Epifrog
Epifrog is a 2.5D adventure/survival game with strategy elements set in a grotesque world of frogs and magic. The game is based on the Unity engine. Its release is planned for the second quarter of 2022 on Steam and Nintendo Switch. Epifrog is developed by Adria Games, an independent game development studio based in Poland. Lore. Basically the lore is about fate, destiny, and… frogs. Once upon a time, there was an ancient Frog God that had his residence on a floating Frog Mountain where he had enslaved innocent frogs. Until one day a teeny-tiny tadpole slipped  from God’s greedy hands and fell to the river which took the tadpole at the edge of the Frog Mountain. That’s where destiny came in and the tadpole fell into a magical pond. Our hero realized that it was in an unknown place, full of danger and mystery. Our little tadpole has risen and became Epifrog, a humble frog commander with great strategy skills and magic abilities. It draws other tadpoles to try taking a similar path and join him in his uprising. Gameplay. This 2.5D survival/strategy game is targeted at people who’d like to become  frog commanders. Players have to take care of frogs in the village, craft, build and upgrade things, explore the wilderness and most importantly defend the village from filthy U’man waves. While exploring the world there are a lot of dangers out there - poisonous spiders and blood-thirsty werewolves who are waiting to devour innocent frogs. The Player’s task is to protect the village, fight back against U’mans, explore the wilderness and do what it takes to survive. The important part is protecting the Magic Pond Statue where tadpoles grow and keep U’mans away from our tadpoles. Mechanics. The core  of the game mechanics is commanding. The Players become Epifrog who is leading his frog troops. They can issue commands, making their kin charge into an attack, defend the designated position, approach it or run away. Each command has a more powerful version which buffs his party members according to the action they perform. In the village, our magic pond is where all the tadpoles live. Epifrog can feed them, allowing them to grow into different forms, depending on the provided ingredients. Players will gather their party, and explore the wilderness outside the village where they will find valuable resources  which help them expand the village and make their troops stronger and fill their belly with tasty frog berries. Every so often during the night, waves of filthy U’mans will attack the frog village. Players can assign a sentinel to the frog gong who will alarm the village and mobilize all frogs. Furthermore, it is possible to set annoying obstacles like carnivore plants that will bite incoming U’mans or sticky bubbles that will immobilize them. Epifrog has a special kick ability, which allows it to kick other frogs in order to draw something from the inventory, activate a lot of  buildings or interact with the environment. Art style. Epifrog is distinguished by a grotesque character placed in a fairytale world. It is visually created by a consistent, hand-drawn style regardless of whether it is a 2D character, 3D objects, magic or environmental effects. The right atmosphere is attained thanks to the color palette created by light and postprocessing during the day and night cycles and carefully crafted sounds. Inspirations came from cartoons that clearly show the intentions of the characters in an exaggerated way thanks to the shapes, animations and sounds which Epifrog represents.