Short stories are fantastic, easy reads that make you feel accomplished. The same goes for short games. I much prefer them over something you need sink 100 hours into. However, when it comes to Frog Legs from Elliott Dahle, it’s one game I wish there was actually more of.
Frog Legs is many things, a nod to classic arcade games, a first-person horror game (that developer Elliott Dahle is best known for), and even a retro first-person shooter. It’s full of good ideas and even better executions that I wish they were explored more, and to their fullest. As it stands, this is a game you can complete in 45 minutes and get all of its achievements, Frog Legs leaves you wanting.
The first game of the first chapter is “Crossing the Road”, it’s essentially Frogger as we know it. You’ll play as all four frog friends, and work get them across the street and stream to safety of each slot. Unfortunately, things go horribly wrong as traffic moves impossibly fast for their final friend, Bill, who dies a horrific death.
The second game reminds me of the hunting mini-game of The Oregon Trail for the game’s next chapter, “This Place is Creepy”, but this is a dark, dead forest instead. And unfortunately this is not playable, everything that happens here is just a cutscene as the characters process and talk through their grief.
“A Normal Life” is the third game, opting for some fourth wall breaking or just being tongue-in-cheek with aware of how horror games work. You’re awoken from a bad dream and the power is out. Events unfold like a first-person horror game, where you’re only armed with a flashlight and no way to defend yourself. You’re haunted by the past and intangible things. It’s an entertaining section that makes use of what it can.
Perhaps the most standout level of the whole game is in its fourth chapter, “Ribbit & Tear”. It features another first-person perspective first consisting of some puzzle solving with a balance of challenge and being guided. Then the game transitions into being a boomer shooter for a beat. It’s the most deep the game goes in terms of gameplay. Now, I love a good fart joke but it makes no sense to use frog farts to extinguish a flame. The less you know about this, the better.
The fifth chapter “Kill Bill” is a boss fight, continuing from the previous to be a boomer shooter, evoking the original DOOM by arming you with a BFG (the F doesn’t stand for what you think it does). This is a short-lived boss fight that I wish had more substance to it, but does make you feel powerful.
“Frogs, Assemble” is a continued boss fight, now channeling both Frogger and Galaga. It’s a really neat idea ruined by the fact that the final fight is won for you. It does take the wind out of your sails, but it’s satisfying nonetheless.
The seventh and final chapter is “Granny’s Margaritas”, a bookend to the events that have transpired as everyone moves on from everything that’s happened. All without any sort of explanation, but capped off by a joke.
The game runs incredibly well, utilizing Unreal Engine 5 and enabling features like Lumen Ultra, which I had a hard time noticing much of it. It should not be hard getting the game to run at max settings, but there are far more settings than I would have thought there to be.
My PC Specs:
– Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
– Intel Core i9 13900K @ 5.8GHz
– ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360 ARGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
– G.SKILL TRIDENT Z5 6000MHZ 64GB (32×2) DDR5 RAM
– ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X
– WD_BLACK SN850X M.2 (4 TB)
– LG UltraGear 34GP950B-G (21:9 Ultrawide @ 3440×1440)
Frog Legs is a solid, humorous, thoughtful game. Each of the games you so briskly go through are well-designed and could be spun off into their own game. This decidedly short game has some great ideas I wish were more fleshed out, simply because they are so fun to partake in. Frog Legs is fun, while it lasts.
A Steam code was provided in advance by the publisher for review purposes
