Frogun is an adorable return to retro platformers, warts and all – Review

gamepur.com:

Frogun’s hero Renata is the daughter of a pair of explorers who disappeared on their most recent expedition. She grabs the Frogun, her parents’ eponymous invention, and sets out to find them. What follows is a 3D platforming adventure that sends Renata through a set of massive ruins, facing all manner of tricks, traps, bugs, and biomes on her rescue mission. Just as Renata finds hidden treasure on her expedition, so too did developer Molegato rediscover what made platforming games of the PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64 era so special — and sometimes clunky.

The sharp polygonal look of 90s platforming games is clear from any single screenshot of Frogun, and there are ways to accentuate this before even taking your first step. The game offers visual filters like CRT scan lines and a bubbled arcade cabinet look that enhance the feeling of playing an old-school adventure. This says “retro” to your eyes, and upon starting the first level, the soundtrack sings “retro” to your ears. The music gives me big Crash Bandicoot vibes, with upbeat, pulsing tunes that make exploring feel more nostalgic. The first time a bat enemy showed up on a screen, it was in a cave level with a very Symphony of the Night-sounding song, which drove the retro feeling even further. To top it all off, the Frogun itself speaks to you in a Banjo Kazooie-inspired series of ribbits, turning what would otherwise be basic tutorial messages into something more cutesy and comical. 

Renata controls in a way that feels very old school too. She walks and jumps across levels built from 3D tilesets in a very deliberate manner — you can’t move recklessly here. Renata doesn’t double jump or grab onto ledges, so it’s very easy to mess up.