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River Tails: United Adventures boasts captivating and colorful graphics, excellently fulfilling the mission of attracting young gamers.
River Tails: United Adventures is a 3-D adventure game produced by Kid Onion Studios and published by Gravity Game Arise Co., Ltd. It began as a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter in November 2021, and later launched on Steam in March of this year.
Players step into the shoes of curious cat Furple and spirited goldfish Finn as they team up to rescue Furple's kitten family atop a high mountain. They must traverse mountains and ancient ruins to reach the icy summit and defeat various enemies throughout the adventure. There are two modes for players to choose from: co-op and lone-wolf, corresponding to cooperative combat options in pairs or solo play, using one or two controllers.
Choosing the right environment is crucial in River Tails: United Adventures. A colored circle indicates where players will land after making a jump. Furple assists Finn in warding off piranhas and opening barriers throughout the journey. Finn contributes by lifting wooden blocks to help Furple access new areas via climbing ropes.
The action abilities of both characters are limited to their respective terrains and will be in danger if one of them accidentally steps into the other's environment. Both need to collaborate to achieve the ultimate goal, where the ocean awaits. Most levels feature small hints left by the ocean, providing useful tips for players.
Perilous Piranhas in River Tails can be defeated by leaping onto colorful and vibrant mushroom platforms emitting toxic gas. Collectible birds are obtained as players explore each level. Each character has a quirky name and appearance. The pause menu will display how many birds players have collected in the current level.
As the adventure in River Tails reaches a certain point, players will be taken to visit Beaver Resort on a raft. In this resort area, large gemstones can be found. Then, two players in both land and water environments will activate time trial challenges together.
The time trial challenge allows Finn to appear in a box similar to directional arrows on the controller, and Furple can operate in both environments. Finn will have to pull golden threads to make stones appear for Furple to cross. With teamwork spirit, players can complete the challenge within the time limit.
The game consists of only 2 parts and not many enemies, but the difficulty will increase with each level. Green frogs guarding shotgun flowers will be defeated when Finn attacks from below. Red frogs require both players to eliminate them, with Furple attacking with a sphere while Finn attacks from below and takes them down. The piranha school will not attack Finn if Furple is nearby.
Bosses are rated as highly challenging and require both players to try multiple times to defeat them. To defeat the Piranha King, one player must lure some 'henchmen' to marked locations, while the other player's task is to 'daze' the opponent. After being dazed, Finn's controller will pull a lever to use a hammer to launch small piranhas towards the opponent. Players will have to repeat this cycle until the Piranha boss is completely defeated.
Eye-catching and vibrant graphics have excellently fulfilled the mission of attracting young audiences. The adorable characters are simple yet not dull. The setting is highly detailed, especially with ruins inspired by Aztec temples. Catchy background music reminiscent of the old-school game Crash Bandicoot. The average completion time for this game is just 4 hours. Players can replay to try different characters as well as change the challenges they will face.
