Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2021-11-15 11:14 (JST)
Translated by. Nick Mosier

On November 12, Merge Games released Trading Time: A Croak Tale – Prologue, a prequel to their upcoming Trading Time: A Croak Tale. This free prologue looks to be an updated version of the demo they made available during Steam Next Fest.

Trading Time: A Croak Tale is an action-adventure game being developed by Half Past Yellow, a studio located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The main character is a sailor who gets caught up in a disaster while on a voyage and washes up on an island with his boat in pieces. The island itself is overflowing with nature and full of mystery. The aim is to explore the island helping its inhabitants and repairing your boat to make your escape.

Trading Time: A Croak Tale – Prologue shows what the sailor was up to before his shipwreck. Prompted by seeing a falling star crash into an island, the sailor sets off to find where it landed.

You run around the island collecting items, and like the game’s name implies, the key lies in trading those items with the other characters. It’s possible to pick up a variety of objects, so you’ll have to listen to the requests of the characters you meet and shuffle around getting items where they need to go. But some items are very fragile, so handle with care.

The action is brisk and feels invigorating when running around the obstacles and cliffs in the terrain. The game has no text and conversations are conveyed through symbols, but the point is usually pretty clear. At least from playing the prologue, it seems cut from a similar cloth as the mountain-climbing adventure, A Short Hike. The main game appears to have fishing, gliding, and an assortment of other actions to enjoy.

Trading Time: A Croak Tale – Prologue is currently available for free on Steam. The main adventure Trading Time: A Croak Tale is also planned to release on Steam.