Write a comment
Let’s be real here: If you’re a PC gamer, then you have a huge selection of furry games to choose from of all types of genres. But, if you’re a console gamer, like me? Well, outside of the occasional port from PC and something from Nintendo, we mostly get shovelware, basic platformers, and Sokoban clones. So, trying to find a decent furry console game teeters on the side of hard but not impossible. That isn’t to say they don’t exist as there are some good ones out there (I mean, look at the amazing games we reviewed on the site). In fact, just recently, a bunch of demos popped up onto the Xbox store via the ID@Xbox Indie Selects Event, including a few furry ones coming to the system, and I want to take some time and highlight some that I came across.
The first title I checked out was for Yooka-RePlaylee: the upcoming remastering of 2017’s under-rated Yooka-Laylee. Now, before I talk about this, I should mention that I reviewed both the original and its spin off, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, back when I used to do reviews for a now-defunct radio station. Back then, I enjoyed the original a lot though, going back and replaying it nowadays, I will admit it has its issues and didn’t feel too polished at times. However, just from the demo, I can tell this is what the original should’ve been from the get-go. For starters, all the moves are unlocked from the get-go, meaning you don’t have to buy moves anymore (Though I’m curious to what Trowzers, the snake that sold you these moves, will be selling this time). Next, according to interviews with the developers, every world starts in its ‘expanded form’. This is a good thing as, admittedly, that was my biggest complaint with the original game. In the original, you unlock the expanded world by finding a certain amount of Pagies, so the fact that all the worlds will be Expanded from the get-go is awesome. As for what this particular demo contained? It included the beginning of the game, which I could be wrong but this seems like a brand new area, up until you reach the first world to explore. Right out of the gate, I immediately felt the tighter controls and noticed the sharper graphics, with both Yooka and Laylee looking much better then the original release. Everything just plays and looks leagues better than the original title. The only thing I did wish that had gotten a face-lift were the Pagies you collect as, I dunno, something about them always seemed off-putting to me (Maybe it’s because their mouths never move). The demo also included a peek at the Arcade games, where you control a cute blocky T-Rex named Rextro Sixtyfourus, and have to traverse levels and solve simple puzzles, which reminded me a lot of Chip’s Challenge, in order to collect three special coins to complete the stage. These were pretty fun, if slightly teetering on too easy so I hope the final release does include some more trickier stages. Also, Rextro is adorable looking and I hope we get plushies of him. If anything, my only issue with the demo was how surprisingly short it felt. Like, no sooner did I get a feel for everything and watched the intro cutscene, it was done. Yeah, it included the aforementioned Rextro stage and a trailer for the main game, but still, it really did feel short. I know a demo isn’t supposed to have a lot of content (Unless you accidentally put the entire game on a demo disc like what happened with Keio: Flying Squadron back in the day), but it would’ve been nice to have been able to maybe do one Pagie quest in the first world? I don’t know, I guess I got that into this demo that I didn’t want it to end. Still, we won’t have long to wait as the game comes out October 9th, 2025 on all platforms.
Up next, there was Townseek and I’m gonna flat out say it: This was my favorite demo of the trio. Playing as a shark airpilot, you explore the vast world of Explora in search of the lost legacy of one Sir Reginald Sharkingston, whose name gets +5 for creativity. The moment the game started, I fell in love with this game’s artstyle. It has this beautiful hand-drawn look to it that makes everything pop out and all the characters you interact with in the demo are nicely drawn and very expressive. I also have to say it, I do see some becoming waifu (or whatever the male version is) material down the line. Heck, I even love how alive the world itself feels, with various little NPCs you’ll find doing little things like fishing and small easter eggs which I thought were cute. As for the gameplay, it couldn’t be more simple: You fly around, fish, take pictures, and do little quests. These quests ranged from the aforementioned ones (fishing and picture taking) to things like collecting cargo or delivering tourists to various locations. I will admit some of the quests in the demo did teeter on the tedious side - I’m looking at you, fishing quest - it really wasn’t enough to hurt the game in the long run. What did slightly annoy me was the Trading system, wherein you can go and sell your finds in various towns and, depending on the need, you’ll either get more gold or less gold. While I understand why this system is here, it is still kinda irksome to go to a town to sell goods, only to see what you have won’t net you the gold you want. I understand the idea of Supply & Demand but sometimes I’d just want to sell whatever where-ever, you know?. Other than that, I really didn’t have many complaints with this demo, other than maybe the sound of your ship flying being slightly repetitive to the point of slight annoyance, but nothing too major. Unfortunately, there is no release date yet, outside of a tentative 2025, so, for now, all we got is this excellent demo, which is available on both Xbox and Steam.
Lastly, there was ‘Ink.’ and, yes, it’s actually spelled with a period at the end, this one I’m honestly kinda disappointed in. It’s a basic rogue-like dungeon crawler with nothing to really make it stand out from the others on the market. I will admit the artstyle is kinda cute, especially the enemy designs, and I did enjoy how ink will stain the floor and stay there. Actually, that does bring me to a neat touch I found and that is some enemies will actually slurp up the ink and fire it back at you, so this usually takes precedence over the others in a room and actually added a slight bit of challenge there. Lastly, finding parts in the world to upgrade/change your weapon was cool and I liked how it actually physically changes your weapon and I do like the idea of it being set inside a book. Even with the stuff I liked, the demo on the whole was a bit bland and, dare I say, didn’t give a good impression of the game. Outside of the stuff I praised, there really wasn’t much to make this title stand out from the crowded Rogue-Like genre and make me want to say “this is a must buy”. If anything, it reminded me of a weirdly family-friendly Binding Of Isaac. Still, just from the demo, the game feels more like a weekend rental or something you pick up on sale for a decent price. Like with Townseek, there is no release date for Ink., but if I could hazard a guess, we probably won’t get our hands on it until maybe later this year or next. But, if you don’t want to wait, the game is available on Steam for the low price of $9.99.
Of all the demos I tried, Townseek is the best of the bunch, with Yooka-RePlaylee coming a close second. Like I said at the beginning, trying to find good, decent furry games on consoles can be hard but, if you dig deep enough or keep your eye on the new and upcoming releases, you’ll find gold sooner or later. These three demos, despite my indifference to Ink., prove that there are some good furry games on consoles and I can’t wait to see what the full releases of these games can bring to the table!
