going deep down
synopsis
In La Rana you find yourself as a little frog spirit, guardian of the Temple of Rana. The last one.
In ancient times Rana brought rain and prosperity, but that power has been stolen away and the temple lies now in ruins.
With the last drops of Rana's power, you're appointed with finding and restoring the old glory of the gemple by exploring the vast ruins and discovering their mysteries.
Fun fact: in Italian and Spanish, "Rana" means "frog" 😀
Technicalities
Graphics
Ok!
Not the best, not the worst. However, they fit what they must to make the game perfectly playable and understandable without being confusing on how is what and where you should go or search for.
As a free game from a game design school, I find them quite nice.
Perhaps, if I musts find a little flow, is the frog's jump animation. I would have made it a little more organic, but since I don't know anything about how it was developed and how advanced were the people creating it, it's just a personal preference.
Game Mechanics
Ok!
They're very simple and for this La Rana is a good game for everyone that would benefit from play a simple game without mechanics too complicated.
The little frog spirits can move around, jump and shot water projectiles. To shot the frog must drink from special fountains you can find around the ruins. In the bottom right corner of the monitor there is the tank, that empties every time you shot.
This let the game being a platform on a side, and a puzzle on the other one. In fact, you must solve some simple puzzles (for example finding a way to move pillars to be able to jump between two cornices) and find blue frog statues in order to progress with the exploration. Every statue, when hit, gives a little piece of the game backstory.
Obviously the most original mechanics but nice and funny for the story that drives the game.
Originality=/= game quality!
Duration
Ok!
Since La Rana is a project from a game design school, its duration is in the short range, but this doesn't mean that it's too short. I played it in a very relaxed way (obviously!) and it lasted around half an hour.
There are many little indie games with this duration, so I don't consider it too boiled down.
Soundtrack
Ok!
In my humble opinion the music is just right for the game and fits it well. It's not dark or serious, considering that neither is the game itself and it's quite joyful, actually.
As soundtrack there are also notes that are well matched with the "fantasy Aztec-like" setting.
Performances
Ok!
Nothing of importance to say here: La Rana is a game from a game design school so surely it's not perfect and it could be upgraded here and there, but I didn't experience any bug, glitch, freeze, crash or similar things.
The weight, however, is quite noteworthy: 3.3 GB on Steam. A big file, in comparison to other similar games, probably due to the rich textures and the 3D graphics.
in pills
La Rana is a nice short game, created by a game design school and shared for free on Steam. Very little I've found about the school or the game itself, so I can't say how advanced were the studends that worked on it but I've promised to myself that I'll try more of their free games and searching better for better informations!
Despite being very shot and with basic mechanics, La Rana is a very enjoyable distraction during a little break, suitable for both adults and children.
The graphics aren't the most advanced or fancy, the setting is very limited but coherent with the general Aztec-ish aesthetic and the music is very fitting and enjoyable.