Snake was always one of my favorite games growing up. Despite its dated mechanics and overall lack of general thrill, the concept of it was quite genius. Something so simple could (and did) provide me with hours of entertainment. So I’m always happy to see other developers take their swing at the venerable franchise.

Octopede, by Orbital Games, is just such a title that attempts to take the core concept of Snake and make it into something more modern that would probably be more palatable for modern gamers.

Here’s the official description:

In Octopede, you play as a lone computer program in the desperate search for more megabytes. With more ‘data’ eaten, the computer that you are in becomes more aware of your presence, sending out enemies and obstacles to try and eradicate you. Survival is based on skill and makes the game more competitive and exciting.

Using a large array of weaponry ‘the worm’ can blast through enemies and firewalls, prolonging survival and raising your overall score. The worm’s ability to move in 8 directions gives a new edge to the traditional 4 way moving patterns usually found on other snake games.

Octopede is available right now for PC via Desura for a ridiculously low price of $1.49, on sale from $2.99 for the next few days. An Xbox Live Indie Games version is also in the works and should be released soon.

[Desura, Orbital Games]

Trailer