Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge Preview

Over the past several years, the cozy game genre has exploded in popularity, attracting gamers of all ages and genders who want to relax and not feel stressed when playing a video game (novel concept, we know).

Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge takes the concept of what a cozy game can be and expands it into a beautifully unique experience that transcends genre. 

Check out our Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge preview from PAX East 2024 and see what we loved about this frog-collecting and environment-conserving simulator. 

The Frogs Are Just the Tip of the Cozy Iceberg

In Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge, the player primarily interacts with the environment through point-and-click gameplay. There’s no reflex-intensive commands, and it doesn’t take a learning curve to figure out how to play.

The goal and story is fairly simple: create a sanctuary for frogs! Kamaeru shines a spotlight on the importance of eco-conservation by having the player restore the biodiversity of the wetlands.

You have a series of tasks and quests to complete before you can unlock the next biome, and a simple travel command makes it easy to be instantly transported between any biome you’ve unlocked. 

As you restore the wetlands and build ponds, farms, and areas for frogs to hang out and relax, you’ll start seeing frogs appear! The healthier your biome is, the greatet diversity of the frogs you’ll see. And there are a lot.

The Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge developers told me there are 500 different types of adorably designed frogs in the game, making this an excellent choice for those looking for a collectathon. 

Even with 500 frogs to discover, though, the game’s scope far exceeds the limits of just collecting your amphibious friends. 

Decorate Your Habitat in Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge

Much of Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge‘s gameplay loop lies in unlocking new items and decorating your space. Many buildings can be constructed to fill out your settlement, as well as a host of decorative pieces that your frogs can interact with. 

Add slides, lamp posts, pathways, bath tubs, and so much more to give your frogs plenty to do. The frogs can get hungry, so don’t forget to plant flowers that will attract insects for them to eat.

You can also keep bees for a steady collection of honey and have NPCs join your community and help automate collecting some of the materials you’ll need to progress. 

You can also take photos of your frogs enjoying different activities and add them to your journal. While playing, I saw a friendly dog napping by a porch and wanted to see if I could pet them. Simply click your cursor over the dog and give them the attention they want! The same can be done with the frogs.  

While the main story can be completed relatively quickly, Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge offers an endless cycle of crafting, farming, and decorating that gives players plenty to do.

Conservation Is a Key Theme in Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge

While the frogs are fictitious and designed by artist Mélanie Christin, the plants and wildlife in the game are very real. The biomes are based off real wetlands around the world, and there’s plenty of educational information throughout the narrative. 

Though developer Aurélien Condomines assured me the purpose of Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge was to give players a cozy experience and not necessarily to educate them about the importance of eco-conservation, there are definitely themes about ways we can combat climate change and save the wetlands. 

For me, playing Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge wasn’t just a delightful experience about collecting frogs, it was an opportunity to learn about carbon-neutral initiatives and what we can do to help protect wildlife, all wrapped up into a delightfully adorable game about collecting frogs. 

Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge currently has a playable demo available on Steam, with an anticipated release date to be announced later this year.

Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge was previewed at PAX East 2024.