Time on Frog Island review: Not all it's croaked up to be

The challenges that arise when getting stranded on a strange island are many, but few could imagine being surrounded by an odd race of frog people. However, there are no hostilities here. Everything about Time on Frog Island is friendly, just as long as you can decipher everything that's happening on your own and that's much easier said than done.

Meet the frogs

Time on Frog Island's story is simple. The game's main character is shipwrecked on a faraway island. It's possible to get the supplies needed to fix his boat and send him on his way home, but he first must meet the locals, all of whom are anthropomorphic amphibians. One of the bigger challenges of this game is that there's no traditional dialogue. Everyone speaks in croaks and grunts, which are interpreted into the same basic message: Everybody here wants something to help them with their daily lives.

In that sense, the premise of Time on Frog Island is a fun one. It's basically a giant chain of trades. What order you find the necessary items or who to trade with ultimately doesn't matter, especially since part of the game's appeal is exploration. That is indeed where a lot of its joy comes from. I enjoyed wandering the island, finding the island's denizens, and exploring different environments. Sometimes, I'd even find a random item that would unlock something on the other side of the island, open up an entirely new path, or even stumble on a side activity. I certainly can't fault the game's central objective or its environments.

Unfortunately, there are a few mechanical quirks that knocked me off my metaphorical course.

Language barrier

The concept of a game without spoken dialogue is not foreign to me. In some places, it can prove to be a unique, novel, or even charming idea. Unfortunately, aspects of Time on Frog Island's interface leaves a lot to be desired. One example in particular tasked me with collecting a frosty mug. The distance from the tavern to the snow-topped mountain is a long one, so imagine picking up the right item and then trying to find my way back to turn it in.

Let's break down a few issues here. First off, there's no overworld map or mini-map, so there's no telling where you are, where you're going, or where anything is. Even if you discover an item you'll need later on, there's no way to mark its current location, so you have to rely on your own memory if you want to return to it. That's not quite as bad as interacting with the game's characters, even when you do have the item they're seeking.

Going back to my anecdote, I brought an ice flower to the bartender, thinking that would complete the frosty mug quest, but then he gave me a detailed set of instructions of what to do with the flower. That's all well and good, except there's no dialogue, so I have to interpret the rudimentary grunts and pictures. I finally determined that he wanted me to throw the ice flower in the brewing machine, but when I tossed it up, it got stuck in a corner and was lost forever, so I had to go all the way back to the snowy mountain and start all over again. Well, I had to start in the morning, anyway, which is a segue to my least favorite part of the game.

The one mechanic that aggravated me more than anything was the game's day/night cycle. Day/night cycles that require the main character to sleep and recharge are nothing new in survival games, but the thing about My Time on Frog Island is that it doesn't feel like a survival game at its core. In fact, outside of the need for sleep, there aren't many other survival components at work. That's why it's was intensely annoying to see night fall and for my character to urge me to find a campfire to sleep. If you're making any progress on your trade network or if you're in a faraway part of the island, this aspect of the game will kill your momentum dead, steering you away for minutes at a time. It gets easier once you discover campfire sites along different parts of the island, but finding them is the trick and that will still derail you from your main journey.

Island living

There's a lot that I like about Time on Frog Island conceptually. It heavily encourages exploration, opens the way for players to experiment with items that they find, and allows them to observe weird frog people in their natural habitat. I don't even mind that the game is one giant daisy chain of fetch quests, because at least it looks pretty and new activities gradually open up over the course of the journey.

However, there are several aspects of this trading title that didn't sit well with me. That could be that I hate feeling lost and this game gives me that sense frequently. More than anything, I couldn't stand that there wasn't even a way for me to keep track of where I had already been. I find myself getting lost in games often, but I don't think I want to get stranded on this island again anytime soon.

This review is based on a Steam digital code provided by the publisher. Time on Frog Island is available now on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia for $24.99 USD. The game is rated E.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?