Platformers are one of the oldest genres in video games. If you consider the beginning of the modern age of video games to coincide with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the first Super Mario Bros., then platformers are quite literally where it all began. But even in such an old genre that has been plundered time and again, there are still developers finding new mechanics, frameworks, and packaging to deliver fresh experiences to players, and that’s exactly what WoodRunner Games wants to do with Croak.
WoodRunner Games is a small indie studio based out of Montreal, Canada, founded by Max Petroff and Rob Marquis. Croak is the studio’s debut title, and I happened to learn about it earlier this year, when I was digging around Steam for a demo to play during the first Steam Next Fest of 2026.
Related Story Steam Next Fest February 2026 Edition – Jumping Into 2026
As someone who loves platformers, there’s a lot about Croak that I was already pre-dispositioned to love, and love it I did. It was arguably the best platformer I played among the demos I tried while the demo fest was going on, and it felt impossible to keep it off my list of ten recommended demos that I put together. And yes, the moniker of ‘Frog-Celeste’ I’ve seen about the game in my research on it is at least somewhat appropriate so far. I’m hopeful the rest of the levels beyond the demo continue that trend.
It’s also one of the few demos that I kept playing after publishing my Next Fest round-up, so it was exciting to get the chance to as the WoodRunner Games team a few questions about Croak, how the studio came together, where Croak takes its inspirations from, and how some of its most endearing aspects came to be.
Interview with Max Petroff, WoodRunner Games Co-Founder – A Young Team Looking to Bring a “Fresh” and “Modern” Take to Precision Platformers With Croak
Thank you for taking the time to talk about Croak and your studio, WoodRunner Games. Can you begin just by introducing yourselves, how WoodRunner Games came together, and how you landed on making Croak?
Max Petroff: Thank you for the opportunity! I’m Max, CEO and producer of the studio (and a bunch of other things haha). WoodRunner Games came to life from our desire to create a fast-paced side-scrolling platformer while playing Super Mario Maker 2.
We were very lucky to have the Canada Media Fund believe in the game very early, at the prototyping phase, which gave us the chance to grow the studio at a very early stage.
When I started playing the demo, I was immediately in love with how your little frog bounced around and walked. How did you land on the character design and the animation? What made you pick a frog?
MP: After a bunch of early prototypes, starring a duckling at the time, we ended up falling in love with the grapple hook and the bounce mechanic. That’s when we had the idea to change the hero into a charming, bouncy, gluttonous frog that uses his tongue as a grappling tool.
Having every frame hand-drawn adds a lot to the charm of the game, thanks to Tina Nawrocki, who handles the final part of the character design, including rough animations. Tina is super talented, and we’re very lucky to work with her. She previously worked on Cuphead, two Netflix shows, and is now working on her first 2D animated short, hand-drawn on paper. Go check it out, it’s called Syrenka: Legend of the Warsaw Mermaid.
Platformers are one of the oldest video game genres out there, and it still feels like there are new mechanics and more depth to be found in them. How did the grapple tongue come together, and what about platformers do you find interesting as a game designer and as a player?
MP: We grew up playing platformers, so it felt really natural for us to lean into that genre. After playing (way too much) games like Celeste, Shovel Knight, The Messenger, Super Meat Boys, Cuphead, etc., we felt like we could create something in that space with our own vision, in a more modern way. We didn’t want to fall too much into nostalgia, but instead bring a fresh take on platforming with hyper-satisfying and polished gameplay. One of our biggest inspirations is King Knight from Yacht Club Games.
We thought the dash and recoil mechanic from Shovel Knight: King of Cards was so clever that we had to find a way to use it in our game. The “fat frog” design helps us push that even further with the pinball mechanic, letting the player recoil indefinitely and across long distances by holding a single button. We also had a gobble and spit mechanic that was pretty fun, but we ended up removing it for now to focus on the pinball and make the level design less puzzle-heavy.
Would you classify Croak as a precision platformer? How are you approaching finding a balance between serving veteran platformer fans and players who may be newer to the genre?
MP: Yeah, we think Croak is a precision platformer in the sense that there’s no traditional combat or enemies to defeat, other than bosses. It’s more of a fast-paced traversal platformer where you use the environment, and sometimes enemies, to solve small challenges.
We try to keep the gameplay, level design, and controls intuitive so players can focus on experimenting, having fun, and clearing levels at a fast pace. By gathering a lot of feedback and observing player behavior, we make sure players don’t spend too much time figuring out what to do, but instead focus on executing with speed and precision, and improving their platforming skills.
We’re a young team with some experienced members, so I think that mix helps us find a nice balance between classic platforming and a more modern approach. A game that did that really well, in my opinion, is Pizza Tower, also made in Quebec hehe.
Are there certain platforming mechanics you think every platformer needs to have? Could you name your top 3 must-have mechanics for platformers?
MP: I don’t think there are any must-have mechanics in platformers, some games don’t even have a jump haha (shoutout to Splodey and Bomb Chicken). That being said, I believe the more quality-of-life you can add, the smoother and less frustrating it feels, reducing a lot of friction. In Croak, we added a lot of those by trying to predict what the player wants to do and making sure the character behaves accordingly.
Every time we play and the game doesn’t respond the way we expect, we add small invisible helps. Classic examples are things like coyote time, letting the player jump slightly after leaving a platform, or edge correction, snapping the character safely onto a ledge if they’re close enough, like in the Ferris Wheel challenge in the Swamp Biome.
What do you want players to look forward to with Croak? What do you think makes it stand out among the crowd?
MP: I just love seeing players speedrun the game and find new, faster ways to complete levels. I think what really draws people in is the fantasy of controlling that bouncy frog using its tongue as a grappling hook. The game is simple to understand, fun to move around in, and the frame-by-frame gorgeous hand-drawn animations make it just as fun to watch as it is to play. Add epic bosses and a funny but intriguing story, and that’s Croak.
Do you have an idea of when Croak will be ready for release? Are you targeting other platforms beyond PC?
We’re still looking for end-of-production funding, so the timeline depends on that. All I can say is that we hope to release it before 2026, thanks for your patience!
We don’t have any confirmed platforms beyond PC for now, but we’ll definitely try to bring Croak to as many platforms as possible so more players can enjoy it. If you made it this far in the article, make sure to check out the Croak demo on Steam and leave an honest review, it always helps!
Leave a Reply