Think back to your early years. Hours upon hours spent in amusing yourself in whatever way possible, finding enjoyment in the most peculiar and whimsical activities; activities that would bore any adult in minutes, you could stretch for days. ultimate frolf chaos! is not one of these things. ultimate frolf chaos! is a game that will entertain for years, and not just the bright-eyed childish minds of the youth, it will rekindle that childish spark that lies within us all.
ultimate frolf chaos! begins by asking a question. "What if we combine the casual competitiveness of golf with the agility of a frog?" It may seem outlandish and strange to some, but this combination makes perfect sense. Frogs, after all, would be able to leap out of a pond should you ever misalign your swing. The impressive leg power that is key to their success in the wild is integral to golf, allowing you to make shots that you had never believed to even be possible. But even with all of these great reasons, one stands out above all else.
Frogs love golf.
When you make a shot, you feel the rush of victory (or in my case, defeat!), and your frog avatar feels it as well. An absolutely brilliant advancement in gameplay that adds an amazing level of complexity to each match is your frog's unique ability to hop after each shot. The number of hops is kept random, meaning they could hop up to 4 times, or, hilariously, could choose to abstain from hopping in the first place! This feature adds a level of chaos to each game, as your shot could be perfectly aligned, and you could still end up missing due to an unaccounted for hop! The opposite is also true; a shot that had been too weak could be compensated for by your frog leaping for victory!
The environments you and your frog companion will find yourself in are stunning in both detail and composition. The artist's care and love is felt in each line and the vision these beautiful hand drawn landscapes are clearly shown in the vast selection of maps that you and your friends will have the pleasure to choose from. The maps showcase amazing variety in locale, ranging from a stunning vacant island, a dark enchanted forest surrounded by the ruins of medieval civilization, to even outer space! Each map feels fresh and original, but most importantly, is filled with charm and child-like creativity.
ultimate frolf chaos! supports multiplayer with up to 8 players, which is undoubtedly one of it's best features. Many studies show the positive effects of competition: it increases stimulation and encourages competitors to work harder to achieve their goals. These effects are emulated in ultimate frolf chaos!, with the casual, yet complex gameplay that fosters a fierce competitive spirit from players. Putting in the time to hone your skills and truly master the quirks and unique features of this game can make winning one of the most rewarding things you can do. But sometimes, simple skill isn't enough to secure a win all on it's own.
Enter: Items. Items are selected by the players at the beginning of each round, then placed before the round starts. Taking the time to analyze the optimal placement of an item is integral, as they can have game altering effects that only get harder and harder to avoid as the rounds progress and more items are put in play. There are many types of items, and finding the right one for a situation (and grabbing it before anyone else does!) is key to victory. Being skilled is only one facet of this game's difficulty; it also demands strategy, and making sure you have a plethora of both will pay off when the map is full of a variety of items placed in inconvenient locations. These experimental mechanics lead into my next point, how ultimate frolf chaos! can inspire the next generation of developers.
Plexstuff, the developer of ultimate frolf chaos! undoubtedly took many risks in the development of the game. The mechanics are unheard of and outlandish, and they could have easily degraded from the gameplay experience if implemented poorly. However, that wasn't the case. Instead, each mechanic weaves into each other, enriching the moment to moment gameplay and leaving players with lasting feelings and enjoyment and pure wonder. In a time where the video game industry seems to be declining, this game stands as a light in the darkness, a ray of hope in these times of need. And above all else, it's an inspiration. An inspiration to those who shy away from originality in fear of backlash, an inspiration to the downtrodden who were cast out for their will to stray from the predefined path to success that has infected creativity. That is the impact of ultimate frolf chaos!, a panacea to creativity and authenticity.
ultimate frolf chaos! is many things, but very little at the same time. It's contradictory, but beautiful. The game is simple, yet complex. The game is competitive in nature, but could never foster feelings of resentment, only those of happiness and contentment. It may be small, and unable to match up to the titans of the gaming industry in content and scope, and it may not even ever reach mainstream success. Time may scrape away at the place this game has in our hearts, and we may even forget it, discarding our joyous memories of hours of gameplay as if it never meant anything to us in the first place. When we pass, will the generations that succeed us ever feel or understand the emotions that we had felt so strongly? Yes, yes they will. Because ultimate frolf chaos!, despite being a game that is based around frogs, is human.
As humans, we destroy so much. The world may never recover from the havoc we wreak, so you may ask yourself: are we deserving of the life we are blessed with? Our nature is to be violent, and conquest is in our blood. But we are capable of so much more. Despite our savagery, we are capable of creation; not just for survival, but for the sake of creation. Creativity allows us to rebuild what we have destroyed, directly or otherwise, we all have the ability to create. Some are better than others. Some struggle with the concept entirely, and trap themselves in a mindset that smothers the imagination. But I see ultimate frolf chaos!, and see a shining example of human creativity; humanity, our best quality.
I know i'm not the only one who does.
8.5/10
