Toads of the Bayou

About

In "Toads of the Bayou" , you and your group of toads are trapped in a cursed bayou by Baron Samedi. Cleanse the corruption, defeat his minions, and restore your tavern to gain allies, unique abilities, and powerful cards. Choose between three toads, each with unique traits, as you face permadeath and combat encounters across three islands. Build a strong deck with tactical movement and combat cards to defeat the Baron.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

80%

Audience ScoreBased on 162 reviews

graphics30 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game features excellent art and animation, creating a charming and visually appealing experience.
Gameplay is fun and addictive, with a solid deck-building system that allows for various strategies and unique character playstyles.
The music and atmosphere enhance the overall experience, making it enjoyable for long play sessions.

The battle system is simplistic and can feel repetitive, with limited encounter variety and objectives.
There are several bugs and UI issues that can disrupt gameplay, including unclear mechanics and lack of an undo option.
Content feels sparse, with limited card options and progression, leading to a lack of replayability after completing runs with each character.

graphics
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
41%
5%
The graphics of "Toads of the Bayou" are widely praised for their charming pixel art style and unique blend of traditional art, creating an aesthetically pleasing experience that enhances the game's atmosphere. While the visuals are generally well-received, some players noted issues with clarity and functionality, particularly regarding UI elements and environmental interactions. Overall, the game's art direction and attention to detail contribute significantly to its appeal, making it a standout feature for many players.
- “Toads of the Bayou is a fun turn-based strategy game that draws you in with its stunning artwork and atmospheric setting.”
- “The graphics are adorable, a highly detailed pixel style with lots of things to explore if you let your eyes wander the screen.”
- “Incredible game filled with gorgeous visuals, a thrilling story, and a wonderful balance in difficulty.”
- “Clunky communication (both written and graphical), the environment gets in the way of your view a lot. It's also hard to tell which obstacles are destructible.”
- “Not a true isometric game; it's got pixel graphics rigged to 3D models somehow, which is why it's so resource-heavy for what appears to be a 2D game.”
- “I would have preferred cartoony or 3D graphics rather than pixels; I probably would play it more if it were the case.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
56%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by a tile-based enemy pushing mechanic reminiscent of "Into the Breach," combined with a deck-building system that allows for diverse strategies across three distinct characters. While the game features engaging mechanics, charming art, and a rewarding shop system, some players note a lack of content and occasional clunky controls, particularly with camera movement. Overall, the gameplay is praised for its depth and challenge, though it could benefit from additional elements found in other roguelikes.
- “It's got a great art style, awesome music, and addictive gameplay loop.”
- “The gameplay reminds me of 'Into the Breach' meets 'Slay the Spire' but with more aesthetic graphics.”
- “Toad of the Bayou shines with its deck-building system, giving players the freedom to tailor decks to each of the three main characters.”
- “The gameplay is clunky, text disappears way too fast for some reason, and there's too many moments where you're like 'whoa okay I guess my run is over because that happens apparently!'”
- “It's missing so many different gameplay elements that other roguelikes offer.”
- “Slay the Spire has a gameplay loop where there are multiple paths with shops, games of chance, random encounters, etc. This game is: you fight a battle, you return to the 'hub' where you can do 4 things: buy traps, buy cards, buy items, buy perks.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
24%
7%
The music in the game is widely praised for its outstanding quality, effectively setting the mood with a charming mix of surf rock and Louisiana bayou folk influences. Reviewers appreciate its immersive and enjoyable nature, which enhances the overall experience, although some note that prolonged play can lead to awkward silence if the music stops. Overall, the soundtrack complements the game's art style and gameplay, contributing to a delightful atmosphere.
- “The music is another highlight—it sets the mood perfectly and stays enjoyable even after long play sessions.”
- “The soundtrack is absolutely outstanding, a really cool sort of mix of surf rock and Louisiana bayou/Mississippi delta type folk music.”
- “The soundtrack is immersive, setting the scene for swamp skirmishes without overpowering the action, a nice background vibe for an all-out toad tussle.”
- “Music: fair (if you drag it too long, the music just stops and won't repeat, it just creates awkward silence)”
- “Music: fair (if you drag it too long, the music just stops and won't repeat, it just creates awkward silence)”
- “Solid soundtrack”
story
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
65%
12%
The story in the game is perceived as underwhelming, with repetitive missions and a lack of engaging characters or plot development, making it feel more like a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. While some players appreciate the visuals and atmosphere, they note that the missions often feel like filler, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the story is rated fairly, but many believe it could benefit from more variety and depth.
- “Incredible game filled with gorgeous visuals, a thrilling story and a wonderful balance in difficulty.”
- “The sound design and aesthetics are on point, the story is fun, and the atmosphere is nice and swampy.”
- “Story 7/10”
- “The story seems to be just trappings for the gameplay so far, and the intro video had some slightly strange turns of phrase.”
- “And then from there on there is nothing new - no overlapping story, no interesting characters to talk to, etc.”
- “A lot of the missions, especially towards the end, feel like fillers, boring and only make you less attentive to reach the final boss.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
80%
The game has faced significant stability issues, with many users reporting it as a "buggy mess" at launch. While some improvements have been noted, the overall consensus is that it remains too unstable to be fully enjoyable, despite its fun concept.
- “The game is a buggy mess for now.”
- “The game seemed to have promise, but it is currently too buggy to be taken seriously.”
- “The game concept is a lot of fun, but was initially very buggy for me.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of "Toads of the Bayou" is highly praised for its stunning artwork, charming graphics, and immersive sound design, which collectively create a captivating and swampy setting. Reviewers appreciate the game's engaging aesthetic and atmospheric elements, enhancing the overall experience of this strategic roguelike.
- “Toads of the Bayou is a fun turn-based strategy game that draws you in with its stunning artwork and atmospheric setting.”
- “A fun, strategic roguelike with charming graphics, a great bayou atmosphere and a good soundtrack.”
- “The sound design and aesthetics are on point, the story is fun, and the atmosphere is nice and swampy.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it limited compared to similar titles like "Into the Breach," others appreciate the roguelike elements that introduce new encounters and rewards, enhancing the freshness of each playthrough. Overall, the replayability value is considered decent.
- “Replayability value is good enough.”
- “[b]Progression and replayability[/b]: with roguelike elements, each playthrough brings new encounters, rewards, and surprises, keeping the experience fresh.”
- “Although similar in style to 'Into the Breach', there isn't much replayability with this game, unfortunately.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly on the final island where enemies have increased health without added complexity, leading to longer battles. Boss fights can also become monotonous, as they often require waiting for the right card combinations while managing low health, making aggressive strategies risky and unappealing.
- “The third and final island can become a bit tedious as the enemies are not smarter or have more advanced attacks; they just have more health, so each battle takes longer.”
- “Depending on what character you play, the boss fights can get a bit tedious as you have to just move around while waiting for the right draw combo of movement and attack cards. The player has very low health, and taking a hit to have a chance to do more damage is never worth the risk.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised as funny and well-crafted, contributing positively to the overall experience.
- “Funny and well made”
- “Funny and well made”