Another Steam Next Fest is coming, folks, and you know what that means… hundreds of demos for exciting new games, with all manner of weird and wonderful titles that deserve our attention (especially those saucy, naughty ones). Next Fest is a fantastic way to glimpse what’s coming from the indie scene, and we got an early preview of one such game: Froggy Hates Snow.
It’s a survival roguelike with automated elements, pitching a frog into the middle of a brutally cold winter and tasking both them and the player with surviving and escaping.
After playing the demo for a few hours over the past week, I can confidently say it’s one worth checking out during Next Fest, and here’s why.
Frogs Are More Spring/Summer Creatures
Frogs, like many other creatures, don’t like the cold and usually choose to sleep through it. But imagine being a frog who’s wide awake during a harsh, unforgiving winter. What do you do?! Well, you search for warmth, gather resources, and make sure to pack a flamethrower and some TNT to clear the snow.
Froggy Hates Snow is a survival/roguelike hybrid where players explore massive snow-filled arenas, hunting for key items and vital resources while finding ways to traverse, survive, and ultimately escape the icy hellscape.
Every snow-covered landscape hides treasures, traps, and lurking enemies that Froggy must uncover and deal with. Simply put, Froggy carves a path through the snow — clearing it away to uncover hidden items and shiny gems that can be used to upgrade perks and abilities. Players must ensure Froggy can dig effectively, stay warm, and obtain vital gear such as shovels, sledges for carrying additional gems, flamethrowers, and TNT to clear snow and enemies alike.
The main objective is to find a mysterious door that allows you to escape to the next frozen landscape. To open it, you’ll need several keys randomly scattered throughout the level. There’s a lot of searching, snow shovelling, and — if you’re not playing on cosy mode — dealing with some eerie-looking enemies.
There’s a solid gameplay loop here, one that feels somewhat akin to Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, but with a far more chilled-out tone, even in modes that include enemies and external threats beyond the cold. Managing your temperature, gathering resources, and (optionally) dealing with enemies are the key pillars, while treasure hunting, self-improvement, and unlocking additional gear, characters, and stats act as rewarding bonuses that meaningfully support the core loop.
Froggy has access to a small hub (with many more scattered throughout the maps) where they can warm up after the elements drain their heat meter. While the heat gauge drains quite quickly at first, it never felt overly frustrating, and the constant lure of discovering new items kept pulling me back out into the cold.
Froggy Hates Snow delivers an engaging, enjoyable — and dare I say, gripping — gameplay loop that blends risk, reward, and discovery into neat, bite-sized sessions (the famed “30-second fun” principle). That said, like many roguelikes, it does suffer from a slower start. The digging and cold-management mechanics are strong ideas, but they can feel a little sluggish and tedious at the beginning of each arena.
I also ran into a bit of soft-locking early on if digging upgrades weren’t prioritised. The arenas are layered with varying snow densities, meaning you’ll need higher digging power to progress into outer zones. As a result, I found myself upgrading digging almost every run to avoid getting stuck — which did happen once until I luckily found a flamethrower to clear the way.
Hopefully, in tighter situations, there will always be a lifesaving item available to prevent Froggy from being halted dead in their tracks. For now, it does feel safer to prioritise digging upgrades over heat resistance, as you can always retreat to a hub to warm up — but being underpowered means you simply can’t dig any further.
It Is Winter, My Dudes
The framework here is strong. While simple (as many roguelikes are — and that’s part of the appeal), there’s something deeply satisfying, rewarding, and even cosy about Froggy’s struggle against the cold.
I enjoyed gathering resources, uncovering treasures, and upgrading stats, as well as unlocking vital gear that makes movement and survival far smoother. The sense of progression — of becoming stronger and more versatile — feels meaningful and genuinely joyful.
There’s also an important distinction between the cosy mode and the survival mode, which introduces enemies and bosses. While cosy mode is more light-hearted, it still offers plenty of tension and challenge through resource management and environmental pressure.
I’d recommend starting with cosy mode, even if the combat initially feels a little underwhelming. I spent time there unlocking gear and learning systems before moving into the more combat-focused mode. Cosy mode gives you breathing room to experiment, make mistakes, and explore, while still offering engaging progression.
Combat becomes far more enjoyable once you unlock tools like the flamethrower and TNT, forcing you to juggle enemies alongside the ever-present threat of the cold. While I largely ignored cold resistance upgrades in cosy mode, they became essential once combat entered the picture. I particularly liked the balancing act between resistance, digging power, and speed during these more intense runs.
Once you unlock additional gear and playable frogs, there’s a genuinely intense and rewarding experience waiting here. Even without combat, cosy mode has plenty to love — wandering through frozen death with a penguin sidekick, uncovering shiny gems, and simply discovering what lies beneath the snow never got old.
Overall
Froggy Hates Snow is a real darling in my books, showing a great deal of promise with its satisfying and compelling gameplay loop. Whether you’re after a cosy experience or a harsher survival challenge, there’s something here to enjoy.
The simple act of shoving snow around is surprisingly fun when it’s so tightly woven into exploration and treasure hunting. There’s a wealth of unlockables to chase, and while the core loop may become a little repetitive over time, the dual modes — and the promise of more threats later — help keep things fresh.
For now, it’s absolutely worth checking out. The demo is available right now, and I strongly recommend giving it a go.
