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The First Tree™

A beautiful fox adventure game

Ratings

Age

13+

Category

Adventure

Languages

English

The First Tree is a third-person exploration game centered around two parallel stories: a fox trying to find her missing family, and a son reconnecting with his estranged father in Alaska. Control the fox on a poignant journey through a shifting landscape, uncovering artifacts from the son's life as the two narratives intertwine toward an emotional climax.

Dinsun Expert Review

Our Expert Score

94/100

The First Tree is a poetic and deeply emotional experience that everyone should play at least once. It’s not a 'fox simulator' in the traditional sense; rather, it’s a beautiful narrative journey that uses the fox as a vessel to tell two parallel stories about loss, family, and reconnection. The writing is intimate and poignant, building to an ending that is truly unforgettable.

The world is absolutely stunning. From the magical, shifting landscapes to the orchestral soundtrack, every element is designed to pull you into Joseph's story. The fact that this was created by a one-man team (David Wehle) makes the level of polish and emotional depth even more impressive.

While the gameplay is light—mostly exploration with some simple platforming—it serves the story perfectly. It’s a short experience, taking about two hours, but it stays with you long after the credits roll. It’s a masterclass in indie storytelling that proves games can be a powerful medium for personal, human narratives.

Dinsun reviewed on: Mon Feb 26 2024

Features

1

Intimate, Emotional Story

2

Orchestral Soundtrack

3

Stunning Art Direction

4

Light Puzzle & Platforming

5

Controller Support

Tips & Walkthrough

Gameplays

Screenshot

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Q&A

The game is a short, story-driven experience that takes approximately 2 hours to complete.

Ratings & Reviews

Interesting game
Wed Nov 25 2020 KrysLostInSpace

I haven’t gotten all the way through yet so I have yet to see the entire story but I’ll comment anyways. The controls on the fox and camera are lackluster sadly. There’s no turning animation and the camera’s axis seems to be some kind of orbit rather than a center point. I’d suggest changing this to make the game more engaging. The first ultimate fox simulator by Gluten Free Games and this game uses the same fox model so his game would be a good example to go off with what I’ve suggested. I think those minor tweaks would make the gameplay feel smoother. The story so far is quite enjoyable, but the voice acting feels a little cheesy. It can be hard to write and narrate a story without visuals but I think it would have been possible to make it slightly more down to earth. Still I’ve enjoyed this game so far and look forward to finishing.

Beutiful and inspiring!
Thu Nov 19 2020 0nly5

The story is engaging and frankly beautiful! The only thing I had an issue with was I got a tiny bit lost on some occasions, but I understand that was intentional so I would wander around and find where I need to go. I love how you did this! It adds character to an already jaw dropping story. The controls were a little rough but I figured it out. I also absolutely love that in the mode thingy you have little notes and stories about your adventure beginning development! This was extremely inspirational to me as I am a teen working towards game development with my family. I loved your game and even though this is one of the shortest reviews I’ve wrote, that’s because I have no more to say about this game. My simple review: simply beautiful and inspiring!

Amazing for the team size, but frustrating gameplay and disappointing narrative
Tue Dec 01 2020 EAOK

While this is a very creative game and highly impressive given the tiny design team, I did not enjoy it. Gameplay quickly became frustrating and unfulfilling - I just wanted to get to the end. Moreover, while the concept was clever, I felt it was poorly executed. It felt immature and a bit, well, cliche. Death and loss are complex subjects worthy of exploitation, but this was just one negative anecdote after another interspersed with frustrating gameplay. It felt like an exercise in angst. Having lost more than my share of loved ones throughout my life, this reminded me most of my thought process and emotions at loosing a parent when 13 - not something I would wish to subject anyone else to for hours! That said, I want to commend the team for their work, especially given the small team size. It is a brilliant idea, and executed quite well given the resources available.

Beautiful and Engaging
Tue Nov 24 2020 LeoLover Katy

I can only describe this game with one word: beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Everything about it, the scenery and backgrounds were stunning, the animation looked natural and flowed so well, and the music and sound effects were beautiful and calming. I didn’t mind the time it took me in some areas that I got lost in, because the scenery and sounds made it easy to not get bored or agitated. In all honesty this is one of the best mobile games I’ve ever played. Once I downloaded it I sat in my room and didn’t leave for hours until I’d finished. Once I was done I felt so refreshed an tranquil, this game is so calming, but also has an engaging storyline. Would strongly recommend.

It’s hard to figure out some things and takes a while.
Wed Sep 24 2025 Flamefoxxy

This game is beautiful! The graphics are amazing and the animations are smooth. The story is creative! But sometimes it’s hard to figure stuff out, like finding the light things. It was tricky and took me a long time. And the part where the fox is running through the starry water, following the glowing deer, that part took longer than I expected. There are a few times when I don’t know what I’m supposed to do so I end up just wandering around. I do really enjoy this game and I have completed it twice and I am going to play it a third time!

Beautiful and great
Sun May 01 2022 Animenetflix8

I love the designs of the graphics and the story line and for me the story line wasn’t hard to follow and I loved the way it was played out! I finished this game within three and a half days and I might even play again! I think and I’m not sure but I think the way you choose to go and what you decide to do plays a part to in how your story lays out. Overall it was just a great game and I recommended it to anyone who is patient, wants a game that is a little emotional, tiny bit challenging and won’t take years to complete or 40 minutes to complete!

Beautiful but sad game 😢
Sun Apr 13 2025 MalibuRacer

I love this game, but it is a little emotional 🥹. For instance, the whole game is about u controlling the mother fox from a man’s dream (as crazy as it sounds). The fox is trying to find her 3 fox cubs, and later in the game they all die 😭! The mother fox is supposed to take the place of the man who remembers his childhood and remembers his dad, who is now dead. The whole moral of the game is that love never dies ❤️‍🩹. I even though the game play is sad, in the end u control the man as he follows the fox from his dream. He sees a carving on a tree, and when he turns around, he sees the mother fox reunited with her fox cubs 🥹

Beautiful “Meh”
Tue Nov 24 2020 Ditto3D

It’s a really beautiful style game I get what they are trying to tell in the story... it’s just not enough I keep getting lost and not in the fun way where I’m rewarded if I do it’s more frustrating and the mechanics are a bit buggy, Ik the guy love his work ethic n his personal story and glad he made it big, but this game really is missing some key story telling & game function If every time the fox found a story point and it when to an animated or animatic visual of what he’s trying to story tell.... now then maybe I could forgive everything else but just to listen to an audio book and get lost with a fox that glitches on rocks n I have to constantly hold down the run icon...(which only has 2 speeds crawl or walk...) gets boring at times cuz I’m just watching a fox run around...

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