TL;DR
Gamepad controls:
Menu/Options/+: Start/Pause
Face buttons/D-Pad/either analog stick: Move Click in on the left stick (LS/L3): Change camera angle Left/right bumper buttons (LB/RB/L2/R2/L/R): Turn 90 degrees left/right
Default keyboard controls:
Left player: W/A/S/D to move, Space to start/pause/confirm, Esc to cancel Right player: Arrow keys to move, Enter to start/pause/confirm, Backspace to cancel
Take targets to gain length and score points.
Battle: 2-4 players. Last surviving player wins the round and scores the most points. Modifiers and options switch up the action; start with the default settings and then go nuts.
Campaign: 1-2 players. Take 9 targets to clear the stage and proceed to the next; clear 8 stages before lives are gone to clear the course. Clear the course without crashing to proceed to Extra Stages.
Survival: Last as long as possible without crashing; take targets to extend the timer.
Mission: Complete 101 unique goals. You’ll unlock more Missions as you complete them.
Gauntlet: Try to survive 3, 5, or 10 randomly-selected levels at a skill level of your choice with only 3 lives.
Snake Classic: Enjoy this classic game of Snake. Keep playing to unlock a sweet bonus!
Version history
2.496 (4/6/2026): Made a few minor UI-related fixes.
2.495 (3/27/2026): Original Steam release.
Known issues, in order of importance
- At present, the game does NOT run on Steam Deck. I'm currently investigating whether it can be made to work.
- There is a known bug wherein it's possible for the game to crash at either profile selection or the beginning of gameplay. It is believed to be caused by unsupported controllers being connected, but it may also be caused by non-XInput controllers. This is under investigation.
- There is a possible bug causing the next stage's name to not be displayed during multi-stage Missions. This is under investigation.
What is this?
In 2008, Snake360 was released on Xbox 360 as one of the first Xbox Live Indie Games (originally referred to as Xbox LIVE Community Games). It featured a 300-stage Campaign, Survival, and the addictive 4-player Battle and Suffocation Battle modes.
In 2016, Snake Party was released on the same platform as one of its final games. Available for only about a year, it added eight years’ worth of refinements to Snake360’s Battle Mode, including new features, improvements, and battle arenas. Mission and Gauntlet Modes were also added, drawing from Snake360’s Campaign levels to offer tons of new challenges. Survival Mode was expanded as well, adding two additional ways to enjoy it. Finally, Snake Classic, a recreation of the classic Nibbles game, was included as an unlockable bonus. (This game is unrelated to a newer, different game called “Snake Party” also available on Steam.)
Now, in 2026, Snake Party Extreme adds back Snake360’s full Campaign to the refined, improved Snake Party, plus adds two new Campaign courses, full Steam Leaderboard support for the Campaign, Survival, and Snake Classic modes, Steam Achievements, keyboard controls, and a few more new surprises. It’s the most complete version of this game ever released, as well as the best Snake game ever made, and I hope you love it as much as I do.
Explanation of game modes
Multiplayer Modes (Offline only)
BATTLE (2-4 players): Eliminate your opponents to score points. Tons of options (see below) and near-endless replayability on 20 unique stages. Humans only; no AI is included.
CO-OP CAMPAIGN (2 players): Same as the single-player Campaign mode explained below, but you'll team up with a partner to complete it. Progress is tracked separately from single-player. Each player has their own stock of lives; the game ends if either player runs out.
SCORE COMPETITION (2 players): Pick a difficulty, then challenge a friend on either a full Campaign course, or on randomly-selected stages from the Campaign. You get one try per stage; whether you crash or not, you move to the next stage. Highest total score wins. If you clear a stage, you'll get the end-of-level bonus, so try not to crash.
Single-Player Modes
CAMPAIGN: Choose a course and difficulty, then attempt to clear all stages before you run out of lives. If you clear the entire course without crashing, you'll proceed to the Extra Stages which are more challenging. Clear ALL stages without crashing for a Perfect Clear!
MISSION: There are over 100 scripted challenges for you to attempt. They'll start very easy but will get very, very hard. The last few will need to be unlocked before they can be played. Your progress will be tracked, and you get an unlimited number of attempts.
SURVIVAL: Select a stage, then last as long as you can and score as many points as possible without crashing. In timed modes, you will need to take targets to extend the timer. How long can you last? There are actually four different Survival modes; see below for a full explanation.
GAUNTLET: Pick a difficulty, then try to complete a set of random Campaign stages using a limited number of lives. You can also attempt the Endless Trial. Unlimited challenge awaits you here!
PRACTICE: Practice individual Campaign stages here. If you have reached a course's Extra Stages, you can practice those as well.
SNAKE CLASSIC: A recreation of the classic snake game "Nibbles." There is also an unlockable bonus mode included. See the FAQ below for more details.
Explanation of Help & Options menu
You can set a number of options here:
AUDIO/VIDEO OPTIONS: Besides the self-explanatory music and sound volume, you can disable some of the voices if you don't like them. You can also set fullscreen or one of several windowed resolutions (restart the game for changes to take effect). You can also change the anti-aliasing setting, or enable/disable vsync. Note that anti-aliasing will significantly impact the game's performance on weaker hardware.
CONTROL OPTIONS: If you're using a gamepad, you can enable/disable the individual control methods (left stick, d-pad, etc.) to disable things you don't use, reducing accidental input. You can also change the keyboard assignments, change the button prompts to match the type of gamepad you're using, or swap the confirm/cancel buttons if desired.
HIGH SCORE DISPLAY: Snake Party Extreme keeps its own local leaderboards. If set to ONLINE, the game will display Steam Leaderboard high scores during gameplay and on course/stage select. If set to OFFLINE, the game will instead display high scores from its local leaderboards instead.
Battle Mode Explanation
First, you'll select a mode from one of these three:
MODE 1. NORMAL: Snakes grow as targets are collected.
MODE 2. REVERSAL: Snakes grow as targets are collected, but also change direction each time a target is collected. In other words, the head becomes the tail and vice versa.
MODE 3. INFINITY: Snakes grow continuously, for as long as they are alive. Targets will not appear at all.
Next, you can choose to turn any of these modifiers ON or OFF:
SUFFOCATION: Collisions will not eliminate you; instead, your snake will simply stop moving. You then have up to 3 seconds to make another move. This time is represented by a "lifebar" below your score. Making a move before time expires will reset the timer to 3 seconds, so you'll have a new 3 seconds each time you're stuck. If time expires, you are eliminated. By default, this is on. If you turn it off, collisions will eliminate you immediately, as in classic Snake.
CORPSE: If on, eliminated snakes remain as obstacles.
VARIABLE SPEED: If on, snake speed will randomly change every few seconds. The duration of each speed is randomly chosen within a range. The slowest/fastest speeds won't last for as long as the more moderate speeds. All snakes will still move at the same speed.
BLINK: This can be turned on for snakes, walls, or both. If on, whatever you've selected will constantly be fading in and out of view, making it harder to see.
Beyond the mode and mods: you can also choose other options, like growth rate, score limit, snake speed, target size, and the number of targets present at a time.
Then, the battle begins! You score points when other players are eliminated. Each round ends when only one player is left; you'll then play more rounds until the score limit is reached. Then, the player with the most points wins! Or, if the leaders are tied, they'll enter a Sudden Death round to determine the winner.
Survival Mode Explanation
The four Survival Modes are as follows:
TIMED SURVIVAL: This is the original Survival Mode from Snake360. Take targets to add time to the clock. The game ends when either you crash or time expires.
DUAL TIMED SURVIVAL: Same as Timed Survival, but Reversal Mode is forced on. In other words, your direction is reversed each time you take a target. Your head will become your tail, and vice versa. How long can you last under these conditions?
3-MINUTE SCORE RUSH: The timer is set for 3 minutes and cannot be extended. You will need to take risks to maximize points! Score is the sole measure of performance in this mode.
CLASSIC SURVIVAL: For folks who hate timers. Your performance is measured solely by score, and you can take as long as you need. Just don't crash!
FAQ
Q: Why do you recommend using the face buttons to control the snake?
A: The original versions of this game released on Xbox 360. Now, there are a lot of great things that I can say about the Xbox 360 controller, but none of them relate to its D-Pad, which is objectively one of the worst ever made. It is awful. It absolutely lacks the precision necessary for a game of this type. The face buttons were therefore a huge improvement.
Over the years, I have continued to play this game using face buttons on every controller I’ve ever used to play it. And after all of that time, I can say for sure that I believe it is the best way. If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself. But if you disagree, I would at least recommend using a good D-Pad. The Xbox Series controller’s D-Pad is top-tier. The DualShock4’s is also very good. The Xbox One’s is alright. I don’t recommend the Switch Pro. (I haven’t tested the DualSense or Switch 2 Pro.)
Q: Can I try it before I buy it?
A: Yes, a demo is available! It features Course 1 of the Campaign, 2 Battle/Survival stages, a sampling of the Missions, and Snake Classic. Download and enjoy it. =)
Q: The Battle Mode screenshots talk about points, not wins. What's the point system about?
A: Basically, the longer in the round that you last, the more points you will score. The winner of the round earns significantly more points than anyone else, but players that last past the first elimination will at least come away with something.
2-player matches are unaffected; win the round to score 1 point.
In a 3-player match, the winner will earn 3 points, while 2nd place earns 1.
In a 4-player match, the winner will earn 5 points. 2nd place earns 2, and 3rd place earns 1.
Q: How do unlocks work?
A: To unlock Course 7 of the Campaign, clear the first six Courses. You can play them on any difficulty; you don't have to have played all of them on the same difficulty.
To unlock Course 8, clear Course 7 on any difficulty.
85 Missions are available from the start, but with each 5 you complete, you'll unlock one more. You'll notice the "Extra Missions" page fill in, one mission at a time, and then the "Insane Missions" page. Keep playing and you'll have them all before long.
Unlocks in Survival Mode are tied to the grading system. The more/better grades you get, the more stages you'll unlock. You'll start with 8 stages and unlock 12 more as you play. Your performance in all 4 modes will count towards unlocks, and you'll unlock stages faster if you play all 4, but it is possible to unlock all 12 additional stages by just playing one single mode, if you do well enough.
All Battle Mode stages are always available.
You can unlock a bonus mode for Snake Classic by completing ANY ONE of the below tasks:
- Raise the Campaign Clear Rate to 90% or more.
- Clear all Missions.
- Unlock all Survival stages. (this is the easiest method)
- Complete all 10 stages of Snake Classic.
Q: What is the Clear Rate in Campaign? How does it work?
A: Clear Rate is the overall measurement of how much of the Campaign you’ve completed. I consider it “beaten” if you reach 90%. Getting beyond that is an incredible achievement.
On each possible combination of course and difficulty, it is possible to earn up to 5 points:
NOT PLAYED: 0 points. You have never attempted this course.
NOT CLEARED: 1 point. You have attempted, but not cleared, this course.
ASSISTED: 2 points. You have cleared the course with Easy/Kid mode on, or using Slow/Slowest speed.
CLEARED: 3 points. You have cleared the course, but have not reached the Extra Stages.
EXTRA REACHED: 4 points. You reached the Extra Stages, but could not clear them without crashing.
PERFECT: 5 points: You completed all stages without crashing even once!
Clear Rate is simply the number of points you’ve earned out of the maximum possible. Go for it!
Q: What is Course 7? It seems a lot different from the others.
A: Originally, I’d planned to release a direct sequel to Snake360, called Snake361. It would have featured multiple new gameplay elements, such as the teleporters you see here, but also gates that could open and close, collapsable bridges, and others. I also imagined that its Campaign would feature multi-part levels that grow along with you.
Course 7 was the first of these new concept courses. But I felt that its levels got TOO big, and I didn’t find it to be as fun as I’d hoped. I ultimately dropped the concept. However, I figured that someone might still enjoy playing it, and I hate wasting work I’ve done, so it’s included here as Course 7. Complete Courses 1 through 6 on any difficulty to unlock it. It contains 9 stages instead of 8, plus up to three Extra Stages if you’re able to get through without crashing, for a total of 12.
Q: Hold on a second, what’s up with this Combo thing?
A: Course 7 has a lot more empty space than the original courses. Because of this, I decided that—similarly to Serious difficulty or below while playing courses 1-6—no targets will be placed against walls. And as a result of that, it is possible to take EVERY target using Quick Moves.
So, I added a combo system. For Course 7 ONLY, if you take targets in succession using Quick Moves, 0.01 will be added to the multiplier for each successive target “comboed,” up to a maximum of 50. For example, at maximum, this means that your x2 Quick Move will boost your score by x1.9 instead of the usual x1.4, a huge difference. Try to Full Combo the entire course for a ton of points!
Just a quick note: if a target spawns directly in front of you and you’re unable to react in time, the game will recognize this; you won’t receive a Quick Move bonus for that target, but your combo will NOT be broken.
Q: Okay, so what is Course 8?
A: I created quite a few new stages for Snake Party’s Survival and Battle Modes. Since they were already in the game, I whipped up some difficulty variants, then added it as Course 8. It’s not as thought-out and refined as the others, but it’s more of this game, so I hope you like it. Complete Course 7 on any difficulty to unlock it.
Q: What is Snake Classic?
A: Snake Classic is a recreation of the classic DOS QBasic game “Nibbles.” It is not emulated; it is running entirely in Snake Party Extreme’s engine using an open source font. The sound effects were recreated using Korg synthesizer software running on a Nintendo 3DS. All of the levels are identical to those in the original. The only thing I intentionally didn’t reproduce from the original is a graphical bug. I hope you love it. =)
Q: What’s the Snake Classic bonus you can unlock?
A: If you complete all of Snake Classic’s levels—or, if you accomplish one of several other goals throughout Snake Party Extreme—you will unlock Snake Classic Remix, which is a recreation of my own QBasic game “Nibbles2,” made all the way back when I was in college over 25 years ago. It features 30 new stages and is a fun game in its own right. Enjoy.
Q: What features were planned for this series, but weren't included in Snake Party Extreme?
A: Obviously, the new campaign was never finished. Course 7 is all that was ever created.
A level editor was planned, but I never got around to it. Sorry about that.
Replay saving was planned, and it almost worked. Saving and loading happened, but the timing of playback was somehow wrong. I stared at it for hours, but in the end, I just couldn't get it to work. I apologize to all who would have enjoyed using this feature.
A profile system with XP and leveling had been planned, with level-ups unlocking hidden elements. That never happened; a simpler unlock system was used for this game instead.
I think I pretty much covered most of what I'd originally been planning, but to be completely honest, what I REALLY wanted was to remake this game properly, from the ground up.
Q: So, what's next?
A: That depends on you. As much as I would love to do a proper remake, with hundreds of new stages, a level editor, expanded mission mode, team battles, team Survival, network battles with 16 or more players, events to unlock hidden content, and more, I would only consider launching a project of that size if there is a significant demand for it. So, if that sounds like something you want, please support Snake Party Extreme, not just by buying it, but reviewing, streaming, sharing, and generally spreading the word about it. In this day and age, when there are so many choices--not just that, but so many GREAT choices--it is extremely difficult to get the word out about...well, anything. A snake game is certainly no exception to this! So, as always, thank you very much for your support.