the game	There is has a neat rotation effect when you do the board flip.

Lots of neat touches in the level design	There are a number of power-ups, such as bombs.

Link to the Itch.io page for Sure Instinct