I am fuming right now. At the time of writing this review, my mother beat the fourth level of Snakebird.

This is a game I’ve had on my phone for a few years. Admittedly, I played it once in a blue moon, but I never seemed to “get” the solution for that level.

However, my mother... Someone who’d never pay attention to such games, let alone play them. Someone who couldn’t fathom how or why some people play games more complex than the average Scrabble. Someone who played Snakebird for a mere hour after I introduced her to it.

Beat. The hellish. Fourth level. The very next day.

I remain flabbergasted by this unexplained sorcery… but, of course, also feel elated. This game will evoke bone-deep frustration in you. Yet, you’ll come back for more.

At a glance, Snakebird is a visually charming turn-based puzzle game with simple mechanics. But never have I come across another mobile game as deceptively challenging. At least, not since Sokoban.

It’s about getting the titular character — a teensy- weensy “snakebird” to the rainbow portal, slithering through narrow spaces and floating stones, eating sweet fruits along the way. You’d probably ask yourself, “How hard can the game be?”

And then you eat those words hard, shuddering at the damned Snakebird’s haunting presence in your dreams. It laughs mockingly at you… for not getting past the single-digit levels.

Anyway, Snakebird stands out as the prime mobile puzzle game to choose. While The Room is a great puzzler with equally frustrating challenges, it does keep hidden other mechanics for players to discover and add to their arsenal of problem-solving abilities. So to an extent, that game actively works to misguide the player to sell a thrilling experience.

But Snakebird isn’t that. It’s simple. It’s clear. It hides nothing.

It never pressures you with time. Or lives. Or move limits. Or any such ridiculous non-diegetic demands.

And that’s when it hits you: this annoying game isn’t actively trying to annoy you. Heck, it even accommodates you.

If you want to try other levels, you may.

If you make a mistake, then rewind you may.

If you fall to the depths, then back to the last position you may go.

Somehow, you can’t help but feel that the game’s empathetic design, in itself, is an unintended mockery of your intelligence.

Because ultimately, the only thing to blame when you get a move in the game wrong… is you.

Snakebird treats its players well because it knows how excruciatingly difficult its challenges are. And for some reason, I find that devilishly crueller than watching them rub our noses in it.

It’s… like programming. I love this game.

VERDICT: Snakebird’s been the “Dark Souls” of mobile puzzle games since 2015. That answer doesn’t change today. I rate it a perfect 10 on 10.