HEADSNATCHERS Preview on Steam Early Access

Headsnatchers by developer IguanaBee and Publisher Iceberg Interactive is a party game centered around the idea of taking your opponent’s head. The characters are animated dolls, so removing someone’s head doesn’t remove them from the match.

In standard multiplayer, the game cycles between different modes, each of which involve taking off an opponent’s head and then using it for something. For example, one game mode involved grabbing an opponent’s head and then using it to knock over pins, as though the head was a bowling ball. The rest of the modes are likewise filled with slapstick ways of using your opponent’s head once you get it—using it as a basketball, as a football, as a means of performing a ritual to open a door. As you can probably guess, the first to win a set number of matches wins the game.

The game has both online and local multiplayer—local multiplayer can be accomplished by connecting controllers to the computer. However, this game is clearly built for local multiplayer (there are at least 2 different game types for local multiplayer while online multiplayer only has the standard game). Additionally, when I tried using the online quick match, I was never placed into a game with anyone else. The only time I played online was when I set up a match with a friend who also had the game (and even that had some bugs). Since I didn’t have any controllers that I could connect to the computer, I was only able to sample the standard and single-player games.

Headsnatchers has a single-player mode called “zombie castle.” Unlike the multiplayer, this game mode appears to be focused more around platforming than it is about stealing heads. As this game appears to have been built with a controller in mind, trying to play with a keyboard and mouse resulted in me falling off the edge multiple times. Also, from what I could see, if you quit, then you need to start from the beginning (this mode has no save points).

Headsnatchers also has a mode that allows you to create your own custom head for use in single-player and multiplayer. There were a vast amount of options ranging from silly to serious—although as this is a party game, most of them were silly.

Overall, I enjoyed the multiplayer of this game but found the single-player frustrating. This is clearly a game meant to be played with friends.

Check Out the Headsnatchers Steam Early Access Launch Trailer:

Headsnatchers is available for PC via Steam Early Access for $14.99.