FROGGY HATES SNOW Steam Demo Review
Verdict: Play
A charming, random frog survival game worth at least a curious look
Froggy Hates Snow is an Indie Survival Roguelike from solo developer Crying Brick. You are a frog who hates snow, inexplicably out in it anyway, collecting coloured crystals to spend on upgrades while defending against waves of increasingly aggressive enemies. It is random, it is charming, and two hours disappeared before I noticed.
Froggy Hates Snow sends a frog adventuring through snow to collect colored crystals and buy upgrades. Waves of enemies grow harder each round, giving those upgrades real purpose. The demo is random but charming, and a second map plus two attack styles add decent variety.
Pros
- Charming visual personality
- Variety of unlockable upgrades
- Multiple maps in the demo
- Two distinct attack modes to try
Cons
- Quite random in nature
- Unclear narrative setup
- Wave difficulty may feel steep
The Premise
The game does not explain why the frog is out in the snow. Frogs hate snow. The title says so. He is out there anyway, and that energy carries through everything that follows. This is an Indie Roguelike that does not take itself seriously and is better for it.
I picked this up during Steam Next Fest 2026 and went in expecting something light. What I got was a surprisingly layered Survival loop wrapped in the aesthetic of a cozy children's book about a frog who has made questionable life choices. You collect coloured crystals scattered across snowy maps and spend them on upgrades that change how the run plays out. The scarf keeps you warmer. The skis move you faster. The little cart carries more resources. Each addition changes the feel of the run rather than just making numbers bigger.
The Survival Loop
Every now and then the map stops being a collection run and becomes a defence situation. Enemies arrive in waves and you have to deal with them, which is where upgrade choices start to matter properly. The waves escalate each time, so the scarf and skis that felt optional early on become the difference between managing the attack and getting overwhelmed. That escalation is what gives the Survival loop its shape. Without it, the crystal collecting would be pleasant but aimless.
The combat options are limited but distinct. A tongue attack handles things up close. The demo also unlocks a spit attack that works differently, and switching between them depending on the situation adds a small but meaningful layer of Action to what could otherwise be a passive loop. Once you complete the first map the demo opens up a second, which suggests the full game has enough variety to keep runs feeling fresh.
Randomness and Charm
The honest read on Froggy Hates Snow is that it is pretty random. What crystals spawn, what upgrades appear, what the waves throw at you. That randomness is the point in a Roguelike and it works here because the charm holds up across runs. The art is funny and specific. The upgrades are immediately readable. The frog is a frog who hates snow and is dealing with it one run at a time.
Full release date was not confirmed at time of playing. The demo sits at 98% positive from over 150 reviews on Steam, which is hard to argue with.
Verdict
Play the demo. Two hours in and I was still going back for more runs. It is not the deepest Roguelike available but the Survival loop has enough escalation to keep you thinking. The charm fills the gaps where complexity does not quite reach. Worth at least a curious look.
Developer: CRYING BRICK
View on Steam
Watch the video review: YouTube
Tags: Survival, Roguelike, Indie, Action, Steam Next Fest 2026
Related Reviews
- Cardboard Cowboy: A first-person shooter where the Wild West is made of cardboard. Boxing-glove melee enemies, a whip that swings you acro
- Tied to the Beat: Tied to the Beat has a smart concept buried under visual noise. Skip it for now.
- Muri: Wildwoods: A gentle, visually appealing platformer that lacks challenge for those who need more than casual exploration.
- UnderDark: Defense: UnderDark: Defense has a solid core buried under an unfinished mobile port.
Browse all Steam demo reviews