Québec-based developer WoodRunner Games has officially unveiled the playable demo for Croak, a beautifully hand-drawn action-adventure platformer that combines bouncy momentum-based gameplay with playful whimsy.
Released alongside a brand-new trailer for the Quebec Steam Sale Event, the demo introduces players to a fast-paced 2D adventure animated by artists who previously worked on Cuphead. With meticulous frame-by-frame animation and expressive character work, Croak blends classic cartoon artistry with precision platforming challenge.
Leap Into the Feast Fair
Players step into the webbed feet of a daring and surprisingly agile frog prince as he ventures through the Feast Fair, a twisted carnival orchestrated by the kingdom’s mysterious Witch. Set across blooming swamps, scenic landscapes, and peculiar carnival grounds, the game’s opening region introduces Croak’s core mechanics through tightly designed, bite-sized platforming runs.
The demo explores the first biome, a sprawling swamp transformed into a strange festival of challenges, mini-games, and eccentric encounters. It culminates in an over-the-top boss fight that sets the tone for the chaos to come.
Tongue-Grappling Precision Platforming
Croak’s defining mechanic is its tongue-based movement system. Players bounce, grapple, and launch through levels using a pinball-inspired momentum system that makes every jump feel fluid and skill-driven. The simple two-action control scheme emphasizes mastery, rewarding timing, precision, and creative movement.
Across the full game, Croak will feature more than 1,000 playable rooms spanning diverse biomes from snowy peaks to shadowy underground caverns. Each area introduces environmental twists, escalating difficulty, and optional high-challenge levels for players seeking to test their limits.
Exploration is heavily rewarded, with hidden coins, time-based challenges, secret shortcuts, and unlockable achievements encouraging replayability.
Boop the Boss
Boss battles in Croak are designed to be energetic and theatrical. The demo features encounters such as a BMX-flipping beaver and other eccentric foes that demand quick reflexes and clever use of the tongue-grapple system. Future fights promise equally inventive showdowns, including illusionist bats and other carnival oddities.
WoodRunner Games describes Croak as a precision platformer set in a surreal, whimsical world, where every movement feels satisfying thanks to traditional hand-drawn animation inspired by classic cartoon artistry.
What’s Included in the Demo
The Croak demo offers five fast-paced levels set in the swamp-based Feast Fair region, including the Ferris Wheel challenge and the Beaver Boss fight. Players can unlock a hidden high-difficulty level, earn 11 gold medals, and experience the first chapter’s climactic battle.
Completing the demo grants players a special Discord Premium role and entry into a raffle, while 100% completion unlocks an additional exclusive role and bonus raffle entry.
The Croak demo is available now on Steam, giving players their first taste of this ambitious hand-crafted platforming adventure.
