This might be the first time that I've bought a snack for the gimmick value, and the snack is much better than the gimmick. The fact that the gimmick of this treat is actually really stupid doesn’t hurt that argument. These Space Raiders have possibly the strangest, and dumbest gimmick ever for a salty snack that I've ever seen. Apparently, the story is that you're eating a snack preferred by an Alien race known as Space Raiders. There are silly facts on the back of the package about these aliens, including an illustration depicting the alien with a height reference. The snacks themselves are even shaped like little Space Raider heads, which is weird because why would these guys eat snacks of their own likeness.
After seeing the package, and the shape of the treats, I was pretty convinced these wouldn't be great. When I realized that the flavour was "pickled onion" I was even more sure that I wouldn't like these. So reluctantly I took a bite, and I was blown away. These things taste really good. The onion flavour was like a cooked onion, sweet and not too harsh. The pickled aspect of the flavour was super strong and didn't hold back at all. The sour vinegar had a bite that melded really well with the sweet onion flavour. It was like a salt and vinegar with sweet onion combo.
While I was blown away by how much I loved the taste, I also noticed that these had a really great crunch as well. The corn puff wasn't too dense, but also wasn't too soft. The crunch was solid when you bit down, but after a few chews the corn puff would melt perfectly in your mouth.
I must admit that the gimmick worked. I picked up this bag of crunchy snacks because I thought the packaging was ridiculous. Then when I least expected it, they won me over with a really great tasting and textured treat.