Gang of Frogs community playtest: Plenty of co-op fun, with room to grow

On 3 October, we tested Gang of Frogs with the community for around four to five hours. The funny frog concept, its look and the co-op battles were a lot of fun. Otherwise, we probably would not have stayed with this early playtest for so long. The balancing did have moments where our group became far too powerful, though.

What is Gang of Frogs?

Gang of Frogs is a third-person co-op shooter with roguelite elements. You are a crew of frog outlaws, travelling through a strange science-fiction world and fighting hordes of monstrous bugs. You can play solo or online with up to three friends. Loot, weapon upgrades and cards gradually make your frogs stronger.

Developer	Aska Studios
Publisher	Megabit Publishing
Genre	Co-op shooter / Third-person / Roguelite
Players	1–4, solo or online co-op
Our test	3 October 2026 · around 4–5 hours · early playtest
Planned release	2027 according to Steam and the publisher; Early Access announced, no confirmed quarter

A simple idea that kept us playing

In our test, each stage had a quota to meet: defeat enough enemies, work through the rooms and reach the boss. Along the way, we could unlock different weapons and modify them with upgrades. The basics were easy to understand, while the possibilities underneath took some time to discover.

I liked that. I enjoy games that leave room to figure things out yourself. A more detailed tutorial would still help with the deeper mechanics. Not everything needs to be handed to you, but a few extra explanations would have made our first steps easier.

Buying cards, combining them and improving your build

The card system was one of my highlights. In the playtest, we could buy cards as upgrades in the shop, collect them and put together combinations for our weapons. It was about more than picking up any improvement: the cards we combined helped determine which active or passive abilities our weapons could unlock.

It works a little like poker. You build towards matching hands, such as a straight with consecutive ranks or a full house made up of three of a kind and a pair. These combinations turn individual cards into a stronger build. The resulting ability depends on the cards and the weapon involved.

That made us curious: which card am I missing? Is this purchase worthwhile for my weapon? What happens if I try a different combination? Together with weapon upgrades, this creates an interesting loop of collecting, combining and experimenting. This describes how we experienced the system in our test; later builds may change.

What I particularly enjoyed

• Co-op fun: Trying things out with friends, sharing ideas and getting through battles together worked really well.
• The idea, look and atmosphere: Frogs as an outlaw crew are already funny and cool in their own right. The unusual world has character.
• Cards and weapon upgrades: The combinations make you want to try new builds and add depth to the basic concept.
• An early test that kept us interested: We would not have played for almost five hours if we had not enjoyed it.

Where I see room for improvement

Healing and very powerful combinations were the biggest issue. Eventually, we could heal continuously and never wiped at the final boss. With that combination, we could theoretically have kept playing for a very long time – we ran out of time rather than health. That took some of the tension out of the later battles.

Enemies and encounters also repeated over time. I would call it a little one-sided rather than boring: the core game was fun, but with a powerful build we eventually had fewer reasons to rethink our approach. Even the different boss sections could no longer put us under much pressure.

More enemy types, new maps, more varied boss fights and better-balanced healing would help the concept a lot. We were playing an early test version, which matters here. These are my impressions of that build, not a final verdict on the finished game.

My verdict: 3.5 out of 5 Strawberries

I genuinely went back and forth between 3.5 and 4. Four would already be a very strong score. For this first test, I am sticking with 3.5 out of 5 Strawberries, leaving room for improvement, particularly in balancing and variety.

That does not take away from the fun we had. The concept, structure and card ideas alone make me want more. I see a lot of potential for a small group that plays regularly and discovers new combinations together. The missing one and a half Strawberries represent that room to grow: with further improvements to healing, enemy variety and bosses, I could see 4.5 or even more being possible. That is future potential – my score for this test remains 3.5.

Release, wishlist and the planned video

Early Access has been announced; Steam and the official publisher page currently list 2027 as the planned release year. No specific quarter is confirmed there. The developers describe plans for more content, additional progression options and greater variety in levels and enemies. I look forward to following its progress.

Discover Gang of Frogs on Steam & add it to your wishlist ↗

An edited video of our test is planned. The old stream VOD is unfortunately no longer available; I will add the video link here once it is ready. If you would like to experience these indie discoveries live: I test new games on Twitch on Tuesdays. I would love to see you there!

Visit my Twitch channel ↗ · View the current stream schedule

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Official title artwork: © Aska Studios / Megabit Publishing, used unchanged from the official game page. Additional official artwork: the frog crew at the card table, also unchanged from the publisher. Community image: my own gameplay screenshot, StrawberryWolfTV. General game information and release status: Steam and the publisher, checked on 13 October 2026. Impressions and rating are based on our community test.