Developer: Humble Reeds
Publisher: Armor Games Studios
Platform: PC, Switch, Xbox Series X|S
Tested on: PC
Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge – Review
Are you a fan of casual games? And we mean really casual games? Maybe you should give Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge a try then. This extremely casual frog collecting game is the debut title from indie studio Humble Reeds. It’s a hybrid farming sim and creature-collecting game, where you take pictures of frogs and bring the wetlands back to life through very simple mini-games. Forget thrilling plots or grindy gameplay, sometimes all we want to do is look at cute frogs!
Story
In Kamaeru you play as Cleo, a young lady who recently moved back to her hometown out in the countryside. She meets up with her childhood friend and the pair decides to set up a frog refuge. This is basically a sort of sanctuary where you try to grow plants and dig ponds to make the ecosystem thrive, which in turn will attract frogs to the area. Kamaeru doesn’t have a very deep plot, though you do get to know the other characters around town who each have a distinct personality and some lore. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s a nice touch to make the game more immersive.
Graphics
One look at Kamaeru can tell you that the art style is a major appeal here. The graphics look so cute, and they are all hand-drawn and very colorful. These are some of the most adorable frogs we’ve ever seen in a video game and we’re loving it. The watercolor style is truly unique and we really appreciated the freedom we got in playing around with colors and decorations, allowing us to shape the scenery to our own preferences. The character designs also aren’t half bad. The interface of the game’s sidebar and menus kind of reminds us of a mobile game in its simplicity, but we honestly didn’t mind that too much.
Sound
With a relaxing soundtrack, Kamaeru manages to get you in a good mood instantly. The music is as adorable as the frogs, setting the tone for the overall experience. Some songs can get slightly repetitive, but since you’re constantly moving around between different sections of the game, it’s not that big of an issue. Overall, it’s not something we’d listen to for hours on end, but the game isn’t one we’d play for hours on end either. There’s no voice acting.
Gameplay
Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge is a simple creature collecting game with a few mini-games thrown in. It wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate to call it a farming sim, though the gameplay is not really based around farming enough for it to fully belong to that genre. Similarly, it’s not really correct to call this a decorating game despite how much it revolves around decorating your little refuge. The game uses point-and-click controls and a simple objective-based system to guide you along the casual gameplay.
When you start the game, your frog refuge is almost empty. To lure more frogs, you’ll need to place nice decorations as well as upgrade the biodiversity of the nearby wetlands. To keep a good eco-balance in the wetlands, you need to build an equal measure of ponds and plants. The game’s objectives guide you on how to do this. You can place your decorations however you like, just keep an eye on the ratios. To build things, you’ll need money though. Thankfully, the wetlands provide you with an endless supply of fruits and plants you can turn into jam or candy with a simply cooking minigame. Selling these goods will make you money, which in turn will allow you to buy more decorations and furniture to lure new frogs.
Another thing the wetlands give you is insects. These insects can be used to tame frogs. Whenever a frog pops up in your refuge, you can photograph it to add it to your index. But if you want to tame it, you’ll have to feed it a few insects first. Taming frogs is essential because only tamed frogs can be used to breed within the breeding mini-game, and some patterns and colors of frogs can only be unlocked through breeding. Thus, to become the ultimate collector and complete your index, you’ll have to balance breeding as well as decorating your refuge in a way to lure in different types of frogs. It’s a fun but simple way to complete your collection, with no deadlines and no rush.
This is basically all the gameplay there is, though you have some additional features later in the game such as being able to custom paint decorations if you’d like to give them new colors, and the ability to unlock helpers who will collect the insects from the wetlands for you, saving you a few clicks. Three biomes can be unlocked and the objectives stay interesting, keeping the game from losing focus. The gameplay never becomes super complicated, but it doesn’t need to be, to be fun. And have we mentioned the frogs are cute?
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a simple game without a lot of mechanics and with a lot of adorable frogs, Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge will be perfect for you. If you’re looking for anything more complicated than what a child would also be entertained by though, this game isn’t for you.
No Comments