Frog Fractions 2

Frog Fractions 2 is often considered a lesser game for lacking the surprise of its predecessor, but as stated by the developer, the true theme of the series is discovery, not surprise. The fact that the original was disguised as an innocuous edutainment game was just a piece of the experience, not the crux of it. The sequel delivers on that theme in spades, offering a host of strange setpieces and clever game design subversions for players to unearth. Conceptually, I’d actually consider it the better of the two titles, because its centrepiece, a parody of early adventure games, features extensive puzzle gameplay that was absent from the original’s guided tour of cartoon nonsense. In practice, though, maintaining the parody is often given priority over entertaining the player.

Some of the puzzles require recognizing where the limited visuals have been repurposed, apparently hoping that you’ll forget that the limited visuals were a self-imposed restriction. Any “action” sequences are necessarily stiff and inconvenient, because “old games kind of sucked” was considered a joke worth telling for multiple hours. There’s also only so much that can be done with a completely non-sequitur narrative. There’s a segment near the end that’s genuinely unsettling for about 10 seconds, until you remember that none of it means anything. The regular diversions into minigame territory are more enjoyable than before, but they’re still largely underdeveloped. It’s certainly still funny if you can sync to its wavelength, and I guarantee you haven’t played anything else like it. You may end up having more fun with the fairy game it’s hidden in, though.