Snap & Grab Is an '80s Glam Heist Game That's 'Hitman' meets Pokémon Snap

CNET

2 days ago

At Summer Game Fest, I tried out one of the more stylish, relaxing games that made me wish I had pals on the couch to play with. But instead of a co-op adventure, Snap & Grab, as it's called, is a heist title where players take on the role of a fashionista photojournalist who steals gaudy treasures from rich doofuses to fill her penthouse.
Snap & Grab is the debut title for studio No Goblin, which held its demo in publisher Annapurna Interactive's closed-door area at the annual gaming festival. I ducked into Annapurna's area and was awash in 80s paraphernalia -- big wood-paneled TVs, boomboxes and piles of CDs ahoy -- which fit Snap & Grab's vibe.
Booting up the demo on PC, I was awash in the game's world, a whirlwind of pop and glam vibes, like playing in a Madonna music video from the era. I stepped into the high heels of the game's heroine (or antihero, depending on whether you think stealing from ultra-rich jerks is a crime) Nifty Nevada, who uses her daytime job as a celebrity photojournalist to scan the homes of wealthy socialites for the best ways to snag their prize art pieces.
The delightful angle of the game? Nifty isn't stealing the items herself. To preserve plausible deniability, she takes photos of the obstacles standing between her team of hunky minions and the art piece to steal. See a guard? Take a photo of a sink to have your minion overflow it so the guard slips and gets knocked out. See the rich doofus around the art? Take a photo of the record player to stop the music in another room as a distraction.
"Big inspirations in terms of gameplay was Hitman meets Pokémon Snap, with that flair of Carmen San Diego, badass woman," said Cessia Castillo, level designer and artist at No Goblin, who led me through the demo.
The full Snap & Grab has five stages to play, only one of which was available in the demo, but they each have reasons to replay. Rather than puzzles with one solution, they're sandboxes with multiple ways to get Nifty's minions to nab her prize. Castillo confirmed that there are a dozen different heists (items to steal) per level that are identified to players in the game but more things can be stolen if they want, plus photo challenges and new crewmates to add to your heist team. There's also a progression system that, as you steal items, will be able to unlock abilities.
"Nifty will have the ability to throw a hot dog pretty far at a certain point," Castillo said. (I can't even imagine how that will come in handy.)
One of the game's art targets is a giant key you can steal at the center of a dance floor.
No Goblin
In the demo I found one route to steal the piece of art (a gaudy gem-festooned skull) but Castillo noted that others who tried the game out at SGF had brought a couple of friends to try it out with them and they had a blast pointing out all the alternative angles of their heist they could.
"We had a group that was just chaos collaboration, like "snap that, use that to distract this dude, use this to knock out that guy, you could use the lights to melt the statue," Castillo said. "They said it was such a comforting experience to be able to couch co-op it."
But there are other reasons to replay levels, because overpriced art pieces are just some of the items you can steal for your collection.
"In future levels, it might be like, hey, this penguin seems really sad at his aquarium and he's super duper talented. He actually knows how to paint. Let's take him home," Castillo said.
Once you've taken a photo of a target, an intel screen will pop up giving hints for how players can extract it.
No Goblin
Later on in the demo I passed a group of Corgi dogs I could use as a distraction during the heist and Castillo affirmed that they, too, can be smuggled home to Nifty's penthouse.
From stealing gaudy art to nabbing neglected pets, Snap & Grab is a satire lampooning the habits of rich dorks and their vapid party guests. The developers at No Goblin are pretty class-conscious, Castillo noted -- historical artifacts are ignored to take things the rich value more. And stealing something could even impress someone else in Nifty's life: the detective tracking her down and building a case against her. Perhaps … something more romantic for Nifty?
"Perhaps," Castillo hinted. (It's optional.)
There's a lot of individuality to Snap & Grab, from the '80s glam setting to the mechanics to the humor. With multiple avenues for play and no failure state -- you keep taking photos until you find a heist route that works -- the game is a chill sandbox heist with personality to spare.
Every photo of an obstacle can be placed on a timeline blueprint to plan out your heist.
No Goblin
"It's definitely for people who are interested in puzzle exploration games, people who enjoy being completionist like me," Castillo said. "I'd also say it's for people who are into weird and bad humor. Like, there's definitely one crowd that talks about how they saved 1,000 ferrets from a fur coat factory or, like, how owls have legs."
The game is pointedly non-violent, with more slapstick and oddball humor than anything. When I asked which gag was their favorite, Castillo noted that if you go take a picture of the toilet, the game will mention that something's living in it. "That's all me," they said.
"I'm gonna go on the record and say it's for the weirdos," Castillo said.
Snap & Grab is coming out for PC, PS5 and Xbox in 2026.