Game Reviews

Twang the Fox

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iOS
| Twang the Fox
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Twang the Fox
|
iOS
| Twang the Fox

It might have a name that would make Bill Oddie blush, but Twang the Fox turns out to be a (literally) uplifting tale of a miraculously acrobatic fox family kidnapped by the nefarious Boscoe Carnivale.

It's your job, as titular daddy Twang, to set out on an upwardly mobile mission to free your kin.

Back in the real world, that all translates to a game focused on bouncing up screen-width stages by drawing tiny trampolines with your finger. Small trampolines send Twang whooshing at speed while larger platforms cause him to arch more gracefully into the air.

Not-so-woolly-jumper

It's a familiar mechanic - seen in the likes of A Moon for the Sky and EA's lovely Draw Jump - but given a new lease of life here thanks to some smart level design that packs in a surprising amount of variety, despite the game's simplistic core.

Initially, you're only asked to reach the goal at the top of the level - collecting fruit for those perennially popular three star-ratings as you ascend - but a constant influx of new ideas delivers more to focus on than mere height.

There are mines to avoid, cannons to ride, catapults to ping back and angle, and even bumper-style hazards and speed gates that give the game a fraught, unpredictable pinball flavour. There's also the constant threat of rising flood waters to inject an extra degree of tension to proceedings.

Quick brown fox

It's the increasingly chaotic stage design that really work in Twang the Fox's favour, with trampolines needed to fling Twang away from danger just as often as they're used to shunt him further up the level. That means you're constantly forced to consider the size and angle of your trampolines, giving the game a welcome strategic touch.

The game offers up 60 beautifully presented stages which, while entertaining enough, don't quite deliver the level of challenge you might hope for. Sure there's plenty to keep three-star completists going, but it's still a fairly easy romp.

Twang the Fox also struggles to set itself dramatically apart from similarly-styled jumping games, with no distinct hook to call its own.

Gripes aside, it's another entertaining, impeccably presented endeavour from ever-reliable publisher PikPok. Twang might not reach dizzying new heights, but its frenzied action and spirited design mean it's still worth taking the leap.

Twang the Fox

A well-designed, wonderfully frantic climber that's thoroughly enjoyable despite doing little to set itself apart from its genre bedfellows
Score
Matt Wales
Matt Wales
Following a lifetime of adventure on the high seas, swabbing the editorial decks of the good ship IGN and singing freelance shanties across far-flung corners of the gaming press, Matt hung up his pirate hat and turned his surf-seared gaze toward the murky mysteries of the handheld gaming world. He lives to sound the siren on the best mobile games out there, and he can't wait to get kraken.