What if we just quit our jobs, moved back home, and started up a frog refuge with our childhood pals? That’s the premise of developer Humble Reeds’ creature collecting game Kamaeru: A Frog Refuge. And it’s a delight. If you’ve played Neko Atsume, you’ll understand the base gameplay of Kamaeru — attract frogs to your wetlands frog sanctuary. You’ll place furniture and toys on the refuge grounds, build builds and plant reeds, attract bugs to feed the frogs, all to lure them into staying. Kamaeru doesn’t have the same pure, simple bliss that Neko Atsume had, but it’s still a sweet, chill time.
Beyond bringing frogs to the yard, Kamaeru builds off creature collecting to add management sim elements: You’ll also harvest reeds and berries to create jam and paper cups to sell, the proceeds of which are important to build up the sanctuary. There’s also a biodiversity meter, which means you need to pay attention to what sorts of nature you put down, and to make sure you’re quickly removing invasive plant species. Lastly, you’re also breeding frogs to create unique, colorful combinations — like a frog with leopard spots. Though it sounds like a lot, it is all pretty simple: You can just take photos of your frogs as they come and go. (However, the way frogs come and go is probably the worst part of the game. They disappear quite quickly, meaning you do somewhat have to rush to feed and photograph them, bringing my heartrate up a little in what’s typically a chill game.)
I’ve played for several hours at this point, and I’ve collected a lot of frogs. But my favorite part has been in decorating my sanctuary, appreciating all the little details in Kamaeru’s stunning watercolor art style. I don’t have the same attachment to the frogs as I did with my cats in Neko Atsume, but the customization of it all is the real highlight of Kamaeru — like in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, you can build to your heart’s content, with lots of different furniture and outdoor toy options.
Kamaeru isn’t the sort of game that I expect to spend a ton of time in, but something that I pick up here and there when I need a little boost of dopamine. Who doesn’t love frogs, after all?
