One of my favourite single screen platformers ever, I have a huge amount of nostalgia for the original, 1990 video game Snow Bros.

So while I was excited when I heard there was a new sequel being released, I was very excited. Yet when I played it, it was most definitely not what I was expecting.

Instead of being a new single screen, 2D platformer, Snow Bros. Wonderland is a 3D platform title. So many titles based on 2D classics have absolutely fumbled the jump to three dimensions, so I have to say that once I knew this would be a 3D game, my expectations sank just about as low as they could go.

Yet, surprisingly, Snow Bros. Wonderland is actually really good!

Levels are separated into bite sized chunks, with each area treated as a kind of mini puzzle. Your powers are broadly the same as they are in the original arcade game; hit an enemy with a snowball, and it’ll freeze. Repeatedly and quickly hit it with more, and you’ll turn it into a snowball that you can roll at other enemies, getting rid of them and building up combos the more you hit with the same snowball.

You’ll need to find ways to hit switches or find keys, and it’s never too difficult to do so, given that the stages you tackle are fairly contained, discrete areas.

New to Snow Bros. Wonderland is the ability to unlock various upgrades and improve your character as you progress, which will be important when you come to face the massive bosses.

Snow Bros. Wonderland can even be played as a four player co-op game, which is incredibly cool.

It’s certainly not perfect; the cut scenes and intro have some terribly grating voice acting, and the style of those sequences are also pretty disappointing.

Some of the fiddlier platform sequences can require unnecessary precision, and the game’s camera isn’t really up to giving you the perfect view in those moments.

Yet, those issues aside, Snow Bros. Wonderland is a pleasant surprise and a welcome, albeit incredibly belated, third entry in the Snow Bros. series.

Snow Bros. Wonderland is out now for PC, PlayStation and Switch. I tested it on the Steam Deck, and it works beautifully.

Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with a key for Snow Bros. Wonderland, for review purposes.