Croak | Presskit

Lore

🐸 Croak is a challenging precision platformer featuring simple game mechanics with innovative movement mechanics, adding a fresh twist to the genre. The frog prince uses his tongue to dash and bounce through hundreds of hand-crafted rooms, encountering bosses as he journeys across distinct biomes in a rich environment.

🎮 Pure platformer. Master the game with deceptively simple, easy-to-learn mechanics paired with an adaptive learning curve that rewards resilience and improvement. To succeed, you’ll need to make good use of interactive platforming elements, sharp reflexes, and strategic thinking.

🏰 Reach your Castle. The journey will take you through various biomes, each with its own gameplay twist. Traverse swamps, haunted mines, snowy mountain ranges, and strive to reach the cursed castle. Unlock secret areas, discover collectibles, face enemies, and defeat bosses.

🧙 Lift the curse. What exactly happened to the kingdom? Its inhabitants have been turned into animals, and the realm is poisoned by deadly vines. Unravel the mystery of the curse’s origins as you journey through the kingdom’s deepest corners. This fractured fairytale, with beautiful hand-crafted visuals, will have you leaping to the challenge in search of your hoppily ever after.

History

The idea began in 2020 during lockdown, when Rob and Max’s passion for video games motivated them to start a game project. As an artist, Rob wanted to emphasize art and animation to craft something visually beautiful. They gradually built a team of five members.

A few months later, they won a local pitch contest with their game concept which led to financial support from an investor. This provided the resources to create their first prototype in 2022.

In the following year (2023), WoodRunner Games’ project got fully funded from the Canada Media Fund (CMF). The team has since expanded with the addition of new members.

Features

Visually stunning. The fully hand-crafted art with individually drawn frame-by-frame traditional animation celebrates a deep appreciation for art as an essential part of the gaming experience. This great attention to details enhances the player experience, which is especially important in a precision platforming game.

Dynamic gameplay. The game’s mechanics are deceptively simple, yet deliver a fresh twist that breathes new life into the platformer genre. Our bouncy frog hero is more agile than he looks, his tongue-grappling abilities open up a world of versatile movesets, offering challenges that are easy to learn but hard to master. These precision-based challenges reward precision and analytical focus, creating a fun and engaging experience for both casual and expert players alike.

Diverse and rich environments. Featuring multiple biomes, the environment offers diverse settings and unique gameplay elements, inviting players to explore levels, uncover hidden secrets, and collect items.

Engaging characters. The player will encounter a variety of characters, each with their own unique movesets and motives, which will aid in the player’s improvement. When facing a boss, the player will navigate multiple phases of combat, making use of varied gameplay strategies in every encounter.