Review #052 – Big Hops

3D platformers are usually my jam but I never found myself getting very enthusiastic over Big Hops. It’s a cute indie game with a colourful aesthetic and decent movement controls, but it’s missing a bit of the proverbial “juice” that accompany the best games in the genre.

Controlling Hop and using his frog tongue to platform around is a fun idea and works fine, but I don’t think the game explores any particularly complex obstacles for you to overcome. You can use various fruits to help you get around like, say, creating a horizontal rope for crossing gaps, which is a cool mechanic. Not all fruits work consistently, though—a couple of them are annoyingly finicky.

The level design is okay but some sections are a little unexciting, especially the early canyon area that feels overly barren. It gets better the further you progress, especially the tropical island themed chapter (minus the swimming parts). I think the game’s just missing that “je ne sais quoi” though, keeping it from clearing the bar into must-play territory.