Frogun

Frogun is a must-play for 3D platformer enthusiasts that love retro-inspired titles. As long as you come with tempered expectations and expect a collect-a-thon more than fast-paced platforming, you'll love it.

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Frogun is a cute and charming kids' platformer game with compelling gameplay, fantastic visuals, and good music. In the game, you play as Renata, armed with her parents' invention, the Frogun, to rescue them from the dangerous Beelzebub ruins. Explore colorful levels, from ruins to snow caps and lava swamps, in this lowpoly-aesthetic game, offering single-player, local multi-player, co-op, PvP, and split-screen modes.

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Play Modes

Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 338 reviews

gameplay39 positive mentions

grinding22 negative mentions

Charming retro-style graphics reminiscent of PS1/N64 platformers.
Engaging gameplay with a unique grappling mechanic that allows for creative movement and exploration.
Variety of collectibles and challenges that encourage replayability and speedrunning.

Frustrating controls and inconsistent grappling mechanics, especially during precision platforming sections.
Difficulty spikes in the later levels can lead to tedious gameplay and repeated attempts.
High coin requirements for collectibles can result in excessive grinding, detracting from the overall experience.

gameplay
118 mentions
33 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Frogun is characterized by its charming aesthetic and unique grappling mechanic, which allows for creative level navigation and collectible gathering. However, players have noted significant issues with controls, camera angles, and input responsiveness, leading to frustration, especially in later levels. While the game offers a nostalgic platforming experience reminiscent of classics, its mechanics can feel clunky and unpolished, detracting from overall enjoyment.
- “Solid gameplay with lots of stuff to collect and do.”
- “Frogun is a very charming game with fun movement, level design, and core mechanics that offer a surprising amount of freedom after you get fully accustomed to them.”
- “The gameplay is challenging enough to be engrossing but not to the point where it's discouraging.”
- “The combination of a finicky main mechanic, bad platforming angles for said mechanic, camera that doesn't follow you, and annoying boss design make the game so frustrating you'll never want to touch it again after an hour of play.”
- “Unfortunately, the gameplay praises are cut short by the fact that the controls and their execution aren't the best suited for some of the given tasks.”
- “What starts out as a beautiful retro platformer devolves into an exercise in frustration by the later levels; the grapple mechanic simply isn't responsive enough for some of the quick successions of grapples the later levels require of you.”
graphics
89 mentions
49 % positive mentions
47 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, low-poly aesthetic reminiscent of classic PlayStation titles like Mega Man Legends and Banjo-Kazooie. Reviewers appreciate the colorful visuals, cute character designs, and nostalgic appeal, which contribute to an overall delightful experience, despite some criticisms regarding gameplay mechanics and level design. The art style is consistently described as adorable and engaging, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “Visuals are very charming with great character and environmental designs.”
- “The graphics nail the PS1 style; it really looks and plays like an HD remaster of a forgotten PlayStation game.”
- “I love the graphics and the visuals, the gameplay, the cute character designs, all of it!”
- “This has a lot of potential, the visuals are very striking for those with a nostalgic streak like myself; however, I just think it lacks too much in regards to the movement and given this is a game that relies heavily on that, it's a pretty damning mark against it.”
- “The graphics are heavily inspired by a PlayStation 1 game and/or Mega Man Legends.”
- “There are some other nitpick issues with camera and graphic design too.”
music
42 mentions
45 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players praising its catchy and memorable tracks that enhance the overall experience. While some find the soundtrack charming and fitting for the game's aesthetic, others feel it lacks depth and emotional impact, particularly during key moments like boss fights. Overall, the music is generally considered enjoyable but not groundbreaking, with a few standout tracks that resonate well with players.
- “The music, and I cannot stress this enough, is so catchy and every track is a whole mood.”
- “The soundtrack deserves special mention, with most of it just being really catchy and in some cases, relaxing.”
- “This game is a blast, love the aesthetic, love the music, the worlds just look beautiful and the gameplay is fantastic.”
- “The music for the game is forgettable.”
- “Also most of the music just misses the mark for me, and the sound design feels lacking in polish too, like it just feels rather rushed.”
- “The overall audio design is rudimentary, and especially the songs leave a lot to be desired.”
grinding
22 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, particularly when aiming for 100% completion. After finishing the main game, many report needing to spend several additional hours replaying levels to collect enough coins for unlockables, which can detract from the overall enjoyment. The repetitive nature of grinding, especially in levels with challenging platforming, often leads to frustration rather than fun.
- “Now is the final piece of completion that I haven't done because it requires un-fun grinding after already completing everything in the game.”
- “After mastering every level, you still need to spend 2-3 hours grinding just to buy out the shop.”
- “To get all achievements, you will have to buy everything from the in-game shop, but you will lack around 30,000 coins even after finishing the game with all medals, meaning about 3 more hours just grinding for coins.”
story
21 mentions
29 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The story in "Frogun" is simple and charming, centering on the quest of Renata, an archeologist apprentice, to find her missing parents in a whimsical world filled with cute characters and collectible lore. While the narrative lacks depth and memorability, it is complemented by an engaging gameplay experience and a nostalgic aesthetic reminiscent of classic platformers. Overall, the game prioritizes fun and simplicity over grand storytelling, making it a wholesome adventure.
- “In the shoes of adorable little archeologist apprentice Renata, you go on a quest to find your archeologist parents in some dangerous ruins.”
- “The ruins are filled with expedition notes that serve to provide exposition and more knowledge of the game’s backstory for the players.”
- “Really charming, old-fashioned game where you get a simple and amusing story with a lot of cute characters, with familiar level themes.”
- “Also, there's a story in the game, but it just kind of happens.”
- “Otherwise, the story, the world, the level design, and boss design are each quite ordinary.”
- “Frogun’s story is nothing to write home about, but is somewhat reminiscent of console platformers from the 32-bit era.”
optimization
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews; while some players report smooth performance with consistent frame rates, others experience significant stuttering and framerate issues, particularly on the native Linux client and Steam Deck. Additionally, there are concerns about fullscreen display stretching on ultrawide monitors, though community mods have been created to address some of these issues. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary widely depending on the platform and user modifications.
- “There are a decent amount of different side-objectives across each level that encourage players to replay and optimize their performance.”
- “Well optimized, I never dropped below 144 FPS throughout my time playing.”
- “The first technical issue is that the native Linux client (what you'll be playing on Linux or the Steam Deck by default) has extremely egregious stuttering and framerate issues that happen regularly during gameplay, and the fullscreen mode stretches on an ultrawide display.”
- “Sadly, the game is poorly optimized.”
- “Even within the first few levels, I found lots of little skips you could take with the grapple, so I can only imagine how optimized the game could become.”
emotional
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game to be a cute and wholesome experience, providing a satisfying and enjoyable atmosphere without a heavy emotional narrative. However, some feel that the emotional impact of key moments, like finishing levels or bosses, could be enhanced to match the overall vibe. Overall, the game is appreciated for its simplicity and positivity, making it a refreshing escape.
- “I really need this kind of wholesome vibe in my life right now, and her always smiling face fit the bill perfectly.”
- “It's refreshing to play a game that is simple, satisfying, and wholesome, no sad story, just fun.”
- “A cute and wholesome game that's smooth sailing for most of it, but has a bit of a difficulty spike in the last few levels.”
stability
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-33 % neutral mentions
83 % negative mentions
The game experiences notable stability issues, including various glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, particularly during the main story. While some players find enjoyment in exploiting these glitches, they detract from the overall experience, especially with sound issues and a steep difficulty spike in the latter half. However, the game reportedly runs well on the Steam Deck.
- “Also runs great on Steam Deck!”
- “The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action sequences.”
- “I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs, which makes for a smooth gaming experience.”
- “The other issue I have with this game is the glitches and bugs.”
- “Only real complaints I had in my main story playthrough were sound glitches and a steep difficulty spike in the second half where multiple frograpples in different directions were really hard to pull off.”
- “As it stands, most of the enjoyable movement comes from glitches anyways, such as being able to pull yourself onto a ledge by grabbing a surface directly at its ledge and holding forward, but that's not to the game or the developers' credit; it's unintended as far as I'm aware.”
humor
5 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its whimsical and absurd elements, which not only entertain but also encourage players to reflect on deeper existential themes. Players appreciate the charming atmosphere, funny dialogue, and engaging gameplay, all of which contribute to a lighthearted yet thought-provoking experience.
- “Good style, fun movement, cute character, funny dialog, and charming atmosphere do wonders for this game.”
- “Yes, I would crash into a wall trying to platform with the funny frog gun.”
- “The gameplay itself is actually really fun; it reminds me in some ways of Sonic Adventure 1 (my personal favorite platformer, which, funny enough, Renata does the game's iconic pose).”
replayability
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the variety and challenge of collectibles and different playstyles, others feel that certain design choices, particularly in boss fights, detract from long-term engagement. The presence of 36 stages offers opportunities for 100% completion, which can enhance replay value for dedicated players. However, nostalgia for older games and speedrunning elements also play a role in how players perceive replayability.
- “There are 36 stages in total, so going for 100% completion in every single one of them might take a while, but I found most of them to be fun enough to have some replay value.”
- “Frogun is delightful - it's a great collectathon with a lot of variety and replay value!”
- “That offers replayability, or at least different approaches depending on what playstyle you prefer.”
- “Never is it explored further than this, and by that fact alone the boss fights kill any sort of replayability and longevity this game has.”
- “Obsessions with speed running, collectibles, time attacks, and old poorly designed video games that they have fond memories of because they were young and had nothing better to do than be at the mercy of lives, continues, and replay value that were all fronts to extract quarters and perceived value out of their expensive game, and not because they were well designed.”
atmosphere
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a charming presentation and engaging style, which, while not deeply immersive, contributes positively to the overall experience. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone, fun movement mechanics, and cute characters, making it a refreshing departure from more serious, immersive titles. Overall, the atmosphere is deemed enjoyable and enhances the game's appeal.
- “Good style, fun movement, cute character, funny dialogue, and charming atmosphere do wonders for this game.”
- “Music and atmosphere are decent!”
- “This game goes to show that a charming presentation, setting, and premise can make a game great despite a lack of immersive atmosphere and deep narrative.”
- “Furthermore, in an era where every major video game release is trying to de-gamify, focusing on atmosphere and immersion, it's a breath of fresh air to see a game like Frogun, content with being, well, a video game.”
character development
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The character development in the game is highly praised for its fun and charming main character design, complemented by appealing graphics and visuals. Players appreciate the cute character aesthetics, which enhance the overall gameplay experience.
- “The main character design is very fun and charming.”
- “I love the graphics and the visuals, the gameplay, the cute character designs, all of it!”
- “The main character design is great.”