School is back in session, and I am reading up on topics that I really do not care about in the slightest, so I played a demo. Last week was a good week for me to find demos because I found a handful of them, and they were all really great. This week’s game was the best of the handful. I like frogs, mini-games, and saving the day. All of this mixed together makes for an enjoyable demo.

This week is Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime.

Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime is a frog-themed story game from Bonte Avond and Offbrand Games. No release date, NO NOTHING.

Bonnie Bear’s self-worth is in a really bad place. Everyone knows it. This year will be different because Bonnie’s bearday is today and she was gifted a starter kit for a game called Frogtime! One thing leads to another and Bonnie has to save her friend.

That’s pretty much the gist of it.

Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime is a narrative game at the core and Bonnie can talk to pretty much everyone in the demo to get hints about the beach, how it functions and frogtime tips. The quirky personalities that everyone had made me want to interact with them, usually coming away with a chuckle and a hope that I would be able to interact with them later on.

The aim of the game is to get Bonnie’s self-worth up by obliterating the beach people in the game of Frogtime. Frogtime can be boiled down to frog chess. Pick three frogs out of your bag and throw them onto the grid. Each frog is assigned a number of damage points and they deal to the player, and when the opposing frog jumps to the other side, they will deal damage equal to that number.

Where Frogtime gets complicated is when frogs with abilities are introduced later on in the demo. Frogs ALWAYS can jump over other frogs and take the next square, but other frogs can push other frogs in the same row, shock the field, blow the hell up, and take spaces when a player scores. Games take a maximum of five minutes and the opponent’s intelligence falls somewhere between wanting to win and doing whatever it takes. Overall, Frogtime makes for some really funny and nervous moments that result in more self worth and a currency to buy booster packs to expand your frog army.

The gameplay works surprisingly well making for fun little combos that let frogs jump across the whole board while blocking the opponent from doing the same.

I love the way that Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime looks. From the goofy clothes that they wear to the environment, everything has such a soft color attached to it making it easy on the eyes. You only get the beach area in the demo and its enough to get me excited.

What hooked me on Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime was the voice acting and the songs. I am positive that the voice acting so far is just two people, and always a first cut, but I am not 100%. There will be a conversation and another character enters the frame and it is just the same male voice just an octave higher, lower, or even in a goofy manner. It’s adorable and I love it.

There are occasions when musical numbers occur and they are absolutely great. Rik Spek’s song fits his personality, and the song about Bonnie is heartfelt. Top tier music.

Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime reminds a lot of Frog Detective. It has all the quirky characters, the quirky environment, and quite a serious narrative that devolves into the bizarre. The game is colorful, the cast of characters is funny, cute and memorable, the music is great and the voice acting is some of my favorite.

SO FAR SO GOOD FOR A GAME WITH NO RELEASE DATE