Last updated on January 14th, 2026 at 09:30 pm
The First Tree™ – Adventure Game Review
The First Tree™ is a Adventure/Family game from David Wehle, first launched in 18th November 2020.
It’s rated 12+ and currently has 155+ ratings on the App Store.
What Makes The First Tree™ Stand Out
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. Players take control of the fox on a poignant and beautiful journey that crescendos at the source of life, and perhaps result in an understanding of death. Along the way, players can uncover artifacts and stories from the son's life as he becomes intertwined in the fox’s journey towards The First Tree.
Features:
• Not a "fox simulator," but an emotional, intimate story by a one-man team with an ending you won't soon forget.
• Featuring a gorgeous, orchestral soundtrack by acclaimed artists like Message to Bears, Lowercase Noises, and Josh Kramer.
• A short story-driven game (about 2 hours long) with some light puzzle solving, platforming, and no enemies.
This Adventure game offers engaging gameplay and regular updates for mobile players.
Player Feedback
As a newer release, The First Tree™ is building its player community. Early feedback suggests .
Recent Updates & Development
Latest Update: 18th November 2020
Recent improvements include:
Thanks for playing The First Tree! I updated the language info in the App Store. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), and Korean.
Download & Availability
The First Tree™ is available through the official App Store for iOS devices.
Get The First Tree™ on App Store
Requirements: Requires iPhone 5s / iPad Air / iPad Air (Cellular) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina) / iPad Mini 2 (Retina, Cellular) / iPhone 6 / iPhone 6 Plus / iPad Air 2 / iPad Air 2 (Cellular) / iPad Mini 3 or later.
Compatible with iPhone and iPad devices.
Player Experience Highlights
Community Insight:
At the end, it made us cry. It is so beautiful. We usually cant stop playing it.
This game is beautiful! The graphics are amazing and the animations are smooth. The story is creative! But sometimes its hard to figure stuff out, like finding the light things. It was tricky and took us a long time. And the part where the fox is running through the starry water, following the glowing deer, that part took longer than we expected. There are a few times when we dont know what Im supposed to do so we end up just wandering around. We do really enjoy this game and we have completed it twice and we are going to play it a third time.
This game was SO BEAUTIFUL!!! The story is so sweet, we cried so much. The story of a mans dream with a Mother Fox was so amazing 5 for how beautiful the graphics are its just so heart touching.
We love this game, but it is a little emotional . For instance, the whole game is about u controlling the mother fox from a mans 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 . We 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.
We played this game with our brother a long while ago and we are just writing a review now.
We played this game so many times its a beautiful story and the end is so sad and the music is so beautiful.
We know Im a quite late to the party with this review, but we thought we might as well give feedback anyways. Overall, this is a great game. It looks a lot like the example pictures, and is pretty well made, especially considering the size of the team. We have finished the game twice so far, and as you can probably tell, Im still impressed. Fantastic work.
Hi here to give this game an honest review, anyways by far – this game is very admirable explaining to all the amazing sceneries we let our cousin play it, and did she like it? Absolutely everyday she will boast about the game, especially about how amazing and magical it is thats exactly what we think, too it calms us down most of the time playing this game never knew something like this could turn out so breathtaking the start felt tragic, our big sister saw and fell into a void of tears if we could play a game for all eternity, id sit down and enjoy this how much we wanted to ever do.
This game is really good and Im not complaining but after a while you get kinda lost , it still is an extraordinary game for such a small team making it and it was 200% worth the five dollars if your looking for a calm adventure game definitely buy.
We first loved it but at the end we were sad and was almost crying.
This is all we want to say: we LOVE THIS GAME SO STINKING MUCH.
This game is awsome its beautiful we love the music if you are a fox lover then we recommend getting this game.
We got all the way through like a long time ago and its the best but the last part we hate. We dont have anything to do at the end but just walk around as a human. Still its amazing.
We love the designs of the graphics and the story line and for us the story line wasnt hard to follow and we loved the way it was played out! We finished this game within three and a half days and we might even play again! We think and Im not sure but we 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 we recommended it to anyone who is patient, wants a game that is a little emotional, tiny bit challenging and wont take years to complete or 40 minutes to complete.
Words cannot describe how amazing this game is.
This game is literally the most beautiful thing ever.we almost cried!!we dont even now what to say because it is just to beautiful! The game is awesome.Probably the best game we have ever played.By the way,we are 9 years old.But when you are in the universe place,it gets kind of boring.[Thats where we are in the game]Ok we past the universe part and it is beautiful.we love the deer and the path way to.When we got to the wolf we literally got so startled.This game is great at getting people to have a lot of emotions!When we rote the note at the first tree,we started tearing up!!!!!we really really really wish that there wasnt a ending because we want to now what will happen next!In our opinion,this is the best game ever invented in the world.Thank you for making it.
This game is our favorite. Its so deep, and teaches so many life lessons. The game can be challenging, and we got lost a bit on every level. Its SO sad :<. Its the most lovely game in the world. THE.BEST. We fully recommend you get this game it was worth every penny and the ending will leave you very truly awestruck.
This game did everything right. Beautiful music, graphics, and story. It is 100% worth thats money.
This game is so beautiful. The nature and shadows are so real.Please play this game. There are no words inspiring enough to describe the beauty and emotion of this game.
What did we just journey through? We are a 30 year old adult and we were simply crying uncontrollably at the end of this story. Its unfair to call this an app or even a game. This was a beautiful story whether a true story or inspired by true events. We are grateful for whoever wanted to share it with us. We want to say we would love to see more like this but then again the pristine, originality and uniqueness of this story may just lessen. Truly inspiring.
One There was a fox looking for her babies and she searched but she never found them but she found THE FIRST TREE.
This is amazing! We love the detail! We love the story! We love everything about it! By the way, if you could make it to where to fox has a mate that follows the fox around in the story that would be amazing! Thanks for reading this.
We bought this game but we are unable to play it, it wont open no matter what so we uninstalled and reinstalled it even, for some reason it wont work? Please help. Thanks! It looks so good we hope we can get help.
THIS IS AMAZING WOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW.
This game is really beautiful and the story is very creative. We really enjoyed it and would recommend it.
This game is AMAZING! The detail to everything and the storyline of the game is awesome, the title might make us look like we wouldnt like this game but.. We do. We want our money back because its kinda boring to us, its not really our type. The game though, is epic, but the game is just not for us. Sorry for wasting your time if you see this. Have a good day.
We honestly have no words for how astonishing this game was. The animation and anatomy was simply magnificent. This game took us on a journey that we honestly could never have the guts to go on in reality. The First Tree made us laugh, cry, and just feel so much emotion for both stories (and, no game has ever made us cry). And to think that this was made by one person? Mesmerizing. We played the game two times in one day and maybe Ill even play it a third. It makes us feel brave, comforted, and calm. The First Tree is, by far, our favorite game. (Get it! You wont regret it!).
This game was truly a breathtaking experience! Everything was so stunning and the story really touched our heart. This was amazing and we fully recommend it. You guys did an outstanding job with this game.
We went into this kind of skeptical, we normally dont do story-based games as they tend to be kind of short. Our only complaint about the game is that it was 2 hours. Otherwise, it was amazing. The soundtrack and graphics were beautiful. The storyline was really sweet(if sad at times), we found ourselves crying at the end. Its also nice if you, like us, dont like intense games. Its calming.
Very good art style, music, and just feel. You can feel the developers feelings as you play this relaxing game. Awesome job.
This game was beautiful in every way. The animation is smooth alongside the excellent lighting and graphics, and the soundtrack made it even better. The best part was the story, it was interesting and very emotional, it even made us cry a little :,) There are some hard parts but we feel like it just added to the satisfaction of finally getting to the end. Overall, a great gaming experience that we wish we could experience all over again.
We loved this game. It takes you on a journey so beautiful. The ending was just magnificent. The graphics were stunning and the music was outstanding. The narration was beautiful and fun to listen to. Again, the ending is just wow. We got lost a bit on each level but it makes the game harder and shows the purpose of getting lost in life. It is definitely worth the pay and we would play it again. Again, the story is so beautiful. The message leaves you awestruck.
We like but our mom does not so we deleted it but its really fun so l love it in fact its our favorite game ever so its a must just ask permission to play it first but its the best game ever.
We havent gotten all the way through yet so we have yet to see the entire story but Ill comment anyways. The controls on the fox and camera are lackluster sadly. Theres no turning animation and the cameras axis seems to be some kind of orbit rather than a center point. Id 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 Ive suggested. We 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 we think it would have been possible to make it slightly more down to earth. Still Ive enjoyed this game so far and look forward to finishing.
We 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. We didnt mind the time it took us in some areas that we 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 Ive ever played. Once we downloaded it we sat in our room and didnt leave for hours until Id finished. Once we were done we felt so refreshed an tranquil, this game is so calming, but also has an engaging storyline. Would strongly recommend.
This is a beautiful game. The colors are especially well done. If youre looking for a bit of calm in a time of chaos. Get this. We also recommend turning on the commentary for those of you that work in game development. Wonderful little insights.
Nothing better than to find a game that has substance, is fun, relaxing, about family and loss and finding happiness and now we can play it on our phones and iPads any place and any time. The music and colors and scenery is amazing.
The fox is adorable and its all just beautiful. The visual effects are amazing. We were debating if we should get this or not… It costed money and we were being stingy. But no. This is a must buy. DOWNLOAD NOW.
The story is engaging and frankly beautiful! The only thing we had an issue with was we got a tiny bit lost on some occasions, but we understand that was intentional so we would wander around and find where we need to go. We love how you did this! It adds character to an already jaw dropping story. The controls were a little rough but we figured it out. We also absolutely love that in the mode thingy you have little notes and stories about your adventure beginning development! This was extremely inspirational to us as we are a teen working towards game development with our family. We loved your game and even though this is one of the shortest reviews Ive wrote, thats because we have no more to say about this game. Our simple review: simply beautiful and inspiring.
We have just started playing and already love it! We saw a YouTuber play it and we remember spending hours trying to figure out what it was called when we saw it in the AppStore we freaked and asked our mom 3 times the story is touching and amazing! And we really love how you play as a mother fox we love foxes to be honest thank you.
We absolutely love this game! The graphics and the storyline are above amazing! Ive waited for two weeks to play this game, and bought it on its release date. We were so excited! We love foxes and it was everything we hoped it to be! Please please please consider making similar games! You have amazing talent for it. Keep up the good work.
Beautiful game. Game designer trusts the player to explore and figure things out. Handles well, and Im enjoying very much so far.
We needed a break from Dark Souls and we think we found the game to take the edge off. In all seriousness, this is a very beautiful meditative experience which is so welcome during such a loud time. Digging these indie games that defy expectations, The First Tree does just that. Get it, you wont be disappointed and youre supporting independent works of art.
Really liked this game on PC and had to see how to played on mobile. Amazing!! Really love the music and relaxing nature of this game. Our kids also love playing as the fox as well. Well worth the buy $$$.
Our kids and we Love this game. Its fun and has a great story. Beautiful graphics.
This game is so cool! Our son really likes to run around and explore freely in the game.
Love, love, LOVE this game! We just joked with our 14 year old that this is a Mom Speed game, meaning, the controls are so easy to use. Not too much going on with one hand doing this, and another doing that! Wander around,figure out how to get from one place to another, collect shiny shimmery dots, some butterflies! Fun, not frustrating. Gotta be resilient, if you cant go through it, under it, over it, ya probably have to go around it! ENJOY.
The most beautiful and life changing game Ive ever played. Gorgeous colors and deep themes. Its a masterpiece.
Wow! Especially in a time like this (covid-world) we really needed this game. We totally calmed down and focusedit was like having fun and meditating at the same time! A combination of excitement and serenity, it took us on a quest across gorgeous landscapes with beautiful views, and we loved being a Foxthe greatest of all the woods animals. Wanna have fun? Play this game. Wanna leave the world for a while? Play this game. Wanna get in touch with your inner One-ness? Play this game.
This is such a beautiful gaming experience. Its a must.
User feedback from Apple App Store
App Details
- Version: 1.3
- Size: 1,034.85 MB
- iOS: 10.0 or later
- Languages: EN, FR, DE, IT, JA, KO, PT, RU, ZH, ES, ZH
- Content Advisory: Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence, Infrequent/Mild Alcohol, Tobacco, or Drug Use or References, Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humor
- Developer: [David Wehle]()
Last updated: 18th November 2020 | Genre: Adventure, Family | Developer: David Wehle