Kitsune Tails Review: A yuri platformer gem with something for everyone

Games are a medium that lets multiple layers of art take form individually while also coming together to create a collective experience. Kitsune Tails is a perfect example of how that type of creativity can be used to make a small team’s vision stand out within the shell of a classic genre. 

Kitsune Tails was not something on my radar earlier this year when I was making my customary list of upcoming indie releases and developers to keep an eye on. However, several friends of mine in the LGBTQ+ community put me onto it right before it was shown off during the Summer Game Fest lineup in June. And I am so happy they did. 

While 2D platformers are not my strong suit, colorful pixel art and creative storytelling will always win me over. And, while I did struggle at times working my way through the game due to my terrible jumping skills, Kitsune Tails offers plenty of ways to enjoy its gameplay while also incentivizing you with a delightfully charming, and queer, mythological journey. 

At its core, Kitsune Tails is designed to be a platformer bringing elements of queer relationships and Japanese mythology to pair with gameplay that iterates on some classics of the genre. And, through the use of excellent endearing characters, power-ups, and world design that incorporates seasonal shifts and different perspectives, it delivers on all fronts. 

I am pretty mid at 2D platformers, and I quickly found that even some of the early levels required dozens of attempts to make it through as I learned how to best control the lovable Kitsune messenger Yuzu as she sets out on her first assignment. But as the game progressed, throwing more power-ups and mechanics at you, I felt myself improving and never felt overly frustrated. 

I did still encounter many small issues that bogged down my experience such as odd enemy placements, weird lava hitboxes, and my ever-evolving hatred of auto-scrolling levels. I also wish there was a way to see descriptions of each item in your inventory and fewer leaps of faith in general but, for the most part, the game did not give me many reasons to complain in consecutive moments of gameplay.

Even with some minibosses and general-level themes being recycled across worlds, things still felt like they were helping the journey evolve by being additive. This recycling is also baked directly into the game’s DNA with a twist—which I won’t spoil here—that completely changes how you have to approach every level, boss fights, and even your basic movement. 

During a chat with Kitsune Tails creative director, lead programmer, and so much more, Eniko Fox, she spoke about the need to implement elements of games like Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of the Mystical Ninja that inspired them into something that made sense for their vision. 

The main gameplay loop shows that through the varied power-ups and different movement methods, especially in the second half of the game. However, it is the way Kitsune Tails implements its story and expands on side content that really stands out.

This is something you can see in how they added a difficulty option just for players who want to enjoy the story and the top-down sections of the game where you can explore a local village at any point during the game to talk to NPCs or play a slate of minigames you unlock through progression. The goal was to make the game “as hard as it needs to be” to strike a balance for casual players to have fun while hardcore players can really dig in with a challenge. 

The minigames also saw the Kitsune Tails team implement access to the simple, open-source Tiled Map Editor —something that will allow anyone to make their own levels and expand upon the game using internal assets and mods. There is already a feeling of “one more level” built into the base game and some developer-made Kaizo levels, I can’t wait to see how speedrunners and challenge lovers add to an already solid gameplay experience.

And, despite using the story as a central beat in almost every aspect of the game, it never detracts from the rest of Kitsune Tails’ pacing to make things work. Eniko specifically noted that the script for the game was kept to just over 7,000 words in total, menus included, and worked to do its story and the representation it wanted to highlight justice without compromising the characters or gameplay. 

And the team did a bang-up job of fitting an adorable and compelling story within that shell.

The lovable trio of Yuzu, Akko, and Kiri will keep you moving forward through each world just to see more cutscenes where they interact with amazing animation and dig deeper into the perceived love triangle. The cast is tight but does spend a bit of time expanding on its side characters, with Yuzu’s parents being standouts with their occasional advice and teasing—with Yuzu’s mom Yumi scarily reminding me of my friend Ana when it comes to talking relationships. 

Expect plenty of solid voice acting and writing around every corner to pair with appropriately SNES-y music and incredibly cute pixel art that gives Kitsune Tails its own kind of nostalgic flair.

While I haven’t solidified a rating system for BoosterBlogs just yet, I would give Kitsune Tails an 8/10 and a strong recommendation to anyone looking for a fun 2D platformer that punches well above its weight in characters, gameplay, and creativity. 

If you liked this review, please drop the blog a follow so you can keep up to date with everything else I have coming in the near future! 

I have at least one piece dropping next week featuring the full interview with Eniko about the struggles that her team went through while trying to get Kitsune Tails made, queer representation in the industry, and how everything in the game came to be. 

In addition to that, Kitsune Tails was a passion project that Eniko herself says was made by “a small underfunded mainly queer team” that could use your support. So if the game interests you at all, you can pick it up on Steam and Itch now and consoles at some point in the future. This is not sponsored, I just love helping support indie developers!