Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Creative Movement
Inventive Mechanics
Lacking Audio Impact
Big Hops blends creative movement, inventive frog-tongue mechanics, and open-ended 3D platforming exploration into a fresh indie take on the genre that critics say stands out from traditional platformers with its playful systems and dynamic traversal.
Big Hops - Trailer
Big Hops - Release Date Trailer
Big Hops - Official Gameplay Trailer | Wholesome Direct 2025
Big Hops is a good new 3D platformer that will draw plenty of fans with its fun abilities and locations to explore. My playthrough was affected by bugs, with patches coming to address some of these issues in the run up to launch, but there seem to be some teething issues that remain.
Like its adorable amphibian hero, Big Hops is charming and scrappy in equal measure. For all of the issues I faced during my playthrough – some squashed by patch work and others more fundamental – it's ultimately one of the most charming, playful, exhilarating and deeply funny adventures I've embarked on in some time.
While its tight controls and emergent mechanics create a strong and satisfying blend of 3D platforming and involved, reactive game design, Big Hops’ structure feels at odds with itself. Its narrative focus limits the scope of its open-ended ambitions, resulting in an experience that makes some hops that are certainly big, but don’t always stick the landing.
Big Hops is at its best when you stop worrying about the “right” way to play and just start moving. The fun isn’t in checking objectives off a list, it’s in chaining jumps, swings, and climbs together and seeing what works. The worlds give you room to experiment, the story stays out of the way, and everything keeps pushing you forward instead of slowing you down. If you enjoy platformers where movement feels good and freedom matters more than perfect execution, this one is easy to keep coming back to.
Big Hops uses a fun, joyful, and colourful world to invoke a sense of adventure waiting to be explored. Using your frog abilities is always a blast and provides some of the best traversal available in a modern 3D platformer.
Big Hops exemplifies how 3D platformers ought to look and feel, with a nonstop pulse of adrenaline from start to finish. Control over movement is pinpoint precision, and momentum is easy to gather. Hop’s tale of self-confidence against a gaslighting quest-giver inspires while the player bounds their way through meticulously designed worlds where problems need solutions and gaps need to be crossed. Big Hops blows open the doors to 2026 with a stellar must-play right out of the gate.
With stability addressed I will have no doubt recommending this as an early contender for indie of 2026 on Switch and Switch 2. Until then, consider other platforms or double check that the launch day patch has hit. I'll be checking back in on Big Hops with the hopes of giving it the positive score it deserves, very soon.
