Frogun PS5 Review. Developed by the people of Top Hat StudiosFrogun’s striking visuals and level design are heavily inspired by the PSOne era, with war-effect waterfalls prominent in so many classic 90s titles. However, Frogun manages to stand out from other nostalgic offerings thanks to some interesting mechanics, even if there are a few bumps along the way.

Frogun PS5 Review – Deadly Bottomless Pits With Your Sticky Friends

Oh God, what has science done?

Frogun begins when Renata discovers that their parents are missing, but all is not lost; Since the pair were adventurers by trade, you decide to use the technology they left behind to track them down. This fancy gizmo is a part gun, part frog creation that is also a sensitive object, making you question many things about your parents in the process.

The main focus of the game is to use the Frogun to make your way through all the different stages. Essentially, this is a traditional old school style platformer with a very interesting twist.

The Frogun works almost like a whip that lets you tackle puzzles and other interesting aerobatic maneuvers. At the start of the game you’ll only run into very simple puzzles, and while there isn’t much of an upgradeable skill system, the game will add twists to the way the levels are designed, allowing you to use the Frogun in ways you probably wouldn’t. thought in the beginning.

The development team achieves this by slowly introducing you to all these new ways of thinking. For example, later in the game you’ll learn how to move through the air to grab another pillar to jump between areas, but you don’t have to do any of this in the beginning. I have to admit I had trouble aiming on some of these after I first shot the Frogun, and not often, but sometimes it felt like you were fighting the camera.

Frogun is all about adding simple puzzles that combine together over time to make things a little more challenging. But nothing feels like a huge difficulty; everything feels like it’s happening naturally with no artificial peaks. However, if you’re struggling, there are often Frogun symbols near large puzzle locations that remind you to look around the room and perhaps pay attention to certain environments. While this didn’t seem very helpful at the start of the game, I eventually found that as I progressed further, I often used the tips to figure out what to do.

So many shiny things, so much to collect

Frogun has an overworld that reminds me a lot of the original Crash Bandicoot titles, where you move your character from zone to zone as you unlock them. Each stage has several collectibles that you can suck up on each run, which are often hidden throughout the level in puzzles that are a little more difficult than the standard riddles.

There is also a timer for each level and if you complete a stage before it runs out, you will also get a reward. This means it’s a good idea to repeat levels so you can access these extra goodies. For example, there are chests you can find in the overworld zone that require the gems you gain from completing standard levels, which reward bonuses such as extra health points.

However, not all levels are simply puzzle based. In some stages, you have to win races, such as against a guy named Jake, who is convinced that you are trying to beat him for the treasure and challenges you. I found this one incredibly frustrating at first when I was trying to run forward because if you touch your opponent it counts as hitting an enemy and you take damage. It also doesn’t help that you die at the start of the game after only three hits.

There is a concession in that you have unlimited lives, but you lose a reward if you kick the bucket. Since some levels are very limited in movement, it’s actually best to try and take your time and then sneak up on him when you can – the AI ​​isn’t exactly the smartest.

Although the races have the same secret items as standard levels, it is best to go ahead and try to collect them if you can even if you are going to win the race. Also, there is often an extra part of the level after the race, the item to exit the level will be there, but you can start exploring once you win the race.

Frogun also offers challenging boss battles to tackle. These work like the puzzles of the game in that they start with very simple mechanics, but then stack different mechanics on top of each other so that you have to memorize them. My only problem with the boss fights is, even though the game has a very generous respawn/checkpoint system, if you die and the boss restarts, you have to watch the same cutscene all over again. As such, it would be nice to just be able to skip them.

I don’t hate it that much

Each level, including the boss, race or even the traditional stages, is packed with coins, which can be used to buy various items such as hats and artwork. The hats can be unlocked to buy by playing the game, although it would have been nice to see them on the character.

Still, this is a minor niggle, as there’s a good chance you’ll buy them all anyway because of the number of coins you can earn (the number of artworks you can unlock is a nice selection too). Finally, this menu also includes achievements you’ve unlocked and a bestiary of all the different enemies you’ve encountered in the game so far.

Once you’ve picked up the hat you like, you can access an expanded photo mode via the pause menu during a stage. Here you can adjust the camera angle and strike your pose so you can show off the lush environments and Renata. Meanwhile, there is also a screen filter system for those who want a retro CRT-like experience.

While I’m personally not a fan of most filters – the game looks fine without these, to be honest – it’s never a bad idea to have optional choices for those looking to add an even more retro feel to the game. .

Overall, Frogun gave me a lot of pleasure and managed to put an interesting story under its shiny retro hood. The platforming starts out pretty easy, but the action gets a lot more challenging as you progress without feeling arbitrarily difficult. I had a few issues with the camera during platform segments, but again this was a very rare experience and isn’t a game changer. If you like something retro, Frogun is definitely worth checking out.

Frogun is available now for PS5, PS4, PC, Switch, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One.

Review code kindly provided by publisher.