Jones on Fire Review

Jones On Fire is a solid free-to-play endless runner that's full of cats. Players control Emma Jones, firewoman extraordinaire, who will attempt to outrun a rushing wall of flames itself in the name of saving cute kitties. Emma can slide under logs and jump over smaller flames in order to collect regular and golden kitties along the way, with the goal being to get back to the fire station to bank those kitties.

Kitties are more than just cute and worth saving, though. Jones can also use them to increase her abilities, like adding the ability to dash in midair or to increase health. Not being able to dash in midair initially makes Jones feel kind of rigid in part because there's no double jump, yet once the ability is unlocked, I didn't feel like it helped; if anything I wound up damaging myself more often than not. So it's best to just use it sparingly.

The game is forgiving, thankfully, which makes going back in to rescue more kitties worthwhile. The game has a distinctive look, one that lacks much detail, but it definitely stands out. It's retro-esque without being full of pixel art. There's plenty of objectives to complete for more currency, and they also provide plenty of a sense of humor to the game. The levels have a good flow to them, and the pace is quick without feeling overly frantic.

Jones On Fire gives players 3 lives to work with, which matters in that later 'hazards' (levels) give players more challenging levels with kitty multipliers, because who doesn't want more kitties? As well, there's a leaderboard for saving many kitties in one session, which is problematic if only because there's the ability to buy 9 lives for $4.99. The game's free to play elements make it a lot easier to unlock upgrades quicker when spending money for golden kitties, which can be earned in game but at a lesser rate than regular kitties. Golden kitties mostly are used to unlock permanent upgrades, regular kitties for consumable items, and earlier upgrades. Still, the game does allow for players to play the game for plenty of time for free.

All in all, Jones On Fire is a pretty solid endless runner, one that won't set the world ablaze but should be nice and toasty. Also, kitties!