The frog breeding simulation game Mudborne is set to launch on March 20, coinciding with World Frog Day.

I generally avoid using the word ‘darling’ as an adjective because it makes you sound like an bourgeois playwright two bottles of sherry deep into a nervous breakdown. Lord Of The Rings tainted the word ‘precious’ forever, and the term ‘wholesome’ has been Cronenberged to hideous effect. ‘Cute’ is too pat, I use ‘adorable’ too much, and you cannot make me say ‘Kawaii’ under any circumstances.

All that said, management sim Mudborne makes my eyes go wide and my heart swell like a marshmallow dropped in a pond full of excellent frogs. It’s releasing March 20th on World Frog Day, and a portion of the profits will go to amphibian, wetland, and environmental charities. Have a Steam demo. God I love that soundtrack.

It’s from Apico studio TNgineers. That was a beekeeping sim, and Mudborne is a “spiritual successor of sorts”, focusing on genetic manipulation and “generational puzzles”. There’s the frog breeding management aspect, but there’s also a dreamy exploration angle, as you discover more about the world through your frog splicing. Here are some features:

BE THE FROG

• Finally reach your life goals of becoming an actual frog!
• Catch (and eat) delicious bugs. Have another, treat yourself.
• TINY LITTLE FROGS YOU CAN CATCH AND CHASE

GENETIC ENGINEERING

• Genetically modify frogs to create weird and wonderful new species
• Grow and cultivate mushrooms with all sorts of strange effects
• Some of the frogs have tiny hats!!! GOTY contender????

SMALL FROG, BIG POND

• Utilise your frogs to uncover secrets and power your machines
• Hop between the waking + dreaming worlds to solve puzzles
• Restore the pond and its inhabitants, and find out what happened

This feels like a good time to recommend the beautiful psychedelic artwork from the board game Cosmic Frog.