The Little Fox Review

The Little Fox

Publisher/Developer:  Zplay and h8games
Platform: Android and iOS

A review by Adrian Hodgkiss

Once again I find myself fortunate enough to have been given the chance to test and review a new game from Zplay. Their expanding list of titles is becoming impressive but The Little Fox may be the best yet. For the purpose if this review the game was played on a Samsung Galaxy range mobile phone.

Controls and Gameplay 

A feature of Zplay titles are the simplicity of the control system. This makes the games easy for anyone to pick up and play. In this particular instance the protagonists of The Little Fox (who is a little fox as it so happens) is steered through the game by a simple tap on either the left or right hand side of your touch screen. The fox will continue to run forwards, if you tap left, it turns left, if you tap right it turns right, sounds simple right? Read on.

The innovative thing about The Little Fox is that it is the first “runner” game where the path you run on is made of interlocked hexagons. Meaning as the fox runs through the three dimensional world it can either continue forward or turn to the left or right on the adjacent planes of the hexagon it currently occupies. Again, sounds simple right? It isn’t! The trouble is the fox moves pretty fast and the terrain moves and changes direction as you go. This makes for an interesting, challenging, and sometimes frustrating experience. With that being said it is certainly a game I enjoy playing. I will admit to allowing myself a fist pump after finally completing a level.

Design and Features

This is  where The Little Fox really surpasses my expectations, for a mobile game this thing looks and plays amazingly. The worlds you visit and the fox itself are beautifully designed and rendered. Team this with a wonderful piece of sound design and musical score and you have a mobile game with a real premium feel to it.

In app purchases and ads allow this game to be downloaded for free. I don’t think these are too obtrusive, although my tendency to lose all my lives pretty quickly can make for a frustrating wait for my lives to build up. To keep things interesting (and sometimes tricky) some of the hexagons on your path may speed you up or slow you down or allow you to jump. Ultimately the point of this game is to navigate the fox through the different worlds with the lowest number of attempts and with the quickest time possible. Usually I am just happy to progress at all and in truth didn’t put much stock in my performance!

The Verdict
Get it! The Little Fox is a good looking, great functioning game that’s lots of fun to play. It’s easy to pick up and play but definitely tough to master. I, for one, enjoy the challenge.