Frog Detective 2 The Case of the Invisible Wizard

Ever wanted to be a detective? Or maybe you’d prefer being a frog? Well, you’re in luck because you can be both in this new wacky investigative game, for frogs by frogs! Sort of...

In this sequel to the bright and colourful ‘The Haunted Island, A Frog Detective Game’ our lovely detective is on a new case. Developed by Worm Club, a studio composed of Grace Bruxner and Tom Bowker, available for pc through Steam and Itch. This is a beautifully styled first person investigative game in which you play, unsurprisingly, as a frog. You need to find clues and interrogate people to find out who dunnit. You can tell at first glance that this is a fun experience just by looking at the silly character models, but the most fun is of course in the dialogue (or in the part where you get to decorate your own notebook). While it is a sequel, the two games are self-contained cases investigated by the title frog, so you don’t need to have played the first one to play the second, although you might understand certain references better if you do.

You can get the game alone or in a bundle with the first game here

The story begins with our frog waiting in his room for a call by the Inspector who will tell him all he needs to know about his next case. It seems like in the peaceful small village of Warlock Woods a new villager just moved in and her neighbours decided to welcome her with a beautiful parade. Unfortunately somebody ruined the parade, and it’s the Detective’s job to find out just who was it that could have done such a terrible deed.

As soon as you come out of your door you’ll be greeted with a beautiful action sequence introducing the very first character, an experienced and very famous detective who shares his tips and advice with our rookie protagonist. That is only the first glimpse you’ll get at just how silly the characters and the dialogues are in this game. Lobster Cop will be so generous as to gift you a brand new notebook for you to take notes in during the investigation, as well as plenty of stickers to decorate it with.

After you get your notebook and decorate it properly, the real investigation starts when you arrive in Warlock Woods and are greeted with chaos everywhere as the decorations for the parade have clearly been ruined. You’ll also be greeted by a motley crew of characters of all types with all manners of personalities and quirks that you can explore while interrogating them and helping around in town. They will all have something for you to do in order to find out more about what happened, as a detective's job is never easy!

The gameplay is very reminiscent of classic adventure and investigative games. You control your character directly but you must interact with any object or person by pointing and clicking on them. You also have the option to use your magnifying glass to zoom into anything you might want to watch closely, however I haven’t found an actual use for it other than for being dramatic, which I would argue is still a pretty good use. The main goal of the game is finding out who ruined the parade and you can do so by interrogating every single animal in town and helping them out by finding a certain item they need in order to get more clues in what is basically a fetch quest after another, albeit a fun one.

You will have to find missing pies for a witchy dingus or help an introverted lion build his own house so that he doesn't have to share the apartment with his friend, as well as many other tasks that each of the characters has. After having helped Carlos in particular with his request, you can also buy something from his shop, as is encouraged by the developer herself.

As you interrogate every character, the detective will take notes on his notebook that are more fun anecdotes and funny quips rather than helpful information, but here in the notebook you can choose to mark whichever character you want as ‘suspicious’ if you believe they might be the culprit. Doing so doesn’t change anything in the game but it can serve as a good reminder.

The graphics are what you would expect from an indie game made by only two people, that is if you would expect a lovely and unique style that sets it apart from other indie games. Made by Grace Bruxner, the style is very minimalistic and simplistic, it gets the job done but it is also immediately recognizable if you know the artist's works. The game is not very demanding at all, in fact the graphics settings when you open the game are just lyrics of the song ‘We Like To Party!’ by the Vengaboys.

The music, however, composed by Dan Golding, is very suggestive with its jazzy noir undertones and the subtle changes when you get near certain characters. It gives ambience and character to the whole game which is substantial given its lack of voice acting.

Overall, this is a good game that is unfortunately only too short. It only lasts a couple hours at most and it is not too hard to complete, so it may be more of a funny narrative than a fully fleshed video game, but that doesn’t mean it is not enjoyable. The cast is incredibly entertaining and the investigation is simple and fun. The minimalist graphics and beautiful music add a lot of ambience to a game that is already full of character. If you’re looking for a short game to have a good laugh, then this is the game for you.

If you're interested in a full playthrough of the game, along with some silly voices by yours truly, you can find it here