Indie developer Luckshot Games’ ambitious 3D action platformer, Big Hops, which has been in development for six years, was officially released on January 12th through PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. The game is reminiscent of the Zelda and Mario series in gameplay, and combines unique materials, action, and various fun elements, making it a highly anticipated work that 99% of gamers who played the Steam demo version gave it an “overwhelmingly positive” review.
Hop the Frog’s Journey in Search of His Family
Big Hops tells the story of Hop, a frog kidnapped as a child, on his quest to return to his family. Kidnapped by the trickster spirit Diss, Hop is tasked with a mysterious mission, but his only goal is to return home. The adventure truly begins when an old raccoon offers to help him find airship parts and pave the way home.
Gamers must infiltrate the Gulley Gang’s hideout on the edge of a vast red desert, rescue DrillCO oil rig workers from the vast ocean, and explore the depths of a mountain to evade Haven cult followers. Each world offers a self-contained story, with players meeting diverse characters who learn about their respective conflicts and lend a helping hand.
A combination of deep movement and tongue action
Big Hops’ most distinctive feature is its free-flowing and deep movement system. The developers describe the game as being “inspired by Mario 64, Mario Odyssey, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and A Hat in Time.”
The protagonist, Hop, possesses a vast array of movement skills, including rolling, diving, crouch jumping, wall running, free climbing, swimming, boat sliding, tightrope walking, pole swinging, rail grinding, and mine cart riding. The addition of the frog-like tongue mechanic adds a fresh touch to the game.
The Versatile Frog Tongue : Hop’s tongue is more than just a tool. It can be used to swing from grapple points, grab items, turn valves, and pick locks. You can manipulate doors, switches, corkscrews, plungers, flowers, catapults, levers, and more with your tongue, allowing you to continually discover new tongue-based interactions even after hours of play.
Ingenious gameplay and rich game elements
The true magic of Big Hops lies in its system of creating your own path using vegetables. This mechanic, which development director Chris Wade describes as “inspired by games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Spelunky, and Rimworld,” allows players to perform a variety of actions and enjoy the fun of navigating their way using a variety of items, including mushrooms, acorns, balloons, oil balls, apples, and cacti.
At the start of the game, Hop can only hold one item at a time, but as you progress, you acquire a backpack, and things change completely. You can store mushrooms, acorns, and other items in your backpack, then release them selectively or all at once, allowing you to tackle each stage to suit your playstyle.
Big Hops also offers a variety of collectibles, all of which have a practical use in the gameplay, making them strategic rather than just a checklist. Players can enjoy the game using a variety of accessories and items, including purchasing and upgrading vegetables, customizing their characters with costumes, hats, and dyes, collecting insects, and crafting gadgets.
The game received rave reviews at GDC 2025, with 99% of demo players giving it overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Big Hobbs made a strong impression at GDC’s Day of the Devs event in March 2025. One media outlet praised it as “the first real sense of freedom since Tears of the Kingdom,” praising the game’s ability to find its own solutions even when it’s unclear what the game wants to achieve.
TheGamer said, “Big Hops may look traditional on the surface, but it feels fresh the more you play it. As a 3D platformer fan and a lover of Breath of the Wild, it’s exciting to see an attempt to combine the best of both worlds.”
The Steam demo currently has an overwhelmingly positive rating of 99% from 144 reviews.
Six years of development and a successful Kickstarter campaign
Developer Chris Wade began developing Big Hops in 2019 while working at Owlchemy Labs (the developers of Job Simulator). He was frustrated by the limitations of his VR work, which often forced players to remain stationary, and wanted to create a game that was “as opposite to that as possible.”
“3D platformers are my favorite genre as a player, and it was frustrating because it felt like everyone was afraid to make games in this genre,” Wade explained. “We wanted to answer the question: what could a 3D platformer be with more depth, freedom of movement, and creative gameplay?”
While there were some difficult and arduous moments during the 6.5-year development period, Wade said, “We can confidently say that we’ve succeeded in finding a new type of 3D platformer. The depth and sense of freedom that comes from the combination of the tongue, parkour-like movements, and using vegetables to create your own path is incredible.”
In June 2025, Big Hops successfully reached its funding goal on Kickstarter, achieving several stretch goals. Stretch goals such as a photo quest and expanded console ports were discussed, and the team expressed gratitude for the strong support of the community.
After six years in the making, “Big Hops” promises to breathe fresh air into the 3D platformer genre. While the depth of movement, the in-depth movement system, the unique tongue mechanic, and the creative vegetable system are impressive on their own, it’s the synergy they create together that will truly deliver gamers the joy of free exploration and creative problem-solving.
Developer Luckshot Games
Luckshot Games, an independent development studio founded in 2015 by developer Chris Wade , has been gaining traction in the indie game scene with games that emphasize character individuality and unique physics-based movement. They’ve released three titles to date, and “Big Hops” in particular was the result of over six years of development and successful Kickstarter funding.
| division | Key Contents |
| Studio name | Luckshot Games |
| Representative and Director | Chris Wade |
| Year of establishment | 2015 |
| scale | 1 core developer + a few contract workers |
| Key milestones | • 2018: Release of Sausage Sports Club, a physics-based comical animal sports game (PC, Switch) • 2021: Release of Card Cowboy, a western adventure game utilizing a card system. • 2026: Big Hops, a 3D platform game about the adventures of Hop the Frog, is released. |
| Official website | https://www.luckshotgames.com/ |
| Official Trailer | [Big Hops] Official Gameplay Trailer |
| Steam Store Page | [Big Hops] Steam Store |
