Game: Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge
Genre: Simulation, Casual, Indie
System: Steam (Windows) (Also available on Nintendo Switch)
Developers | Publishers: Humble Reeds | Armor Games Studio
Age Rating: US: E | EU: PEGI 3
Price: US: TBD | UK £ TBD | EU € TBD
Release Date: June 8th, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to Stride PR.
Kamaeru: Frog Refuge is a cozy ecological sim by Humble Reeds, where you, the invisible player, are helping two old childhood friends restore a wetlands wildlife sanctuary, all for the cause of the cutest froggies this side of a Jellycat plushie. By blending point-and-click customization with some puzzle-like, thoughtful exploration of how biodiversity can save at-risk ecologies, it’s trying to be as cute as Neko Atsume while not as nitty-gritty about the details as the surprisingly scientifically Apico. Does it succeed at what it’s trying to do? Pretty well, actually, with a couple of minor caveats!
Earth Day Is Every Day in Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge
The first thing Kamaeru does right is lure you into a love for the environment with a gentle, Ghibli-style touch. No well-meaning but depressing diatribes here; you’re simply following along as two old friends reconnect over a patch of hard-used wetlands that needs restoration. There’s a moment of melancholy as you start the game, but it quickly turns into showing you all the things you can do to turn it around for the local froggies.
It’s not going to be overly-serious about your efforts, either. Helping the land turns into a simple gameplay loop between the area you’re dolling up to attract more frogs and more classic wetlands, where you learn how to mix ponds and plants to sink carbon and improve biodiversity.
But the area you’re making fancy can be expanded and customized in ways the National Park Service probably wouldn’t think of! You’re laying out patio furniture and pretty pathways and all sorts of other lovely doodahs that wouldn’t be out of place in a Sylvanian Families collection, and quite quickly, the frogs will take it all over.
No, sir, those chairs and bathtubs aren’t for you! This is the Neko Atsume-style part of the game, and putting out the right furniture sets will help lure out new, different styles of frogs for you to tame and photograph. Why? Well, to help increase their biodiversity, of course!
Punnet Squares with Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge
Kamaeru borrows and then puts its unique stamp on another game well-known to frog fanatics: Pocket Frogs, the game that’s been on our iOS devices since the day Steve Jobs was still alive. Breeding new frogs there was as easy as putting two hoppers together on some leaves and hoping you’d get a good mix. Kamaeru gives you a little more agency by giving you a chance to ensure the outcome you want by playing tic-tac-toe (literally!) with the genetic outcome.
Each form has three specific biomarkers, which impact their color and species type. You can select one biomarker and try to beat the computer at its own game and at least know you’ll get that outcome. Unless you’re better at tactics than I am, that may be the best you can do, but it’s cheap, easy, and fun to keep trying until you get the prettiest frog you can make.
Taming frogs is easy, simply requiring you to collect insects while you’re puttering around the natural wetlands scene, fixing the cattails and collecting berries with simple clicks. Feed the frogs the bugs they want, and presto, they’re now happy to line up for breeding, and you’ll get a slight improvement to your prettiness score level on the fun, decoration scene where you’ll spend most of your time.
Kamaeru Gives You Lots To Do Without Overburdening
While you’re off fixing the wetlands and collecting bugs, there are a few more things you can unlock to do there. Collect enough weeds, and you’ll eventually learn how to turn it into a sellable product. From all those berries and reeds you gather, you’ll make flavorful jams and fruit candies, whose proceeds at the local market wagon will then be put into frog furniture or other various unlocks to help you improve the area.
You’ll also meet other locals who’ll give you tasks to strive for or new options of things to do, or, helpfully, take on some of your tasks for a little while, so you know a steady stream of bugs will be coming in while you’re trying to lay down a nice stone path. It all feels like Neko Atsume, but with much more to do, and also Frogs Instead of Cats. Which is very much a compliment, in this case.
The Art of Kamaeru’s Frogs
All of this, from the happily round, big-eyed froggies, to the furniture and the people you meet, are rendered in a light, watercolor aesthetic. It’s soothing stuff, and it highlights how calmly-paced the game is meant to be. That’s, in a backwards way, one of my caveats for people looking for certain types of game experiences. Sure, you don’t want your cozy games to be stressful, but Kamaeru is, like, just here to relax.
It’s easy to get drawn away from what you’re doing because the game is not insisting on you at all. The cycle of unlocks and variety of things to do will be more than enough to keep most people in love with its gentle way of doing things. Still, if you prefer to be a little more active because it keeps your brain focused, you might run into issues with forgetting to play the game at all! But that’s fine; it’ll be there when you get back, and the frogs will be just as happy to see you.
It’s also simple to control. The entire game works on a basic point-to-click and button shortcut setup, which works lovely on the Steam Deck, with smooth joystick controls and easy-to-read prompts. It’s the sort of game that’s going to transition well whether you’re on a console or laptop, I think, and either way, you’re getting that pretty watercolor experience to keep you chill.
Conclusion
Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge blends its real-world science with a method of show-don’t tell that makes it less intimidating than Apico, a game which I adored and which also reminded me how much I’d forgotten from my science classes so many decades ago. It’s also committed to a soft, comfy aesthetic that, even if you’ve never looked at frogs as cute before, this game will teach you why so many people just love froggies.
I think my only silly quibble is the lack of audible ‘ribbits;’ just give me a vague background cacophony of happy, croaky little noises. It’s possible it’s something I’ll find as I get even deeper into the game! But that’s so minor and specific to me and isn’t a real complaint at all. The prettiness of this game and its lack of interest in stressing you about time is going to make it a soothing experience for a lot of people. The only way in this game is forward, but at the pace you choose. Pick up and play, or hyper-focus on it; it’s all entirely up to you! The frogs will love you to bits no matter what.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot
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