:: CRASH.IO
So you've sunken plenty of hours into crawling around in slither.io on your iPhone or iPad. You've got your stories of tragedy and triumph, the times you coiled four snakes at one time balanced out by the others when you had a length of more than 30,000 and some little jerk swerved in front of you at the last second.
You've even followed our adviceand practiced the art of self-sacrifice so that you can play with a friend, since the ability to choose your own server still hasn't made it into the game yet. But let's say you have other mates without iOS devices? Is there a way to play with them too?
It's very much every snake for himself or herself in slither.io. When the object is to become the biggest snake around, there's no room for partnerships that last for more than a few seconds, tops, and there's definitely no extra prize for team play.
That said, sometimes even a snake needs a buddy. Creator Steve Howse told our sister site Pocket Gamer that he plans to add a way to play with friendsor even pick the exact serve on which you wriggle. Until that day comes, though, you'll have to jump through a few hoops to get on the same board as a friend.
What's in a name? Not much in most mobile games. You simply pick something that tickles your fancy and fits the character limit and away you go. Maybe it's a screen name you use on other gaming platforms, but even in multiplayer affairs, it doesn't make much difference.
At first glance, the same would appear to hold true for slither.io. After all, you can change your nickname after every game if you want, and for such a simple game, plenty of people use their nickname as a joke, a political statement, or both.
Though the focus of the latest update to slither.iowas the new opportunity to match wits against A.I. snakes instead of human opponents, something else even more important was added to the massively popular game too. Two new control schemes made their debut, giving players a choice of three different ways to wriggle their way to the top of the leaderboard.
After intense testing (re: playing a bunch of slither.io and bugging my children to do the same), I'm come to the conclusion that while everyone is allowed an opinion, there's only one correct answer to which one of the control schemes works best. Let's examine them in turn from best to worst.
"Wait a minute," you say. "Surely that has to be a mistake. Isn't the whole point of slither.io that it features multiplayer snake action?"
Indeed it is, and while not ever having met the insanely popular game's creator Steve Howse personally, I'd expect he knows enough to not mess up the good thing he's got going. However, there's also something to be said for making a mobile game accessible to the widest possible audience, which is what the latest update to slither.io has done.
Competitive online munch-'em-up Slither.io may be flavour of the month on the App Store right now, but it's only the latest in a long history of snakes in mobile gaming.
The first, and still very much the best, is the monochrome beauty we all wrangled in a time before apps - the titular Snake, from Nokia's imaginatively-titled Snake.
Here's why we'd trade an iPhone running Slither.io for a Nokia 3310 with Snake any day of the week.
Slither.io is still going strong, and with a new official update coming soon it doesn’t look like the trend will be fading any time soon.
It's an addictive adrenaline rush, and as much fun to watch as it is to play. We’ve gathered some of our favorite Slither.io Let’s Play videos to help feed your obsession.
As Juliet once said out on her balcony: "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."
And she may have had a point - it's not the name that maketh the man. But in the cutthroat world of slither.io, it can't hurt to use everything to your advantage.
So here's a few tips on how to give yourself the most badass name possible, while being thematically appropriate. You know, to instil fear and raise a smile on the faces of your enemies.
We all love slither.io, right? I mean, what's not to love about a game that involves scooting around the screen, eating as much as you can, and trying to get as big as possible?
That's right, nothing.
But where did slither.io come from? What games inspired it, shaped it, and turned it into the money-gobbling behemoth that it is now?
Don't worry, we've got your back. Here's a little history lesson, presented with both jokes and serious bits, that highlights the games which inspired your current extendable crush.
If there's one thing that slither.io has proved, it's that the addictive gameplay of Agar.io can be transplanted onto basically anything and it will still be good fun.
It wouldn't be surprising if we saw other developers jumping on the bandwagon, and we've come up with five major games that we think could benefit from taking a leaf out of slither.io's book.
So you've read our guide on becoming a plucky upstart in massively multiplayer snake simulator Slither.io. You've taken on the big boys, and you've grown fat and complacent.
Well snap out of it - you're going to need to work your sodding scales off to keep your lead and stop yourself from losing your top position. (Coincidentally, congrats on reading this while keeping one eye on your iPad).
So that's why we've got some advanced tips for staying alive while you're massive. Read on, heed our advice, and soon you'll be so big your body will take up the entire play-space and the server will crash and you'll be crowned King of Slither.io.
Unless you have the patience of a saint and the reflexes of a ninja, you're going to have a hard time becoming one of the bigger snakes on the board in slither.io.
And you may notice that some of the bigger snakes are busy destroying the competition, eating up all the dots, and, well, just generally being jerks.
Well, as the old saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. So here's a few tips on how to be just like them, if that's what you want.
