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Platformers are a curious breed. Ever since the days of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog, they’ve remained popular. Yet being innovative and different can be a little difficult to accomplish at times. Fortunately Croak, the upcoming bouncy 2D platformer from WoodRunner Games doesn’t have such difficulties. In a Steam Next Fest, it takes a lot to really stand out and after playing the demo, I can see why it caught the eye of my fellow staff members. This game is a gem in the making and will be well worth checking out when it fully releases.
In Croak, you play as the Frog Prince, who is on a journey to save his kingdom from a curse. Which means hopping, jumping and bouncing your way across different environments. For this demo, only a couple of the swamp levels are available but they showcase this game and what it’s capable of beautifully.
The Frog Prince can not only jump but shoot out his tongue to gain extra height. By holding down the tongue button, he can also bounce off the wall and clear across the screen, unless there’s another wall there. In which case, he’ll pinball his way up by bouncing between the two. On paper, the platforming mechanics seem pretty simple. In practice, they take a bit to master as it’s easy to get thrown off either by pulling the thumbstick too soon or misjudging how far the Prince would go. But it felt immensely satisfying to finally land on the other side of whatever gap he needs to cross. Each level also adds additional obstacles, like bouncy mushrooms, movable shrub blocks and even platforms that become spiky after setting foot on them. A lot of the later challenges in the demo required quick thinking and knowledge of the level to successfully navigate each screen. Often moving at a pace that would’ve made Sonic proud.
Luckily all the fast paced jumping and movement across the swampy environment is beautifully animated. Hand-drawn and done by the same people behind Cuphead and Rick & Morty, the game looks absolutely stunning and ran like a dream on my laptop. I’m not kidding when I say the visuals flow as you move and perform actions across the screen. All while accompanied by a nice upbeat soundtrack that makes it sound like I’m on an epic quest. If this demo is anything to go by, the full game is going to be a real treat.
The demo ends with a boss fight against a bike riding beaver who performs tricks and dives into the ground. The Frog Prince has to boop him on the nose 5 times to defeat him. He telegraphs which attack he’s going to use so figuring out how to avoid them isn’t difficult, though it took me a few tries to get it down. Especially since he mixes things up in phase 2. Yes, the boss of the demo has two phases, each requiring 5 boops. It’s very adorable and a lot of fun.
With hand-drawn visuals that pack a lot of charm and fast bouncy gameplay, this is one platformer you don’t want to miss. It's sure to make any Sonic and Mario fan happy. I know I'll be watching for a full release. For now the demo is on Steam as part of the Next Fest. Give it a try!
