River Tails: Stronger Together PREVIEW

Renowned indie game publisher GRAVITY GAME ARISE and game developer Kid Onion Studio have released the beautiful and touching 3D adventure platformer “River Tails : Stronger Together”. Available on Steam Early Access for now.
River Tails tells the story of two unusual friends, a cat named Furple and a fish named Finn. Traveling through beautiful natural places, Furple and Finn must learn to work together if they don’t want to lose what they love most.

• Developer: Kid Onion Studio
• Publisher: GRAVITY GAME ARISE Co., Ltd.
• Release Date: March 16, 2023

It all starts at the top of a huge icy mountain when one day innocent kitten Furple wanders too far from home and encounters something very scary. In a moment of panic, he falls into a raging river and quickly finds himself at the foot of the mountain – far, far away from home. It’s here that our feline friend meets his fishy pal Finn for the first time.

Grumpy Finn isn’t happy that this flighty purple kitten has just barged into his life, but soon realizes that they can help each other. Furple desperately needs to get home, and Finn has just had his prized possessions stolen. With their different skill sets, Kitten and Fish could survive this adventure together.

Of course, there is another main character in the game – the river. This long, winding waterway is filled with all sorts of creatures and features that can help or hinder your progress along the way. Travelers will encounter new friends and new dangers. So stay alert and don’t get too distracted by the beauty of the river with its cascading waterfalls, rocky canyons, dark caves and more.

Each location will offer you new and unique challenges to test not only your gaming skills, but also how well you can communicate. Interacting with your partner to solve puzzles or overcome river villains is what River Tails is all about. Finn and Furple may be from different worlds and have different goals, but when they come together and pool resources, there’s really no stopping them.

Several locations are available in Early Access, each with three levels and a final level with a boss. Bonus levels and several story animations are also available as part of the Early Access.

Lone Wolf solo mode is available, but this game is best played with two people on one screen. However, if you want to have a really crazy time, try playing co-op in Lone Wolf mode, where each player uses half of one controller.

The gameplay is pretty simple: complete the level, collect some items and overcome obstacles without getting the kitten wet or letting the fish dry out. Sounds simple, but it’s not. The biggest problem with this game is the camera angle. The camera is automatic, and although it moves based on your characters location, you’ll often find that the camera is your biggest enemy in the game. For example, a kitten can often end up in the water because the camera angle simply makes it impossible to be precise enough about where to jump.

Besides the uniqueness of playing as both characters on the same controller, the highlight of River Tails: Stronger Together is the graphics and level design. The vibrant environmental colors and level of water detail are aesthetically pleasing, and the gameplay is smooth. The soundtrack also matches the whimsical and inquisitive nature of solving these well-designed and challenging puzzles.
Overall, the game is very enjoyable, especially helped by the unique ability to control both characters on the same controller, which created some tense and frustrating moments, but once you manage to put it all together, it’s a satisfying experience.

We look forward to the full release to see the fruits of Ferple and Finn’s collaboration.