Frogun test – The 3D platformer of the summer?

Summer is in full swing, and like every year, video game releases are temporarily scarce. Good or bad news, the choice is yours, but nothing surprising after all. Still, while some are basking in the pill at the beach, perhaps accompanied by a Xenoblade Chronicles 3and that others take advantage of the freshness of their living room in front of the friendly strayI personally chose to go back to childhood with a certain Frogun. A title openly inspired by the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 platformers, both in its mechanics and in its visual and sound aspect.

An independent title, developed by Molegato, a young creator in his thirties who has a lot of little games in his portfolio. Nothing that has really managed to break through the media barrier that faces any project of its kind. But some funny concepts, which make you want to look into the gentleman’s work, in particular a certain Supersonic Tank Cats whose name speaks for itself! Let me play this, please! As for Frogunin the absence of excessive ambition, it seems quite honest about its proposal: nothing more than a small colorful platformer with a childish universe, offered for less than fifteen euros on PC, Xbox, PS4 and Switch.

Test conditions: This review was made from an Xbox version that we ran on One and Series X. It took us a little over five hours to see the end of the adventure in a straight line, and we pushed two or three extra hours to improve our scores on some of the levels.

Staining pixels and empty platforms

The PlayStation era retains a certain aura among the over-twenties. For some it was the discovery of video games, while others observed the transition to 3D with a keen eye, as if fascinated by the possibilities now offered by the medium. As far as I’m concerned, the PSX was my second home console, after a Master System which made me lose hair before its time. I discovered magic titles there like Spyro the Dragon, Fang or Rayman 2. And obviously, seeing the first images of FrogunI couldn’t help but tell myself that everything was there to make me have a good time.

Because the title in no way hides its inspirations. Frogun it’s an old school platformer, running in a 3D with certain limitations, with visible pixels, with a somewhat complicated appreciation of distances. And it’s true that, said like that, it’s immediately less of a seller. But the screenshots speak for themselves. The title of Molegato enjoys a nice artistic direction, giving it a good-natured atmosphere, which does not spoil its light soundtrack with retro sounds, unfortunately turning in circles quite quickly. The title also includes a small list of screen filters that each have their own little cachet.

For the rest, he nevertheless makes some questionable choices, especially in the course of his adventure. More concretely, we embody a certain Renata, a young girl whose parents, both archaeologists, disappeared three days ago. It was enough for her to get her frog pistol, hence the name of the game of course, and go find them. The first hour is very appreciable on the visual level: we cross colorful levels, taking place in green spaces, while maintaining this strange aspect based on platforms floating in the void. Very PlayStation in spirit.

Unfortunately, Renata’s parents being archaeologists, we will have to go deep into the bowels of the Earth to find them. Which makes more or less sense, you will agree, but let’s move on. Still, this creates a major problem: if it varies its environments for a while, after a certain stage the title only takes us through dark settings, giving the unpleasant impression of being compartmentalized. And that’s a shame, because everyone knows that you need diversity in this kind of game, or at least a certain visual coherence. Gold, Frogun Although it may be a very colorful title, it nevertheless makes us visit more and more dark and dull settings as we progress there.

More Croc 2 than Bubsy 3D?

In terms of mechanics, Frogun draws from PlayStation platformers, but also from a certain Yoshi. Thus, each level unfolds more or less the same way. You have to reach the finish while avoiding falling into the void or getting hit by enemies. Note also the rather varied bestiary. Renata is controlled like a charm, when the appreciation of distances is not lacking, as can be the case with moving slabs for example. The little twist of its gameplay is obviously the frog gun, which allows you to attract all kinds of things to us, in particular the malicious creatures that we will come across, but not only!

Because we are taught very quickly that it is also possible to use the tongue of our gun as a grappling hook. And thus propel Renata to surfaces not too far away, and even certain large objects or enemies. And if the first levels don’t really use this mechanic, foolishly letting us believe that we are indeed dealing with a game intended for the youngest, which its artistic direction led us to suppose in the first place, it quickly becomes mandatory to master this strange frog gun. This is when the title begins to reveal both its potential and its full-bodied challenge.

Because it seems almost obvious, at first glance, that Frogun is intended for a wide audience, especially children. And they will actually be able to have a good time on its first levels, which are ultimately there to make us learn its mechanics more than anything else. But there comes a time when our reflexes will be put to the test, when it will become necessary to reflect on certain passages so as not to end up in a vacuum. Where it gets tricky is that the aim of the frog pistol is far from intuitive, and that you will often have to reorient yourself in the middle of a jump… But the title is sorely lacking in precision at this level, which often makes us foolishly lose a life.

While we say it, Frogun master a lot of things. Its level construction is simple but works well. Its items to collect to unlock health bonuses offer a certain appreciable challenge. Its checkpoints are distilled at a very decent frequency. We appreciate the fact that it is possible to buy hats with the hard-earned coins. And some platform passages requiring the frog gun are little jewels of inventiveness. Unfortunately, we have to deal with this lack of precision, with the appreciation of distances not always easy too. Or even with ridiculously difficult end levels. As if the game, knowing that it is not very long, voluntarily boosted all the challenge it offers.

Small platform game with modest ambitions, Frogun managed to make us have a good time, during a big part of his adventure. Unfortunately, if it has sympathetic mechanics, it sins in return in terms of the precision of its gameplay, and in particular the aim of the frog gun, its trademark. Too bad, because if it was better calibrated it could easily have claimed the title of best platform game of the summer. Otherwise, it offers a rather nice adventure, which we will recommend especially to lovers of the old school and the challenge.