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The Little Fox ($2.99) by Oleg Batrakov is a twitchy hexagonal runner that offers players a different perspective on “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which is known by many as the ‘fairy tale for adults.’ If you liked games like Super Hexagon and ALONE, then you will enjoy The Little Fox.

Ever since I picked up Super Hexagon years ago, I fell in love with the twitchy reflex genre, even though I’m pretty terrible at them compared to other people. Still, I find the games enjoyable and the challenge is part of the fun, after all. But over time, like many games and apps, the genre has gotten a bit repetitive. That’s why when I saw news of The Little Fox, I was mesmerized because it stood out from the crowd with a distinctive perspective and varying gameplay. Now that I have it in my hands, I must say — prepare for a real challenge.

Visually, The Little Fox is impressive with the beautiful low-poly graphics. In fact, it is reminiscent of Infinite Skater, which is not a bad thing. I love the style of low-poly graphics and wish that it was more popular these days, because otherwise it’s just more flat minimalism out there. The colors in The Little Fox are gorgeous and stunning as well, since it’s a mix of bright and vibrant hues to dark and rich tones, depending on the fairytale world that you’re in. In-between levels, you will find cutscenes that explain the story, and these are well animated in their own subtle way. During the game, animations are smooth and fluid with no lag, which is important since you have to have fast reflexes to survive. The Little Fox also has an atmospheric soundtrack that reflects each unique fairytale area, so each track sets the tone and mood as you progress through the story. I’m rather impressed with what the developer has done in terms of visual and audio in The Little Fox, because it’s a complete package.

While The Little Fox is a hexagonal runner, it is not infinite. In fact, there is a story to the game (based on “The Little Prince”), and at the moment, there are only 13 fairytale worlds to run through. This may not sound like a lot, but believe me, these levels are not easy. In fact, I’m still stuck in the first one, struggling to reach the end and move to the next world. Each of these levels has an endpoint that you must reach, but it’s easier said than done. The game also keeps track of how many attempts you’ve done already, and this number will become staggeringly high over time. That’s right, be prepared to die a lot, which is fairly typical of any twitch reflex running game.

Controls in The Little Fox are simple enough for anyone to pick up, but incredibly hard to master given the circumstances of the game. As you guide the Fox on his search for the Prince, you have to help him manuever through hexagonal paths through various environments. To move a lane over, just tap on the side of the screen that you want to shift over to. When turns come up, you’ll want to tap twice to do a full turn in that direction. While it sounds super easy, given the fast-paced nature of the Fox’s run (you can’t stop), it’s hard to keep up sometimes. Practice is a must for The Little Fox.

To make things even more interesting, there are gaps that the Fox must jump over (this is automatic so you don’t have to do anything else), speed boost tiles, slow-down tiles, and shiny blue crystals to collect. The moment you crash into an obstacle or go off course, you failed and must try again. After each attempt, you will see your completion percentage and the number of attempts you’ve tried so far. There are no checkpoints, so you must start at the beginning after each failure. At least re-spawning is quick.

One thing I did find helpful is that after you fail, you can do a long-press on the screen and you’ll see the exact point you died at. This is useful because it helps you check where you made your mistake and hopefully you’re better prepared on the next attempt.

I’ve downloaded The Little Fox last night when I realized that it was available, and I have yet to make it through the first world. Either I’m just really bad at this game, or it’s insanely difficult. Despite this, I love the game’s visual style and music, because it’s a truly immersive experience when you combine them both. The controls are simple enough and responsive, just difficult to master with the pace of the game. I do wish that there were at least checkpoints in each stage, because it does get a bit annoying and tiring to have to restart from the beginning dozens of times. Still, if you prefer a challenge and test of skill, then The Little Fox provides you with that. It’s also an interesting new take on a classic story.

I recommend checking out The Little Fox if you’re a fan of twitchy reflex runner games and enjoy seeing yourself improve after many numerous attempts. The Little Fox is available on the App Store as a universal app for your iPhone and iPad for $2.99. There are no in-app purchases, so it’s a buy-once-and-play title.

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Nanuleu ($2.99) by Selva Interactive is a minimalistic strategy game that showcases the never-ending war between ancient magical trees and the dark forces that try to consume them. If you enjoyed games like Rymdkapsel, then you will enjoy Nanuleu.

Even though I don’t think I’m particularly great at strategy games as a whole, I definitely will try my hand at them because hey, playing games is supposed to be fun, right? When Rymdkapsel first came out, it was all the rage among the iOS gaming community, and I dove in to it anyway. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite not being so great compared to other folks. So when I heard of Nanuleu, I was intrigued since it reminded me of Rymdkapsel, and hey, I dig the whole isometric projection art style. Needless to say, Nanuleu doesn’t disappoint, especially if you’re into the strategic tower-defense type of game.

Visually, Nanuleu is gorgeous and impressive if you’re into the minimalist isometric style. Nanuleu is similar to Rymdkapsel, in the fact that most of the game is flat but appears at an angle, giving off a 2.5-D perspective. The colors in Nanuleu are bright and vibrant, with different colors and shapes to represent all of the unique trees that serve a different purpose, and the hues change to indicate your progress. The dark invaders have their own distinctive appearances and abilities, so they keep things fresh and interesting as you play. Animations are smooth and fluid as you expand your land, plant and grow trees, and defend the harmony of nature. There is also a soothing, atmospheric soundtrack in the background that is a pleasure to listen to, so I recommend playing the game with a good pair of headphones to truly immerse yourself in the experience. Overall, the developers did a great job with the game in terms of visual and audio.

Nanuleu has three game modes: Apprentice, Warrior, and Sage, though the last one must be unlocked by proving yourself as a Warrior first. These modes also represent the game’s difficulty levels, and each time you play, the map is procedurally generated, so you never get the same thing twice. Despite the three different modes, the main objective of the game remains the same: expand the land and repel the dark forces with the power of ancient, magical trees. While it may sound simple enough, you have to manage resources, plant your defenses in the correct spots, and make sure no enemies get through. In short, Nanuleu is a strategic tower-defense like game.

The controls in the game are simple enough for anyone to understand. At the beginning of a game, you start out with one Life Tree. In order to expand the land that the Life Tree can control, you have to extend the roots. To do this, just tap on the adjacent ground squares and a circular popup menu appears with different types of trees that you can plant, but to get anywhere, you need roots first, which are the brown diamond. The roots will expand the land one square forward and two on the side.

You’ll also see squares with yellow dots, blue swirls, and white stars. When you reach these particular squares, you can plant the appropriate tree (yellow is Mineral, blue is Water, and white is Life) on it as long as you have the necessary amount of resources, which is shown in the top right corner. As you plant more mineral and water trees, your resource supply fills up faster, allowing you to plant more trees at a quicker pace. Eventually, invaders will start to come in, and you’ll have to defend yourself. You’ll be able to plant pink Defender trees on any part of the land that you control, and these defenders will attack any enemies that are within range. As you awaken more Life trees, you’ll also gain access to stronger trees, such as War trees (sends out your own warriors to attack). The Life trees can also plant more seeds for mineral and water trees, and it also sends out a blast that can kill any nearby invaders instantly.

When the invaders begin to encroach on your territory, the land you control will recede back until you eliminate the threat. If they end up taking out your trees, you’ll have to replant them as well, which means wasted resources. The good thing about Nanuleu is the fact that you’ll get a visual warning of what direction the invaders are coming in from, so you can prepare for the waves well ahead of time.

The round ends once you fend off all invaders or if they have breached your defenses and got to the central Life Tree. At the end of the game, you’re awarded points based on your performance, which are tallied up for a total score. Each mode has three objectives: defeat the invaders, protect the four altars (the white cubes), and defeat win in less than 20 minutes. The more objectives you meet, the more points you get.

I only started with the game this morning, but be warned — each game you play will last quite a while. My first game in the Apprentice mode took about 20 minutes, so this is a pretty lengthy game that will provide you with a lot of entertainment. But it is definitely not something you can just play and complete in line, though you can pause the game and come back to it later. The graphics are beautiful, the music is tranquil, and the gameplay is challenging enough for everyone to enjoy. This is definitely a game that you’ll keep wanting to come back to time and time again.

I highly recommend giving Nanuleu a try, especially if you like strategic tower-defense style games. Nanuleu is available on the App Store as a universal app for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.

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