FoxTail Preview
FoxTail, published and developed by Gingertips Game Studio, follows a young fox named Leah as she travels to the big city to visit with her grandmother. After arriving in town and making our way to our childhood home, our sweet grandmother sends us out to the local hard of hearing, hermit and herbalist, Corsak, to fetch some tea. Unfortunately, things go awry and, without any spoilers, it is up to us to venture out and save the day. While this game certainly does draw from such classics such as Legend of Lyrandia, King’s Quest and Monkey Island, how does this pixelated anthromorphic based game square up against others of the genre?
All I have to say is, while the game may only be in Early Access, what a great first impression we are given. The driving force of FoxTail is certainly the compelling dialogue as Leah and her grandmother seem to be very authentic and believable when interacting with one another. On top of that, when paired with the unique pixelated art style and relaxing music, we are treated to a wonderful experience and this is just a small taste of what is yet to come.
The gameplay is what a typical point-and-click title is like, however, the first glimpse at the opening chapters puzzles in this game are quite endearing. You will still have to keep your wits about you as you use the various found objects in your inventory to get through the hard times. Most of the brain-teasers we are presented with are not impossible, however, they are not easily dismissable either. I will admit, I did get stuck a few times and at no time does this game go to hold your hand towards the next step which is really great, in my opinion.
Going back to the graphics, the pixel art in this game is phenomenal and the animations are incredibly smooth. The attention to detail in the forested area we get to explore is honestly beautiful and the scenes have quite a bit of variety so it’s nice to see that they aren’t overusing the same assets in every scene. My only real gripe in the game, however, is that it can be a bit hard to determine what exactly is just background and what items that can be interacted with. This did lead to me clicking on absolutely everything to ensure I was not missing anything when I came to a halt, but I do suppose this just further adds to the experience.
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“…the pixel art in this game is phenomenal and the animations are incredibly smooth.”
FoxTail is fantastic and fans of this genre, or for new gamers looking for something different, should definitely pick this up. Currently at $7 on Steam, the first chapter will have an approximate play time of 4-5 hours, which may not seem like much but I honestly believe it will grab the player’s attention enough to come back to it upon its full release. The developers have done a wonderful job in creating a peaceful atmosphere with a wonderful cast of characters that just exudes in its warmth. However due to a certain scene, that I won’t go into detail about, makes me wonder about the true nature of this game. All in all, I will certainly be checking back on this so I can further complete the story of Leah and her journey.
*** Early Access code provided by the publisher ***
