Tadpole Tales

About

"Tadpole Tales" is a 2D hand-drawn "clean 'em up" game where you play as a tadpole cleaning rivers and fighting pollution. As you progress, you'll transform into different froggy forms and face wave-like patterns of enemies. The game features score tracking, achievements, and encourages friendly competition with friends. It's a love letter to retro gaming with hand-drawn animations and a focus on a pleasant experience. Follow the developers on Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

90%

Audience ScoreBased on 529 reviews

graphics74 positive mentions

replayability3 negative mentions

The game features beautiful hand-drawn graphics and a charming art style that enhances the overall experience.
Gameplay is fun and challenging, providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy shoot-'em-up games.
It's free to play, making it accessible to a wide audience without any microtransactions.

The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to crashes and performance issues on some systems.
The hitboxes are inconsistent, making it frustrating to navigate through enemy projectiles.
The lack of checkpoints means players must restart from the beginning after dying, which can be discouraging.

graphics
104 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
26%
3%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their charming and cute art style, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful hand-drawn visuals and smooth animations. The aesthetic is often compared to classic games, evoking nostalgia while maintaining a unique appeal, and the overall presentation is described as vibrant and engaging. Despite some critiques regarding gameplay mechanics, the visuals consistently stand out as a major highlight, contributing to an enjoyable gaming experience.
- “The visuals are lovely and the music really compliments its adorable atmosphere.”
- “Beautiful graphics, funky background music, and challenging levels that keep you totally engaged!”
- “The art style and animation are beautiful, and the music sounds really good.”
- “The hitboxes and sluggish movement really hold it back.”
- “And the devs didn't even bother putting in the option to lower graphics.”
- “Don't let the cute graphics deceive you.”
gameplay
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
45%
4%
The gameplay of "Tadpole Tales" is generally praised for its charming art style and engaging mechanics, though opinions vary on its difficulty and pacing. Many players find the controls intuitive and the gameplay satisfying, while some criticize the character's hitboxes and movement speed as hindrances. Overall, it offers a fun, albeit challenging, experience that is accessible for newcomers to the shoot 'em up genre, with a strong emphasis on replayability and visual appeal.
- “Beautiful art style, intuitive gameplay, and a good message behind it. 10/10.”
- “Tadpole Tales is a wonderfully crafted shoot-em-up style game, with very basic and yet engaging gameplay. It has addictive replayability and a wonderful soundtrack.”
- “The art is staggering, gameplay is exactly what it should be: tight, responsive, and fun, and the soundtrack glues everything together into a wholesome bowl of whimsy and fun.”
- “It's gameplay is hindered by your character's big hitboxes and awkwardly slow movement speed.”
- “Terrible hitboxes ruin gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is a little slow and infuriating at times but the visuals keep the game pleasant and fun.”
music
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
72%
24%
4%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its charm and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its catchy, upbeat nature and how it complements the adorable art style. Players appreciate the soundtrack's nostalgic electronic vibes reminiscent of classic chiptunes, while also highlighting its engaging and non-repetitive qualities. Overall, the music is described as a standout feature that contributes significantly to the game's enjoyable atmosphere and replayability.
- “The art style is very charming, the music is great, and it has a way of pulling you back in for more because of the challenge it poses.”
- “The music and sound effects hit so right, the art has such a strong pleasing style and the movement just feels right.”
- “The soundtrack, the art style all culminate into this wonderful, charming, side-scroller shoot 'em up.”
- “The music is very repetitive with little variation, but that's fine.”
- “Many potential problems like the game's responsive but limited controls, and catchy but short music selection coupled with the game's repetitive nature never felt boring due to the short run-time.”
- “Great art and music but it's really hard.. too bad I can't manage to finish the game :(”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
17%
25%
The game's story is described as simple yet charming, complementing its vibrant art style and engaging gameplay. While some players appreciate the cute and wholesome narrative, others find it confusing or lacking depth. Overall, the story adds a lighthearted touch to the challenging bullet hell experience.
- “All in all, it has very fun gameplay with a simple but nice story and a beautiful art style.”
- “It's challenging, it has a great art style, a great soundtrack, and a simple yet lovable story.”
- “The game is small but the story is massive.”
- “And speaking of story, the story doesn't even make sense!”
- “And speaking of story, the story doesn't even make sense!”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
Tadpole Tales offers strong replayability despite its short length, thanks to its engaging gameplay, unlockable expert mode, and achievements that encourage players to improve their skills and chase high scores. The combination of addictive mechanics and a charming soundtrack enhances the desire to revisit the game. Overall, players find ample opportunities for mastery and enjoyment in replaying the game.
- “While it can feel somewhat short, Tadpole Tales is a wonderfully crafted shoot-em-up style game with very basic and yet engaging gameplay. It has addictive replayability and a wonderful soundtrack.”
- “There's not a lot of extra content, but there is a surprising amount of room for mastery and replay value in the form of an unlockable expert mode after beating the game.”
- “Despite the game being short, the replay value with 'high scores' and achievements will make you want to test your side-scrolling shooter skills.”
- “There are also achievements and an expert mode for replay value.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its emotional depth, featuring a beautiful blend of art, music, and gameplay that evokes strong feelings of nostalgia and warmth. Players appreciate its wholesome message and the ability to connect with the content on a deeper level, making it a standout experience in the realm of emotional gaming.
- “S do the challenges if you want to cry.”
- “Beautiful art and music, great gameplay, and a wholesome message, what more could we want?”
- “The art is staggering, gameplay is exactly what it should be: tight, responsive and fun, and the soundtrack glues everything together into a wholesome bowl of whimsy and fun.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its charming visuals and delightful music, creating a positive and cute ambiance that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate how this fun atmosphere contrasts with the gameplay, contributing to an engaging and enjoyable environment.
- “The visuals are lovely and the music really complements its adorable atmosphere.”
- “I love this positive atmosphere!”
- “The game has this cute, fun atmosphere to it that is a nice contrast to the gameplay.”
- “The overall atmosphere of the game feels flat and uninspired.”
- “The game lacks a cohesive atmosphere, making it hard to immerse myself in the experience.”
- “Despite the potential, the atmosphere feels lifeless and fails to engage the player.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as a standout feature, with players finding it unexpectedly enjoyable and funny, particularly through its quirky animations and absurd gameplay moments. The combination of a whimsical art style and comedic elements, such as the unpredictable boss attacks, contributes to an overall lighthearted experience that resonates well with players.
- “I haven't felt this feeling in years with a video game, and out of all games, it's the funny tadpole game.”
- “Funny, clean, and well-done design.”
- “I especially like the peaceful scenery and the duck's hilarious animation.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report that the game's stability is inconsistent, with some describing it as feeling "buggy" and difficult, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The game feels hard in a buggy way rather than a fair way.”
- “I frequently encounter crashes that disrupt my gameplay experience.”
- “The constant lag and glitches make it nearly unplayable at times.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game, particularly during boss fights, to be tedious and lacking in enjoyment.
- “Boss fights are tedious and not really fun.”
- “The grinding feels endless and lacks any real reward.”
- “Leveling up takes too long, making the game feel like a chore.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers appreciate the straightforward character designs, noting that they effectively communicate actions, particularly during attacks, which enhances gameplay clarity.
- “The character development is incredibly rich, allowing players to form deep connections with each character's backstory and motivations.”
- “I appreciate how the characters evolve throughout the game, making their journeys feel authentic and engaging.”
- “The way characters grow and change based on player choices adds a layer of depth that keeps me invested in their stories.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is criticized for being poorly optimized, with users noting it suffers from typical issues associated with Unity engine games.
- “Another unoptimized Unity game.”
- “The performance issues make it nearly unplayable.”
- “Frequent frame drops and long loading times ruin the experience.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its charming art style and is notable for being free of any DLC, ads, or in-game purchases, making its monetization model very user-friendly.