Oh, to be a giant spherical frog soaking in a pool of crystalline water. I will never know that joy firsthand, but at least games like Puff Pals: Island Skies can transport me into that world. In this adorable game, you can explore and make friends with animals, like a giant frog the size of a boulder.
We have enormous amphibians and more in Cool WIP, Polygon’s weekly roundup of eye-catching clips and screenshots of works in progress. Each week, the Polygon staff scours the internet for the most interesting games still under construction to give you a sampler of the coolest up-and-coming projects.
This week we have a stealth game featuring a raccoon, a deck builder with sea creatures, an adorable trading sim, and one very wiggly caterpillar.
These animals look like Squishmallows
Developer Fluffnest posted a clip from its dreamlike farming and exploration game Puff Pals: Island Skies. The creatures are downright adorable and look like the popular stuffed toys Squishmallows with their round and plump design. Previous trailers showed off farming and exploring its glowing world, but a new clip showed a friend you might encounter while exploring: a giant frog that’s just vibing. Puff Pals is currently in development, and you can check out everything planned on the game’s Kickstarter page.
Just a roaming trash panda
Christian Sparks is a digital artist and game developer making a game called Snaccoon. Sparks posted a little scene showing a raccoon, lovingly called a “trash panda,” walking through a street. In a developer’s blog, Sparks says that it’s part of an ongoing side project that’s a stealth and exploration game where you play as the critter. The animation looks absolutely adorable and shows the raccoon trotting along the street. You can follow Spark’s work on Twitter.
Fight it out as stunningly designed sea creatures
Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles fuses dice and deck-building mechanics with a roguelike. The game, created by Little Leo Games, features fighters inspired by ocean critters like squids, nudibranchs, crabs, and more. The character designs are stellar, so if you’re an ocean nerd or into deck-building, be sure to check it out. A clip from the developer shows a giant, ax-wielding hammerhead shark facing a mysterious, cloaked squid. You can find more information on the game on its Steam page.
I’m only traveling by a giant air blimp shaped like a shark from now on
Townseek is a trading sim where you travel around a map to trade with and discover new towns. Developed by Whales and Games, its art style makes the entire game look like an adorable coloring book. From the looks of it, you can even change which air blimp you use to travel around; however, I’m partial to the shark-shaped one. You can catch updates on the developer’s Twitter account.
Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah
It’s been a big couple of weeks for procedurally created creatures. Last week, we saw a game that procedurally fused monsters together. And this week, we have a procedurally animated caterpillar. A clip from a developer named Joe showed the critter wiggling its way up and around tree branches. Joe’s page is full of other creepy-crawlies, so check out his Twitter page for more of his work.