Parents' Guide to Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins

If you're a fan of challenging puzzle games and perhaps have a nostalgic leaning towards the original, you'll love this title. Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins is worth downloading if you're an Apple Arcade subscriber, especially because it's better than the other Frogger-related title on the service, Frogger in Toy Town, which suffers from sloppy controls. The first thing you'll notice is the fluid and intuitive movement. With the touchscreen interface, you simply tap where you want Frogger to gracefully hop to, while the controller provides additional precision and timing, so each method has its benefits. It's fun to discover secrets and tougher hidden stages, too, which are accessible once you collect enough froglets (up to three per stage). Speaking of which, it's possible to complete a stage without picking up any froglets, but you can replay the stage if you want to find and rescue all three froglets.

Both Axol and Newt can help you out with tips, especially as some of the game mechanics change when you advance through the different themes. The game's "ancient ruins" art style is charming, and complimented with good sound effects and music. There should've been more character interaction and story, and perhaps an extra mode to try out that's different than the main one (maybe a retro Frogger arcade game you can unlock), but this puzzle adventure is still charming and quite polished. As a puzzle game that challenges you to think in three dimensions, Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins offers many stages and extras (like collectible items) to keep you engaged for a long time.