As anyone who has been following this channel for quite some time should know well, I tend to have a weakness for roguelikes. Taking genres and gaming experiences that people already know pretty well and throwing in roguelike elements tends to be exciting, though admittedly the final results don’t always come together fully on the first try. Now with Frogue you have a pretty daring combination, looking to take the movement style from the indie darling Dandara and matching it with roguelike flair.

In general, I’d say that the results are mixed at best. There’s definitely a learning curve to the experience, wrapping your head around the quasi-turn-based movement rules, how various enemies operate, and how best to utilize your weapons and skill pick-ups. Once you’ve got a handle on those, and begin to get a feel for what sorts of upgrades suit your style of play best, you’ll then need to focus on how best to conserve your health overall and then tackle some of the game’s tough boss battles, which may not vary too greatly but do tend to have their own challenges.

Unfortunately, I think the biggest obstacle the game faces is its control scheme and implementation, at least on a controller. While you are, in principle, able to take your time and plot out your moves given the game’s turn-based nature, all too often I’d lull myself into believing I finally had it figured out, only to then blow what felt like they should be basic movements. Both when temporary pick-ups show themselves or when you’re in boss fights you absolutely need to move with purpose and efficiency or you’ll miss opportunities. Moving in the right direction but to the wrong spot, or even jumping to the wrong platform felt like all-too-common occurrences, and in part this seems to be tied to how small they can be and how close together they are. Even if you’re pointing to the right spot, one twitch or small movement in any direction could have you going to the wrong spot, and that can be extremely aggravating.

Perhaps it’s just me, but in my experience I’d characterize the controls as being a bit “fiddly” and that’s even in comparison to Dandara which could be unintentionally challenging as well back when it came out. The problem is, with this title’s roguelike pedigree, the consequence for having issues like that also feel amplified. There’s no question that Frogue brings a unique experience to the table, you’ll just have to be patient and work with its quirks to get the most out of it.