New platformers often have a large hurdle to overcome to prove that they are unique in the types of movement they allow players to perform. This is especially true to 2D platformers, being one of the oldest and most played genres of games. The upcoming game, Croak, looks to address this natural hurdle through the unique mechanics created by its main character, a Frog Prince. Developed by WoodRunner Games and featuring talent that worked on animating Cuphead, Croak recently received a new trailer on the official YouTube channel showing off new gameplay since the demo earlier in the year and revealing the release month next year.

Croak’s main character, a Frog Prince with a cape and crown, is characterized quickly and completely by the trailer’s opening moments where he eats all there is in front of him only to be lured away by another smell. His unique characteristics as a frog are then woven into the gameplay with a signature tongue-grapple move that can cling to flat walls and draw him toward them, which can then be linked into a bounce to gain vertical distance. By chaining bounces together, the Frog Prine can also climb parallel walls or launch himself at foes or the weak points of bosses.

These abilities are tested as the trailer moves on with various platforming challenges such as riding across a field of spikes while bouncing on a snowman, jumping over gaps using bunnies, and riding on moving blocks while dodging obstacles. Another of the most prominent features throughout the trailer are the bosses, including their own arenas and unique elements likes multiple enemies or teleporting.

With the initial demo attracting the first major wave of attention to the project, the new trailer has revitalized interest in Croak. The game is set to release on Xbox and PC during the month of March 2027.