Ever since the incredible debut of Vampire Survivors, there seems to have been a pretty constant flow of new indie games looking to replicate its success. Of course, as most newcomers have proven, there was much more going on in that title than its general style of play, and I have yet to see any titles that have really proven to be a match for its strong design and very addictive qualities. Given the challenge of taking it on directly, it seems that wise teams have decided to produce variations on that idea though, and even if not proving to be superior experiences they at least impart enough unique flavor that it’s easier to consider them more on their own.

Froggy Hates Snow is what I’d consider to be a more cozy take on that formula, even as unusual as that description sounds. The most critical thing to understand here is that right off the bat you’ll have the choice of playing it in a more leisurely manner without combat, which absolutely leans far more into the cozy vibe, or as intended which includes periodic waves of enemies. Rather than simply roaming through large spaces or more enclosed battle arena areas as we’ve seen with other games in this style, here you’ll instead be working to dig yourself out of some pretty deep snow, at least distinguishing the game from the competition with an approach that’s more distinct. You’ll be searching for gold and even gems that will be critical for upgrades and your higher-level progress, and early on it won’t be a bad idea to throw some coins at making your snow clearing and loot collection capabilities quicker since otherwise it can be a real slog.

The thing is, while this all feels a bit different the issues come in the execution, somewhat regardless of whether you opt for combat or not. If you play the game as intended, taking on enemies, the concern is how slow and generally ineffective your tongue lashing attack is. Whether you opt for full manual control or let it be more automatic, the need to be stopped makes you extremely vulnerable, especially as you continue to have more enemies attacking at once. On the flip side, when you remove the periodic waves of foes the whole enterprise ends up being pretty dull, obviously then lacking some element to make it more compelling to stick with than simply plodding along without any real resistance. It feels like the game would have been better off going all-in with one approach or another, focusing on optimizing play and enjoyment in a specific direction, rather than sort of half-heartedly delivering two options that are lackluster.