Overview
What is Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime?
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime is a comedic adventure game with turn-based tactical combat that puts players in the shoes of Bonnie Bear, a young bear on a whimsical journey to accomplish several quests—defeat the local bully, save a friend, play music on the side, play lots of Frogtime, and find a way to meet the mother of all frogs, Saint Frog, the motherfrogger.
This bizarre but delightful RPG adventure brings Bonnie Bear and their friends through different locations across their world to fulfill these quests and to ultimately stop the evil lurking within—with the power of Frogtime, a tactical battler where squads of frogs hop from one end to another strategically to take points.
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime features:
⚫︎ Frog, Frog, Frogtime!
⚫︎ A Bear in a Frog Onesie
⚫︎ Charming Cartoon Graphics
⚫︎ A Colorful Cast of Oddly Lovable Characters
⚫︎ Tongue-in-cheek Humor
⚫︎ Full Voice Acting
| Digital Storefronts | ||
|---|---|---|
 Steam |
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| $16.99 |
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime Review: A Bear-y Fun, Whimsical Adventure
Silly Little Bear, Bonnie Bear
In a world where the more popular games enjoyed by the masses are either adrenaline-pumping action or employ a narrative with a serious, heavier tone…sometimes you just need a game with a bit of whimsy and childlike wonder, or just plain old silliness and comedy in one way or another. Examples like Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion and its sequel Turnip Boy Robs A Bank (Turnip Boy is just…wow), and Hermit and Pig come to mind, just to name a few.
And barreling in the month of March comes Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime. It looks whimsical, silly, and quite absurd even from the get-go; it’s a frog-obsessed comedy adventure to…meet the motherfrogger? Witty humor, a bear in a frog onesie (I’d have to admit, that was one of the main marketing points for me), bright visuals, and cute-looking frogs—what more could you ask for? I honestly jumped into the game expecting something reminiscent of a point-and-click game, something like Return to Monkey Island or those escape room games I used to play on the internet. But it surprised me in a good way—for the entire run of my playthrough, it just made me smile in more ways than one.
A Bearday Gone Weird
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime puts players in the shoes of the eponymous young bear, who sets off on an unexpected adventure. A young bear dressed as a frog who keeps themself locked up in their treehouse, they finally step outside for longer on their bearday. With her closest friends Ann, Jan-Klaassen, and Hoot, they celebrate their bearday with a special bearday cake and a surprise gift—a bag of frogs to play Frogtime, their world’s favorite pastime. A cute tale, isn’t it?
What was supposed to be just another ordinary celebration turns into something much more when an ordinary-looking magic seashell, a mysterious gift from a mysterious sender, becomes central in uncovering much more (relatively, in this silly game anyway) terrifying happening behind the scenes…something that could potentially affect their world as they know it.
There’s admittedly a lot going on, and every chapter introduces a new character or something new to explore and discover more about—and more chances to play Frogtime, of course.
Frogtime Funtime
I keep mentioning Frogtime, which is a central gameplay mechanic in the game. As they explore the different locations to fulfill their main goals, Bonnie and their friends go around accomplishing smaller quests that are usually solved through Frogtime battles, which make use of a turn-based, tactical combat system.
Using different frogs and toads as units, they duke it out—or rather, hop, push, or distract it out—on a 9x3 grid. Each player starts off with three frog or toad players, chosen amongst a random selection of five from your inventory, and the objective of the game is to reduce the opponent’s damage board to zero, which is done by getting your trusty frogs all the way to the opposite side of the board. A frog or toad unit will have its own unique skills depending on its type, as there are common rarity ones with simple skills like being able to charge a dash with every move, or the legendary ones like the Fragile Toad that is able to dash two tiles forward after advancing but can potentially explode if it collides with another unit.
There’s a wide variety of frogs in the game, allowing for different kinds of playstyles. You can play an all-Flyer deck that can fly over multiple units in a straight line or an all-toad deck full of Pushers and Riders to create a more solid wall of defense.
The word "tactical" might be a bit frightening to some, but hear me out—it’s not superbly complex to play and understand, although it’s not a walk in the park either. It rewards good strategy, but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t manage to defeat the enemy in one go. The game is nice enough (as expected from a cozy, whimsical game) to let you retry again and again until you’re able to finish that section. Unfortunately, there are several sections where winning is essential for progression, so it can get frustrating in the long run if you can’t seem to clear it.
With that said, the Frogtime gameplay was obviously made with passion and wasn’t just a gameplay mechanic shoehorned in for the sake of having something more engaging than being just a series of fetch quests. I lost more times than I could count, but it’s refreshing to play and win after each sad defeat. The gameplay itself is engaging, and you can easily lose yourself just yelling "Frogtime!" at everyone you see. And my most favorite part—frogs and toads can wear cute little hats!
A Delightful Blend of Comedy and Heartwarming
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime describes itself as a "frog-obsessed comedy adventure", and it definitely delivers on both those fronts. There’s a whole lot of frogs, and there’s a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek humor—so much so that every nook and cranny of the game is filled with silly jokes and puns. It’s in the dialogues, the descriptions of the interactables, the cutscenes, and the music video-like segments—it’s a comedic adventure through and through.
Some of the jokes may have flown over my head due to it being a part of pop culture that I’m not familiar with (sorry, not cultured), but even without deep knowledge, I found myself chuckling or snorting from all the silly things going on. For instance, early on, you meet a little goblin girl named Lin, who ropes Bonnie into playing the glockenspiel for their indie band. You find out that her name is…well, Gob Lin. You’ll also meet Ghost Malone and Dra Q. La later on, with his posse of…vampire sleighers. Aha, get it? There are also several supposedly "dramatic" scenes that just end up being sillier than usual because of how they play out.
Still, beyond all the comedy, it also has its share of more serious, heart-fluttering moments. You quickly come to realize, even from the beginning of the game, that Bonnie Bear doesn’t have the best self-esteem. They constantly question their self-worth and if what they’re doing throughout their journey is the right thing to do. Luckily for Bonnie, they manage to pull through bit by bit, with the support of their friends and the people around them. It’s nice that a game can get you laughing and bopping along to silly music in one second, then suddenly tug at your heartstrings and make you go "aww" the next.
Silly, Whimsical Soundtrack and Audio
Adding to the whole comedic thing it’s got going on, the audio in this game…is something else. It’s one of the Bonte Avond’s signature aspects to their games—fun, frivolous music that just embodies whimsy. And boy, there are a lot of those music tracks in here, to the point where it kind of feels like an interactive musical. The lyrics "Rik Spek, look at my six pack"? Song of the year right there.
Also, throughout the game, you’ll enter into these music video-like segments where Bonnie plays an accompanying instrument like a glockenspiel or a guitar, and you add your own extra flair to the beat of the song by pressing A. It’s a fun little gimmick and is a great way to appreciate the music with a bit of interactivity.
Aside from the bop of a soundtrack, the entire game has full voice-acting, with the characters coming to life with voices from both friends of the developers and well-known talents. The contrast is quite evident in some areas, with other characters having a certain nuance and accent to their voices compared to familiar voices from content creators and actors like LilyPichu, Ironmouse, Jon Matteson, and Ludwig. Nevertheless, it’s not a bad thing at all, and all the voices deliver their lines in the best way.
Although, there are instances when audio is uneven—Sharky, when speaking, is way too loud, and it sounds like they’re eating up the mic. Not sure if that’s on purpose, but it’s definitely jarring. Rik Spek, on the other hand, sometimes speaks so softly he gets overshadowed by the background music even if you tone down the volume. There are also a couple of lines from the main cast or other NPCs that sound like they were halfway through laughing or were a straight-out misread of the line, repeating the latter half as if nothing happened. It’s cute to an extent, but it did get me looking at it twice.
Colorful Visuals
Another easily noticeable thing about the game is its bright color palette and cartoonish characters, drawn in a charming, vector art-like style. It’s clean and pleasing to the eye, and I absolutely love that not one character looks exactly like the other. Skeletons look different, vampires look different, and the main four-piece squad all have unique designs—I particularly really like Ann’s design, being a pineapple head with a cape.
However, there seem to be a few visual bugs here and there. For instance, there are some times when the dialogue boxes cover the character models, or some have the wrong text in them. They’re minor issues, and sometimes it feels to be done on purpose for style (for example, when Bonnie goes on a long spiel to Hoot about what they just did for the past…hour), but there are times where it feels a bit off.
Is Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime Worth It?
Definitely, It’s Frogtime!
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime is one entertaining adventure to experience, with all its comedic quirks that make you chuckle here and there, alongside its moments of profound insight that can tickle the heartstrings. Couple that with cute visuals, a unique music score, and engaging tactical combat and exploration gameplay, and you’ve got yourself a nice little cozy game that will surely delight you for a few days. There are a few minor issues here and there, but they don’t sour the gameplay experience to a fault.
While it initially only grabbed my attention for its visuals and the frog motif, I came out of my playthrough feeling much more content about myself and more lighthearted, even just for a bit. That’s what cozy games do, after all. If you’re in need of a cozy game with tongue-in-cheek humor, an intriguing narrative, and frog fighting, then Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime might just be the next on your bucket list.
| Digital Storefronts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Steam |
||
| $16.99 |
FAQ
Who are the special guest voice actors in Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime?
Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime has characters voiced by Ludwig (Het Weezen), Jon Matteson (Botte), Esfand (Mr. Boomblaster, Gert), Bonnie (Pop, Gob Belle), Karl Jacobs (Boek, Dra Q. La), Foolish (Pigfoot, Igor), highkeyhateme (Gob Sammy), LilyPichu (Gob Lin, Skelly), Ironmouse (Vleer), and CDawgVA (The Narrator).
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