Frogun Review

Game: Frogun
Genre: Action, Adventure
System: Nintendo Switch (Also on Steam (Windows & macOS) Xbox and PS4)
Developer|Publisher: Molegato | Top Hat Studios
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US Everyone
Price: US $14.99 | UK £13.49 | EU € 14,99
Release Date: August 2nd, 2022

Review code provided with many thanks to Honest PR.

Wearing its Inspiration on its Hat

For a long time, many indie games have taken inspiration from the 2D 8 or 16-bit eras. Only occasionally it seems will you see a few developers look back at the early days of 3D, with consoles like the Playstation and N64. This era to me was quite fascinating and certainly innovative for the game industry.

Developers were heading into a new 3D realm and developing games which would release with mixed results. I have quite the nostalgia for this era. And it seems the developers of Frogun do too. Frogun is a delightfully charming 3D platformer that wears its old-school inspirations on its hat. 

Low Poly Charm

The story is kept simple and to the point, so you can jump straight into the gameplay. You play as a young girl named Renate, whose parents have been kidnapped, so you grab the nearest tool, a frogun. A gun with a little frog at the end is able to shoot out a long tongue to grab enemies and items and help you latch onto walls. The tool also gives you helpful advice throughout your adventure, giving you little bite-sized tutorials as you navigate the levels.

The most striking design of Frogun is its graphical design. Deliberately blocky and low poly but exploding with colour and charm. Frogun may choose a retro feel to it but that doesn’t mean it lacks detail. Levels feel expansive and rich in detail, with hazards and enemies roaming around and nice little touches like waterfalls and foliage climbing up the level structure.

There were many moments even in the handheld mode where I was able to observe the level expanse. The performance ran well most of the time but I did notice the odd slow down in places, though it seemed random instead of when a lot of stuff was on the screen.

Renate herself features some quite charming idle animations, something I rarely see in modern games. Leave her alone for a bit and she’ll present with a variety of cute animations, like sitting down all the while having a big smile on her face. Even if she falls in the water she just happily floats on the surface instead of dying in pain in the traditional video game format. The game’s sound effects and sounds are warm and upbeat. During dialogue scenes characters just make funny noises, but not to the extent where they irritate. This is a title that just oozes positivity from every polygon. It’s absolutely suitable for all ages from younglings to adults that need something to light up their day.               

Collect Them All

Frogun plays as a 3D platformer with an emphasis on collectables. The main gameplay feature which stands out is the frogun. You can use this to grab hold of enemies and then use them as a projectile to destroy other baddies or just throw them into the abyss. The tool can latch to surfaces acting as a grabbing hook pulling you across and will even pull out blocks or move objects in the level to solve basic puzzles.

If you’re having trouble aiming you can use a useful laser guide to position your shot in the right place. It works when you’re able to take your time. The mechanic can become messy when you’re working to time constraints which you’ll need to on some levels when you’re racing against a rival. Only the real dedicated gamers such as speedrunners I feel will invest the time needed for this mechanic to become second nature. It certainly feels retro but could do with some modernisation to make it more comfortable to gamers that lack that patience.

Specific Goals

The more negative retro designs don’t stop there. When you die in this game you lose any collectables you have acquired and you’re sent right back to the last checkpoint. For me this quickly became frustrating. I would spend ages collecting coins and gems and looking for secrets only to stumble on a jump and totally lose all that progress. It just got to the point where I just gave up on collecting and tried to finish the level. This may make or break the experience for some gamers, as to see everything you need to invest a lot of time collecting and gaining medals at the end of the level which requires specific goals like finishing under a certain time, not dying and finding all the secrets.

Tight Precision

The difficulty of this game can seem just too punishing in places. Jumping requires tight precision and often patience. Sometimes the frogun would latch onto a wall the wrong way and I would fall to my death, other times the platforms just move a little too fast to track. I will give credit to the game though, it does have a little circle guide to show you where you jump to and you have full control of the camera.

Another nitpick is during levels where you race a rival you receive damage if you touch him, which seems quite unfair since he often just gets in your way. Boss fights however are pretty enjoyable. Offering a familiar pattern of avoiding hazards and looking for an opening to attack. They offer just the right amount of challenge. There is a decent variety in the level design with multiple enemies and hazards (including buzzsaws) to contend with which is probably the main drive that had me coming back. I just lacked enthusiasm for the collectables.

She’s Got a New Hat

For the price of entry, Frogun is packed with content. Every level has tons of collectables and medals to acquire. If you like your collectable games this will certainly keep you busy for a long time. Any coins you gain can unlock new hats and artwork from a vendor you come across.

The game features a photo mode where you can pause all the action and put Renate in a funny pose and then save it to your screenshot list to enjoy at your leisure later. Or maybe share it online if you’re into that jazz. The game even features a two-player mode called coin duel. But I was unable to try this as I currently don’t have two joy cons pairs which are required to play this.

Conclusion – Wins You Over With a Smile

I did find myself walking away in frustration a lot with Frogun. But at the same time, I did come back to try again. It really does get that old school feel down for better and for worse. I don’t feel you need nostalgia for the era of gaming it takes its inspiration to enjoy the game. Be aware though this won’t be a casual platformer that will suit everyone.

Where Frogun wins points for me is its original design with the gameplay and Renate’s smile. For all the harm I put this poor girl through she was still smiling through the experience. And that honestly was lighting up my day even if I was getting mad at the game. For all its faults I loved the originality of the game, it’s different from what I have experienced past and present and that in itself gets a solid recommendation from me.

Final Verdict I Like it