Frogs and toads in videogames is not a new concept, from the venerable old Frogger back in the home computer days to the 8-bit and 16-bit era giving us the likes of Battletoads and Slippy from Star Fox. Continuing that proud tradition is VRog, newly arrived on PlayStation VR.
Previously available for Oculus Rift, Nintendo Wii U and Samsung Gear VR, VRog puts the player in the role of a frog in a pond, with the aim of catching flies and other insects. Not all insects are edible, however, and some such as Wasps need to be actively avoided. The Frog can leap from lily pad to lily pad, which allows for blink-style locomotion without breaking immersion.
Curiously, VRog doesn’t use a Dual Shock controller or the PlayStation Move controller – everything is controlled by what direction the player is looking. This allows for a smoother movement when searching for insects to eat. Different insect types have different effects, both positive and negative, with the right kind of insect feast allowing time to move more slowly around the frog, making tracking prey easier.
There are two modes available; In Survival Mode the Frog is pitted against a large Stork. The frog needs to catch as many insects as possible whist staying out of reach of the hungry stork. In Arcade Mode, the player is given 90 seconds to eat as many insects as possible in order to beat the High Score.
VRog is available on the EU PlayStation Store now for £6.49 (GBP). Developers ByteRockers Games are planning for the title to head to the North American and Japan regions at the end of August 2017.
VRFocus will bring you further news on VRog and other new PlayStation VR releases as they become available.
