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What may be the most notoriously maligned Nintendo Switch home menu icon has finally been updated, more than a year after its game launched. A big update for the throwback platformer Snake Pass is out now, adding a sizable new mode — and reverting its garish icon back to its original, much prettier one.
Developer Sumo Digital released a time-based arcade mode as part of a free update for the game today, which launched almost exactly a year ago on consoles and Windows PC. That’s all well and good, but the real meat here is the new Switch icon that accompanies the Arcade Mode Pack download.
While Snake Pass launched in March 2017 with a clean, colorful version of its promotional artwork as its Switch home menu icon — its logo prominently placed amid other eye-catching visuals — Sumo Digital inexplicably changed the artwork to something more generic. As part of a feature update last June, the developer introduced a new icon that resembles the simplistic icons commonly used for mobile titles.
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This irked the Switch fanbase to a surprising extent, with Snake Pass owners demanding that the studio undo the change on Reddit and Twitter. Sumo Digital later promised that it would tweak the menu icon once again that September — but it wasn’t until the past week, perhaps in anticipation of Snake Pass’ first anniversary, that the company seemed to tease that promised change of artwork.
Several pixelated images appeared on the game’s Twitter account, with the most recent posted last night. The grand reveal has yet to occur, but the teasers sure do look like the game’s updated Switch icon.
— Snake Pass (@Snake_Pass) March 26, 2018
And that icon, by the way, is familiar; it closely resembles the original one.
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As strange as this “controversy” may seem to outsiders, it’s important to note that Snake Pass kickstarted a trend among Switch owners about preserving their home menu’s sleek aesthetics. If a Switch game has a lackluster, unspecific icon, you best believe that the developer will hear about it until it’s changed. The good news is that it’s not uncommon for fans to commend the designers who understand the importance of presentation.
