App Army Assemble: A Kindling Forest – “Is this auto-runner meets shooter a must-play?”

A Kindling Forest blends auto-running with shooting in a package that’s easy on the eye. It certainly impressed our reviewer Jack, who praised ammo doubling as health. But would our App Army agree? We handed the game over to them to find out.

Here’s what they said:

Swapnil Jadhav

The game is an auto-runner meets shooter with innovative controls. The designer has clearly spent a lot of time perfecting this. However, the best thing for me is the art style, although equally, the slow-motion shooting is next level. Overall a fantastic game. 5-stars.

Oksana Ryan

This is a perfect example of an endless runner. As with most games in this genre, I took a few short runs before fully getting the hang of it but once I mastered it, my runs got longer. There are various areas to run through and different enemies to conquer alongside objects to shoot down. The graphics are cute and colourful and gameplay is easy to pick up and master. There’s nothing new to the endless runner genre but with that said, it’s still fun to play.

Jason Rosner

The Kindling Forest is an auto-running side-scroller that takes what we love about the genre, and the simplified gameplay and does so with really great care. In some ways, The Kindling Forest kept giving me vibes of the great The Pathless. While the two games have obvious differences, the really beautiful natural environments to the tight precision arrow combat are something that really make it feel unique and special compared to many others.

The challenge here is done so by making you choose between using the arrows you gather along the way to get around obstacles and enemies or save them. Arrows are directly related to your health, so every time you use one, you lose some of your life count. Luckily, there are checkpoints along the way that can help alleviate some of the greater difficulties that come along with further progression. I really enjoyed the big boss fights that all looked really good thanks to the sharp stylized graphics. It’s been a while since I found a game with such simplicity and depth that’s hard to put down all for under a buck.

Robert Maines

A Kindling Forest is a good-looking runner. You’ve been resurrected by the forest spirits to fight an old foe. As you move from left to right you can jump and shoot arrows at obstacles and enemies. Time slows down as you pull your bow to make aiming easier. Collecting spirits and shooting targets increases your life force but also acts as your ammo supply, you won’t get far shooting with wild abandon.

The game looks and sounds good and is very playable. It is annoying jumping back to the first level after you die, yes you can scroll right to access levels completed but it’s still annoying. The game also gets difficult quite quickly and if your life force is low you won’t last long. Still as frustrating as it can be this is a good game and unlike a lot of runners it has an end, recommended.

Eduard Pandele

A great auto-runner with a few novel mechanics, “A Kindling Forest” is clearly worth the dollar it asks for. The gameplay is simple – jump and shoot your way through a forest filled with obstacles. What makes it great is that your life bar and your stack of arrows are basically the same, which leads to very interesting decisions in later and more complex levels. The controls are very simple and well done – tap on the left side of the screen to jump, tap and hold and move on the right side of the screen to charge and aim your bow, lift your finger to release the bow and shoot your arrow (relax, it’s way easier than it sounds) and I loved the variety of gameplay mechanics derived from them.

Shoot at targets to get extra arrows, shoot at obstacles to destroy them, shoot at trees to make them sprout branches and provide extra platforms to run on, shoot at crystals to teleport at, and so on – each level is different and requires a slightly different approach to beat. I also loved that levels are bite-sized, so you can really play anytime you have a few free minutes. The art is minimalistic, but it doesn’t matter – the focus here is the gameplay flow and that “one more time” addiction. Buy it and reward a dev that didn’t succumb to forcing you to see an ad every 30 seconds.

Mark Abukoff

I’m kind of a hard sell on endless runners- partly because I’m not good at many of them. But also because by their nature they can be pretty linear and predictable. They just get harder, lol. But this game is a winner. I like using a limited supply of arrows to clear a path ahead. I found myself jumping when I could to save an arrow (because arrows=life), and getting a few arrows back now and then. I like the obstacles that can still hurt you after you shoot them. I like the slow-motion-to-aim feature. I like the aesthetic of this game. Really, this is a standout example of an endless runner. And for 99 cents! Buy it!

Jim Linford

From what I’ve played, the game is more of an auto-scroller than a runner. To make things more challenging your life is also tied into your ammo. Each arrow you fire drains your life by one. Hitting an enemy takes more (around 5). When it reaches Zero you die. You start the game with 20. Hitting targets & killing collecting glowing orbs. Allows you to refill your ammo/life.

The risk-reward can be good at times but if you come across an area where you can really jump over obstacles and the only choice you have is to shoot you can get killed easily. The graphics are lovely hand-drawn and nice animation while the music is beautiful.

The boss fights are a standout. To me this makes it feel more than just an auto scroller where you have to go as far as you can. In this you have a mission and a story so it’s a neat twist. As with most other auto scrollers I’ve played are just the escape from something and go as far as you can.

Sometimes if you accidentally get an arrow ready to fire there is no way to cancel. Also, you can’t aim behind you. It would help when you have targets below you to be able to shoot slightly behind you at the moment you can aim in a half circle. 

On a more personal note, I’m currently stuck because I don’t have enough ammo/life so it’s frustrating me but I know I can get past it. I was expecting a pleasant auto-scroller but yeah it’s a bit dark souls-ish I suppose so if you like a bit of a challenge, then get this. As this game is the right side of just one more go. Recommended.

Naail Zahid

Oh boy, another auto-runner! Now that I got that out of my system, it’s a very good one. The graphics may not be stunning, but what’s there is pleasing to the eyes. Very simple controls and gameplay mechanisms – touch the left part of the screen to jump, hold to dash, and right side of the screen to aim your “arrow life”, because your arrows are literally your health bar as well. 

The game has a sort of risk vs reward system where you have to keep choosing whether you want to shoot an arrow, or risk dodging obstacles to save your precious arrow health. It’s the kind of thing you can keep picking up every now and then when bored or during trips and you won’t be aggravated by the challenges. All in all a very pleasant auto-runner game especially considering the price.

Torbjörn Kämblad

Autorunners has always been a genre fitting very well to the smaller screen. Ever since Canabalt was released back in the day I have had an inclination to play them. A kindling forest features an archer moving from left to right. You have to jump to collect energy that converts into arrows and shoot obstacles/enemies in your path.

There is level progression where you upon game over can jump back to earlier levels with the number of arrows collected to that point. I like this a lot, as I don´t have to start from the beginning when my archer bites the dust. The controls are spot on with a nice arrow-time(bullet-time) slowdown when aiming. Overall a nifty little autorunner that I find quite enjoyable.

Chad Jones

A Kindling Forest is an Auto-runner that’s easy enough to play but takes time and dedication to master. It shows you the basics and you take it from there. Don’t feel too bad if you don’t 3-star the 1st level, it took me several tries to figure it out. It’s very atmospheric and the graphics/sound/controls complement it well. Fantastic game that I will be working at for quite some time.

Daniel Steinbrecher

A game that reminds me of Ori, Mark of the Ninja, or any other twin-stick shooter you can think of. You’re awakened from the dead and fighting with your life energy through arrows to shoot archery targets, flying enemies, and surroundings. Everything that is coloured red has to be defeated or cut off to pass. And even if you shoot at something you have to ensure you don’t hit the shattered pieces (stumps) on the ground. Every hit costs life energy.

A lovely twin-stick auto-runner with slow-motion effects that aim to trick you if you’re not paying enough attention. The graphics, controls, and audio are amazing. For 99 cents, it’s a bargain on the go for short bursts of skill-based gameplay! Dash, jump, aim, and shoot to victory but watch your step!

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