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Hairy Tales, what a name. Behind it is a little bearded bloke you have to guide through levels that are ever-shifting puzzles, an unusual blend of route-planning and frantic mid-run swiping. Strategy-runner? Action-Lemmings? Whenever you're struggling to quite place something in a genre, that's usually a good sign.The game's about re-arranging levels, mostly, so that a hairy fellow who runs automatically can reach the exit. Certain hexes have fences on them, which will re-direct beardie, while others contain more elaborate contraptions, like a dual fishpond that acts as a teleporter. Each level has scattered collectibles, enemies and power-ups, but all that's needed to complete any stage is to pick up a glowing blue crystal and take it to the endpoint.
The idea is to set up things so our man is safely batted back-and-forth and hoovers up the goodies before checking out. It's a nice idea, but after a gentle opening Hairy Tales ramps up the complexities of its layouts and their elements into something vicious. Parts of each level are corrupted and twisted, which is cured when the crystal comes near, and so have these split paths of zig-zagging around the corruption before clearing a path straight through it. Of course, this is another little thing to factor into 100%-ing each level. But though Hairy Tales caters to completionists and offers a stiff challenge, its saving grace is the ability to progress with the bare minimum, letting you crest over its more baffling layouts.
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