Twang the Fox Review

By , on September 18, 2012


Twang the Fox
  • Publisher: PikPok
  • Genre: Arcade
  • Released: 6 Sep, 2012
  • Size: 36.4 MB
  • Price: $2.99
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Some of the power-ups are a lot of fun.

CONS

  • Slow game speed.
  • Focus power is unnecessary.

VERDICT

A cute animal and a cute premise meant to entice the younger players, and while the gameplay is not too taxing, it's not entirely enjoyable either, mostly due to the pacing.


  • Full Review
  • App Store Info

Twang is an acrobatic fox that works for the circus to provide for his cubs. The evil Boscoe Carnivale has kidnapped them and mounting a rescue attempt will take all your tumbling prowess as you ascend ever skywards with all manner of obstacles in your way. Twang the Fox is one of those vertical platformers where you draw a line underneath your character to propel them ever further upwards, but really the word platformer may be misleading. Really this is like a rubber band aided game of pinball, collecting fruit and then locking the fox away in the multiball portal slot until it's time to use it in the next level to obtain a higher score... but I may be getting ahead of myself.

The levels start with Twang hovering still at the start of your vertical climb. Dragging your finger will draw a rubber band that will propel him based on the direction you drew. A short flick of your finger will light up the band and propel him higher, while long bands will not give him much lift at all. This rewards a more precise aim rather than trying to stretch a catch all band across the level (as that won't get you very far). Along the way there is also fruit to collect. Your star rating at the end of the level is based on collecting all the fruit and finishing the stage under a certain time. Then soon enough the pinball bumpers appear as well as such additions as bombs as directional highways.

While these additions spice up the gameplay, the pace of things just seems a little too slow. The fox tends to only lazily obey gravity, and when the bumpers or highways speed up his travel, it feels more close to the speed the normal game should be at. Obviously with its rich colour palette and cute vulpine main character, the game is more likely to appeal to younger players, but with this in mind, the pacing seems like an even greater misstep.

But Twang the Fox is well made, and while it doesn't do anything exceptionally new or novel with its core concept, it is worth a play, especially if you want to send a fox careening between a bunch of bumpers while trying to collect watermelons.

Screenshots

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