Bullet hells aren’t necessarily a unique type of game to see over the past few years, so if you’re gonna develop one now, you’ve got to bring something unique (if not a few things) to the table. Fur and Fables is an Early Access release by Double Crow Games, with the spin on the tried-and-true formula being a cast of furry animal heroes that can battle through levels as a team of 1 to 6, all controlled by you in a line that becomes an auto-firing battalion that you move around the boundless stages. Additionally, the characters that make it through to the end of the stage keep the levels you upgrade them to. It was an overall surprisingly deep and fun experience that featured quirky art, unique gameplay ideas, and forgiving strategy.
You know how bullet hells go by now, but if you don’t, in Fur and Fables you are tasked with surviving for a certain amount of time (depending on the level) as wave after wave of enemies descend upon your team of adventurers. To defend yourself, there are eight different character classes that your adventurers can be, each featuring their own species of animal (and a variety of colorful clothing to adorn them!) Before you start each level, and even during it, you can build your party and adjust their formation of attack. Think of it like controlling a “snake” that follows the leader, but with each character having its own health bar. This means that you’ll have to think about who to leave most vulnerable at the back, who benefits from frontal attacks, and who can hold down the middle. It didn’t take long to get the hang of things, and I enjoyed discovering the different classes each time I unlocked them (either by completing a level or finding them as pickups out in the game.) It was also cool to see which animal each class was, and just about every new level introduced new enemies (most of them animal-based as well) to enjoy thwarting.
To damage enemies and bosses, each adventurer in your party continuously fires their primary weapon, which can be a bevy of damage dealing attacks like sword strikes, poison vials, explosive bombs, magical arrows, and more. Additionally, if you have certain combinations of classes in your party, they activate special “party synergies” that can radically change the tide of battle. It was exciting to discover these as I rearranged and fiddled with the group I went into the level with, and some of the bonuses they give are downright crazy if you pair them together. Lasers beam down on unsuspecting monsters, meteors rain throughout the level, and other constantly firing or protective surprises are possible. The effectiveness of each adventurer’s weapon and “frenzy” spell felt powerful in their own way, especially after you upgraded them through level points or permanent coin upgrades, which you earned after every level up or stage completion. Progression within Fur and Fables was relatively simple, and allowed you to build upon your experiences quickly to achieve success. I was able to finish the initial 10 levels within a few hours, becoming quite impressively powerful in the process. I liked that the amount of content and ability to grow in power wasn’t intimidating. Some bullet hells and games of this type can be hard to jump into because you have to endure a lot of “hell” before you can feel the effects of your trials and tribulations to succeed. Not with Fur and Fables, and I’m excited to see how the dev balances things as they add levels and characters (which are planned in a handy roadmap.)
However, the ease with which I started to blitz through levels did start to get a bit -too- easy for my personal tastes, and maybe some harder modes or the ability to ramp up the difficulty would be a welcome addition. The audio that plays throughout, unfortunately, is quite a bit lacking in polish. The sheer chaos of the sound effects from enemies, attacks, and spells doesn’t layer well. Bass effects too often crackle out, and the background music is repeating without much variety. I hope that improving this phase of the game is in the cards during Early Access, because I did eventually mute the sound and enjoyed the game just fine without it. I would’ve loved some new tracks during the different levels, or the ability to completely mute my attacks and just focus on the really important sounds, like pickups appearing or bosses ambling towards my party.
Sound notwithstanding, Fur and Fables is an excellent little game with hopefully lots ahead. It’s very affordable and with a dev that hired a great artist to fill their game with unique heroes and enemies. Recognizing that the genre always needs a bit of variety when it's entered, Fur and Fables is a fun and creative foray into bullet hells where fantasy medieval animal enthusiasm is highlighted.
