[h1]This game needs some work.[/h1]
FROGBLOCK is a Sokoban-adjacent isometric puzzle game about a frog moving boxes around in orthographic environments. The gameplay consists of moving blocks around with the frog's tongue and turning the camera to shift the environment around. The difficulty often trends toward the easy side, even if some puzzles are highly challenging. Despite its easier difficulty and short length, FROGBLOCK is ultimately a worthwhile experience with many interesting puzzles. Or at least, it would be, but there are many aspects of this game that heavily detract from the enjoyment.
[h2]The good[/h2]
Before tackling this game’s problems, I will first discuss its good aspects. The most interesting part of this game is the orthographic camera view. For those who do not know what an orthographic view is, the simplest description is a view devoid of depth perception; objects do not appear to shrink the further they are ([url=https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dUJzpz8J9xw/maxresdefault.jpg]here is a helpful image for more context[/url]). The missing depth perception applies to all aspects of gameplay, including the player, meaning otherwise distant objects can be interacted with based on where they appear with the current view. The way the orthographic view interacts with the other puzzle elements makes for many clever, yet easily findable solutions. Specifically, the moveable blocks are what gives this game most of its depth. Blocks can be moved into positions that allow the player to move between two unconnected floors through clever manipulation of the camera. Beyond the puzzle elements, the art style of the game is cute, and the environment is warm and inviting. Many may classify this as a cozy game, and I can easily understand why. The noises the frog makes are quite funny, especially if the player tries to walk off an edge, to which the frog responds by shaking its head and ribbiting "no." Were it not for the many problems this game has, the puzzle elements and aesthetics would fuse to make a short and sweet experience.
[h2]The bad[/h2]
Time to discuss the issues, starting with the controls. Specifically, the controls on keyboard and mouse are wildly unintuitive and cannot be changed. The way the frog moves around is quite strange. Using WASD the frog will face a direction, to which the player can either extend their tongue using R, or move forward using spacebar. Additionally, Q and E rotate the camera to face one of four isometric angles. This may seem fine at first, until you realize that the controls encourage exclusively using your left hand, and remapping the controls is not possible. The game’s heavy focus on the left hand leads to many misinputs. An option to rebind the controls would do wonders for this game’s playability. Another control issue arises when the player decides to zoom in or out. The only way to do so on keyboard and mouse is to use the scrollwheel, which is unbelievably slow and desperately needs some recalibration.
Aside from the controls, the game has a few issues with its orthographic viewpoint. The main selling point of this game is that objects exist where they appear due to a lack of perceived depth, yet the frog can still walk behind objects that appear to be walls blocking the frog’s path. I do appreciate how the game shows visual indicators of where floors are connected, but that unfortunately does not extend to where the frog needs to stand to touch objects with its tongue. During my playthrough, I struggled to find the correct spot to stand for the frog’s tongue to hit a box or toggle switch, and often I found myself placing boxes in difficult/tedious spots only to grab them from a point I did not assume I could, resetting my progress on the puzzle.
This game’s puzzle design leaves much to be desired. Throughout my time playing this game, I experienced many moments where I uttered to myself “why was that object placed there if the player does not need it?” There are many occasions where a floor tile is placed in an unnecessary spot or there is an extra inessential box. Sometimes these are used to misdirect the player, but they are often consequences of unpolished level design. Many levels reuse solutions from earlier puzzles with very few tweaks. Dozens of levels had solutions that required stacking boxes two or three tiles up and climbing onto the topmost box to reach far areas. The main difference between these levels is the terrain you must use to stack the boxes, which does not ultimately change the stacking method, only the starting and/or middle points. In some cases, these levels’ solutions are immediately obvious and solving them becomes trivial.
FROGBLOCK’s levels are split into groups of 25. After the first group of 25, each group has a unique mechanic. Despite there being 25 levels to explore each mechanic, the game does not use the mechanics to their full potential. Additionally, only four levels within the final 25 contain more than one mechanic. At the end of each group, there is a sort of knowledge test level. These levels each require the player to move the frog in a specific listed sequence. These levels are massively more difficult than any of the prior levels, and the sheer jump in difficulty is extremely off-putting. However, there is an easy way to cheese them. Restarting the level mid-sequence does not reset the sequence and may place the player in a more advantageous position. I used this method to easily cheese the final level in the game. How such a simple cheese bypassed testing is beyond me.
The most glaring issue this game has is the lack of an undo button. Some small mistakes can lead to the level becoming completely impossible, requiring the player to restart the whole level. Dozens of times I remember being a few steps away from solving a long and/or tedious puzzle only to have to start over because of a small mistake. Often, levels require stacking boxes to reach higher or more distant places. FROGBLOCK’s boxes are not affected by gravity, which means they can become stuck if the player stacks them in the wrong place. Even though placing a box in an unobtainable spot is difficult, it is still possible and requires the player to start from scratch for another try. Letting the player undo mistakes with one key press would instantly solve these problems. Levels 26-49 all contain poisonous floor tiles, which cause the frog to explode after six consecutive steps on poisonous tiles. This explosion causes the level to restart. Some of these levels require precise manipulation of a box atop these poisonous tiles. Without a thorough understanding of how to navigate these tiles and gameplay devoid of mistakes, the player will likely suffer many restarts due to these tiles alone. Even if the game cannot possibly have an undo feature, these explosions are way too punishing for how easily they occur and desperately need to be changed. If the explosions restored the game to the most recent safe position, the frustration those levels create would be drastically reduced.
[h2]Conclusion[/h2]
This game has too many flaws for me to recommend it. I may be able to look past some of the smaller flaws if the biggest one (the lack of an undo feature) is fixed, but for now, I cannot recommend this game. FROGBLOCK lacks the tight level design and mechanical depth seen in games like Stephen’s Sausage Roll, Baba Is You, or Patrick’s Parabox that makes levels satisfying to complete. For those looking for a similar short, simple, casual-friendly, and/or cozy puzzle game, I would suggest Monument Valley and its many sequels. Otherwise, I would suggest trying A Little Perspective instead. That game is truly tightly designed and has significantly more to offer, both challenge-wise and content-wise. Not to mention, that game has an undo feature!
My Glitchwave review: https://glitchwave.com/game/frogblock/review/Zassafras/89193674/
