Platformers are almost as popular as roguelikes these days. There are so many examples of ones that are pretty good, using the same tried and true formula for the genre, not innovating way too much and providing a decent amount of content. There are far fewer examples of games like Kitsune Tails, which manages to surprise you over and over again with its nonstop parade of new level ideas, wonderful costume & ability changes, and a wealth of content to perfect. Rarely does something come along that is truly a wondrous addition to the plethora of platforming options like Kitune Tails. It has its faults, but they are so easily looked beyond in favor of appreciating what was so lovingly crafted here.
Be Yourself! ...or dress up as something else!
The gameplay, at its core, is genuine 2D platforming akin to Super Mario Bros. You hop into blocks to get power-ups, have multiple forms and earn points/coins, and can acquire items to use your special abilities or forms when you want to, depending on your chosen difficulty level. What makes the game fresh is its consistent use of new level designs that make use of a constantly growing set of abilities and costumes that allow you to traverse and proceed through levels in new and exciting ways. In one level you may be a Racoon-like character that is able to drill down into enemies. On another you don an adorable shark suit and swim deftly around koi and puffer fish. All of this is done with a “sprint” ability that builds up speed as you run, giving some nicely satisfying moments, along with a “slide” that sends you careening forward to make big jumps. This is not to say that all these advantages make the game easy. Oh no, it is a precision platformer player’s heaven. Some of the situations it puts you in are hard and require exact jumps and sometimes some luck, along with patience. The game also plays with light and enemies affected by it (another shout out to SMB!) and its really, really cool when it does. These are some of the harder parts of the game, along with the underwater levels, in my opinion.
Thankfully, the game does allow for a couple difficulty settings, which make it so you can use items during levels or on the world map, which can alter how you’d like to enjoy the game at your own pace. I was truly thankful for the ability to turn off respawning at the beginning, and being allowed to respawn basically where I died last so that I could continue (or even partially bypass) some of the more difficult sections so that I could see all the game had to offer. With a game this big and this hard, it was truly invaluable.
Bright Lights Big Levels
With so many forays into level design and costume changes, the visuals had to be on point. That they were, with everything having a wonderful dose of color. There were special event levels, a wealth of cutely designed characters and enemies, and just non-stop pixelated 2D goodness. I never knew what the next screen would hold and that made the difficulty I was facing much more rewarding. There are cutscenes, lots of dialogue, and a story that took advantage of the world it crafted around itself, with interactions between kitsunes and each other being the focus. One negative I would say would be that sometimes the story of the budding relationship felt a bit forced and too…saccharine for me? I did love that it was a very inclusive one that had its ups and downs, but I would’ve liked a bit less whimsy sometimes. I haven’t finished it completely though, so maybe I’ll get my wish.
Can You Hear Me Now? Great!
Full voice acting! Yes! Games that do this should be heralded and applauded for that effort. It also helps when they’re pretty good at what they do. I enjoyed taking the time to experience the story through their acting and thought the writing was perfectly fine. It definitely was conveying the friendly, happy, welcoming vibe it wanted to. The music and sound effects were also done well, and not overpowering, fitting pleasantly with the rest of the game and levels, adjusting when necessary to fit the situation.
In Conclusion
Kitsune Tails is a master class in fun platforming. At $19.99 without a sale, it’s totally worth it, and at 15-20 hours of play time, you can’t go wrong with the price. I played it on my Steam Deck and it ran swimmingly.
