FixFox

by Aethyna Mar 31, 2022 | 1 Votes | 53 Played | 0 Reviews

10 rate

Genres:

Adventure , Puzzle

Graphics:

Labels:

Exploration , Sci-Fi , Robots

Platforms:

Publishers:

Joystick Ventures Playing as a space mechanic nicknamed FixFox, you've found yourself trapped on an unfamiliar planet while on a mission from your boss and the only way out is to fix whatever that needed to be fixed. However, things aren’t that straightforward since tool use is essentially banned by the fanatics over at the Order of the Tools… Play Now Similar Games

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Summary Plotline Gameplay Graphics/ Sound Conclusion

Summary

FixFox is a charming top-down adventure game featuring a fairly inventive space mechanic. Finding yourself trapped on an unfamiliar planet while on a mission from your boss, you set off on a journey to try to complete the mission and return home by fixing whatever that needed to be fixed. However, things aren’t that straightforward since tool-use is essentially banned by the fanatics over at the Order of the Tools… oh well, you’ve just got to become that bit more creative!

Plotline

Set in the distant future where humanity has “evolved” by splicing their genes with animals, giving them the fur needed to survive the change in climate on Earth. Previously though, this kind of splicing has been used for more aesthetics reasons and had flamed the ire of “purists” around the world.

Coincidentally, by splicing, they also inherited the animals’ ability to hibernate, giving this new race of humans the ability to travel future through space and set up outposts in very remote locations at the border of humanity’s known universe. These outposts usually contain a beacon – think the stanchions people use to protect say… an artwork – maintained by a beacon keeper as well as a host of intelligent and sentient robots who do not only keep the keeper company but also create a thriving community there.

In this game, you play as a “hopeless” SPACR, a specially trained space mechanic named FixFox… not because you could actually fix anything – it’s more of an ironic nickname. Due to your love for really “ancient” tech, you’ve been tasked to fix a malfunctioned (an ancient) beacon in the distant planet of KR84-M3L a.k.a. “Karamel”.

However, you’ve got more than you’ve bargained for as your ship crashed landed on the planet and despite being still functional, there’s no way for you to navigate home due to a persistent static interference which had also knocked out the beacon in the first place.

Determined to prove your naysayers wrong and wanting to return home, you set off on an adventure across the shifting sands (yes, it’s literally shifting) of Salty Desert, the lush forests of the Sour Woods, and more in search of the tools and items you’ll need to fix the mess.

Of course, that’s not taking into account (yet) the pirates who are fairly okay with you stealing their stuff from the many useful items (despite seeming otherwise) they’ve stashed in cracks around the planet... unless you did it too many times and forgot to reset the alert; or the fanatical cult, the Order of Tools, who has a tight grip over the use of any conventional tools on the planet, forcing you to be a bit more… creative... when it comes to fixing up stuff to help the locals and to… well, advance the storyline and solve puzzles.

Without spoiling the story too much, let’s just say that there will be many more surprises along the way, from having celebrity stowaways, meeting a snobbish, unspliced human in search of his missing brother, and a lot of run-ins with said pirates and members of the Order of the Tools.

Gameplay

FixFox offers a refreshingly unique top-down adventure set in an unfamiliar planet filled with quirky and fun characters. In this game, you’ll need to venture out and explore the planet, looking for “tools” that you can use and weren’t confiscated yet by the Order of the Tools, to fix the various broken machinery around the place. By helping the locals out, you’ll also earn useful rewards, such as “higher-tiered” Tools, which you’ll need to fix higher-tiered machines, either to help another batch of locals or to move the story forward.

Fixing things in this game is a main part of the gameplay, and it’s fairly simple, thanks to the hints and tips given by your trusty robot companion, Tin. Most of the time, you’ll be taping exposed wires together with Band-Aids and stamps, or solving simple puzzles that ask you to, for example, choose the item/s that tastes bitter out of three choices.

As mentioned, exploration is another key part of the gameplay with lots of areas to discover as you traverse the region. You see, the planet of Karamel is split into several regions, each with its unique landscape/biome and each with a massive landmass to cover on your trusty albeit seemingly-energy drink-infused Speeder. Once night falls, you can (and should) set up a campfire and rest for the night. Technically, you can still travel if you want but the environment gets really dark, making it difficult to see where you are going. It's best to just "sleep" for the night and start afresh tomorrow.

There’s another quirk to this planet, however – its surface somehow moves about once a day. One day, a Point-of-Interest may be on the West part of the region and it may move to the East on the very next day. Thankfully, your map seems to be able to track the changes so you can just refer to it whenever you need to get somewhere so you won’t get lost.

I also like the freeform inventory system here. Instead of having the items in little grids, you can arrange and re-arrange the items by simply dragging and dropping the items on a fixed inventory space. Since the items can be stacked atop each other, technically, your inventory is bottomless... though, it does make finding stuff in your bag a bit more challenging. Eventually, as you progress, you can unlock new inventory spaces, allowing you to more easily organize the items that are stashed in your inventory.

The decision to have no combat in this game proves to be a wise choice, especially considering how fitting this game is for kids, even younger ones, to enjoy. For adults, this just makes the game more relaxing to play, which makes it the ultimate “after work wind-down game”.

As fun as the game is, FixFox does have some glitches still. The most pressing one is probably the camera glitches which prevented me from seeing where my character has gone. You see, the glitch worked by freezing the camera and hence, your range of sight. You can still move your character around, but your camera won’t follow FixFox so you’ll eventually lose sight of her. Thankfully, I’ve found a workaround to fix this issue – simply bring up the menu, save the game, exit to title, and reload the last saved game.

Graphics/ Sound

The pixel art-style graphics here are amazing! Really love the little things here as well, such as having a cat-shaped “mountain formation”. These are usually very obvious to see if you’re observant enough. I also love the music here. They change depending on where you are and what you’re doing, so there are some variety. Plus, I’ve got to say that they fit perfectly with the chill gameplay and atmosphere of the game.

Conclusion

I truly can’t praise FixFox enough! Not only is it funnily quirky and has some charming characters, the game also has a relaxingly chill gameplay centered around solving simple puzzles and exploring vast and well-varied areas - There’s no combat here! Plus, the game’s family-friendly and easy enough to become a kid’s first (and very enjoyable) introduction to video games.

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Playing as a space mechanic nicknamed FixFox, you've found yourself trapped on an unfamiliar planet while on a mission from your boss and the only way out is to fix whatever that needed to be fixed. However, things aren’t that straightforward since tool use is essentially banned by the fanatics over at the Order of the Tools…