Although the heyday of the 3D platformer is long gone, fashionable indie builders have carried out a fairly good job of retaining the spirit alive by devoted efforts in titles equivalent to Lunistice, Mail Mole, Cavern of Desires, and Demon Turf. Frogun was one other first rate new entry to the style again in 2022 and now the builders at High Hat Studios have come again for a second outing with Frogun Encore, a “standalone growth/sequel” that carries on and polishes up a lot of what made the unique a hidden gem. Frogun Encore should be slightly janky in locations (arguably that’s a part of the allure), however Renata’s sophomore outing is total a stronger and extra fulfilling journey that followers of retro 3D platformers will need to be careful for.
Frogun Encore performs a lot the identical as its predecessor, tasking you with exploring transient ranges filled with secrets and techniques, enemies, and an entire lot of collectibles. Renata herself is a bit more limber than in her preliminary outing, as she will now pull off strikes like a double leap or a mid-grapple catapult maneuver. And identical to final time, she will use her trusty frogun (which might, adorably, speak to her and provides recommendation all through ranges) to zip to distant ledges and snatch jars or enemies up with its prolonged tongue. The lady and frog duo could have a relatively simplistic moveset in comparison with 3D platformer royalty like Banjo and Kazooie, however the ranges listed here are well-tailored to their skills and routinely give you fascinating new challenges to maintain you in your toes.
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The moment-to-moment platforming itself is top-notch, and in some ways, Frogun Encore feels a bit like a 3D model of Yoshi’s Island in the way it approaches collectibles and completion. To go a degree, merely attain the talisman ready for you on the finish of the course, however you’re lacking out on plenty of the expertise if that’s all that you just do. To 100% every course, you additionally want to seek out two inexperienced gems hidden someplace within the stage, decide up each coin, seize a cranium squirreled away in an extra-hard, hidden bonus stage, full the extent with out dying, and beat the stage inside a set time restrict. Thankfully, it’s not required that you just do all these items in a single run, so you’ll be able to take your time attending to know the format and collectible places as you retry it with completely different targets.
It’s extremely satisfying to snag all the things, and a part of why this method works so effectively is as a result of clever levels design. Every degree is just a few minutes lengthy, so repeat visits hardly really feel grindy or arduous given that you just’re zipping out and in earlier than a stage overstays its welcome. Past this, you slowly begin to acknowledge how there are numerous built-in shortcuts to benefit from when you perceive Renata’s moveset higher, expediting journey and rewarding mastery of the motion mechanics.
Frogun Encore is similar to its predecessor, then, nevertheless it’s clear that the builders have put within the work to deal with among the criticisms of the primary entry. For instance, focusing on for the titular frogun is significantly better this time round, neatly sidestepping the often awkward course of that beforehand arose when aiming and taking pictures. Now, the focusing on reticle will intelligently lock on to grabbable issues that you just’re going through, and whereas it might probably typically default to one thing subsequent to the item or enemy you’re making an attempt to grab, it total feels a lot snappier.
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The digital camera has acquired some enhancements, now taking extra of a top-down view of the motion that higher captures the format of levels as you navigate them. There’s no extra have to fiddle round with the digital camera as you line up for the following leap as a result of you’ll be able to at all times clearly see the place you’re going, eradicating plenty of the earlier frustration that got here with managing the attitude. Some could miss having handbook digital camera management and the brand new perspective does give the gameplay a barely completely different really feel, however this new fashion total looks like an enchancment.
One of many headlining new options of this sequel is {that a} good friend can now drop in for some native co-op at any time by enjoying as Jake, and we’re happy to report that this looks like an natural addition to the core gameplay loop. The brand new, zoomed-out digital camera signifies that neither of you is getting shafted in case you fall behind, and if both character dies, they’ll merely be positioned in a bubble that’ll float again to the surviving accomplice. Although these levels nonetheless really feel like they’re in the end designed to be performed solo, it may be good to have a good friend available to assist vacuum up all of the cash.
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All that is effectively and good, however there are some lingering quirks that also should be ironed out with the physics in Frogun Encore. Platforming usually feels nice, however pulling off extra superior maneuvers like zipping between grapple factors with out touching the bottom might be awkward and really feel like extra the product of probability than talent. A lot of the levels fortuitously don’t press you too onerous, however we nonetheless would have preferred to see slightly extra effort to spherical out these rougher edges of Renata’s moveset on this second outing. Take the satan’s advocate perspective, one might argue that the occasional jankiness in controls is a part of the allure, because it does really feel to be within the spirit of these early 3D platformers Frogun Encore clearly emulates.
Visually, Frogun Encore adheres carefully to the identical graphical fashion of the unique, taking strongly after the lo-fi polygonal fashion of fifth-gen platformers. It’s a captivating fashion that manages to be easy with out wanting low cost, and we appreciated that the builders took the chance to discover extra biome varieties for degree themes this time round. Along with some returning favorites from the primary recreation, there are actually new areas just like the Marble Backyard Zone-esque Elena or the Imperial Japanese-inspired Ybushi, which match proper in with the broader visible fashion of Renata’s world.
Conclusion
Frogun Encore presents a powerful and satisfying sophomore sortie for Renata and her frogun. Very similar to traditional 3D platformer sequels equivalent to Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back or Sly 2: Band of Thieves, it expands upon the muse laid out by its predecessor in significant methods and polishes the concepts that the unique launch launched. The extent design is tighter, you’ll be able to play with a good friend, the levels are extra formidable, and this total looks like a extra assured and sure-footed journey. It could nonetheless have some lingering points with controls, however so far as retro 3D platformers go, Frogun Encore is near nearly as good because it will get.