“Dr. Chimp in Frogland” by TJ Lounge.
In this sequel to “Dr. Chimp”, you play as the dentist Dr. Chimp, who travels to Frog Town in order to operate on Professor Frog, the richest frog in town. However, talking to the frog non-player characters quickly reveals that Frog Town is not a particularly happy place. In fact, there is a huge economic disparity between the citizens of the town in regards to access to basic necessities like shelter and food. Professor Frog owns the largest lakes in town, while many go without a pond of any size, nor even a shack to live in. There are no flies, forcing the frogs to rely on meals of grass, which barely grows.
Not to mention the rampant xenophobia Dr. Chimp has to face with every conversation with a frog. The protagonist is clearly unwelcome in town as an outsider and many inhabitants desire a change in their society that the dentist simply cannot provide. This is just one chapter in Dr. Chimp’s life, but there are many frogs with stories to tell in this game. [PLAY]
“FIRST FROG” is a light-hearted frog-led science fiction experience. While the cover presents a very dramatic profile of the eponymous first frog, the path up to them is far more comedic than it leads you to believe. You start this vertical journey with a different first frog in the reeds of a pond. This frog tower continues up through several layers of the atmosphere with just as many unique perspectives on this situation from the frogs.
A calming synth track plays throughout the ascent, encouraging you to take your time. The higher the frogs go, the darker the color palette gets. The green pond turns into gray clouds which turns into the near black of space. Stars appear and twinkle and the tower of frog ends with just a single line trailing up until we finally see them: The first frog in space. Of course, there is not much that a frog on a line floating in space can do, other than enjoy the view. And it surely is a beautiful one. [PLAY]
“flowers all around me” by Eve McLachlan.
In 1849, the successful cultivation of the largest water lily in the world within Britain was tested by placing the gardener’s daughter, Annie Paxton, on it. She, and the lily pad, stayed afloat and a short poem commemorates the experience. In “flowers all around me”, a frog laments how they regularly hop from lily to lily but never receive as much praise as Annie did. Annie may have done it once, but frogs, in a far more impressive feat, stand on lily pads every day. “flowers all around me” is cute poetry that asks you to reevaluate what things we praise over others and why. If a girl on a lily pad is a fairy, why not a frog? [PLAY]
“Frog Affirmations” by David Mowatt.
Sometimes we need to get out of our own heads and put frogs there instead. In “Frog Affirmations”, you hop around a retro-looking pond and hear positive affirmations from several frogs. They provide different types of encouragement about forgiving yourself and treating yourself kindly. It is a sweet game and also a good reminder to not be so harsh on ourselves. [PLAY]
“Frogg▒r™” by Terrarium.
“Frogger” is a classic game in which you, controlling a frog, must cross traffic without dying. “Frogg▒r™” is not about a frog crossing the road, but it starts with a familiar scene: A frog, multiple lanes of traffic, and a river full of logs. Crossing is simple enough, but this scene never returns as the levels begin to deteriorate and the graphics begin to glitch out. Pixels flash randomly, logs stretch out into thin lines across the screen, and, horrifically, the squashed ghosts of your previous lives appear. [PLAY]
