Solo Ukrainian Dev Launches Froggy Hates Snow on Xbox

Serhii ‘Serge’ Riabtsev, a solo developer from Ukraine now based in Poland, released Froggy Hates Snow on the Xbox Store today for Xbox Series X|S. The game is a digging roguelike built around deformable snow mechanics, 16 maps, ten playable frogs and more than 60 tools, skills and companions.

Players control a frog that must dig through dynamic snow to reach an exit door or survive waves of shadowy monsters. The game offers a default loop of exploration, resource collection and combat, and a Peaceful Mode that removes combat for players who prefer exploration and progression without enemy pressure.

Riabtsev implemented the snow as a single heightmap where each pixel represents snow depth; digging updates that map in real time to produce smooth tunnels and trenches rather than blocky holes. He used Unity Terrain and a Shader Graph-based snow shader to create the effect.

The release adds 16 distinct maps to master and ten frog characters with unique stats and abilities. Progression includes dozens of upgrades. Available tools range from shovels and pickaxes to flamethrowers, drills, dynamite, hang gliders and snowblowers. Dozens of animal and robotic companions can be recruited to dig, collect gems or scan the surroundings.

The game includes periodic enemy waves and boss encounters; a run can end by locating the escape door and the keys required to unlock it or by surviving ten enemy waves. The demo for Xbox Series X|S was available in December; the full game launched on the Xbox Store today with the complete set of maps, characters and progression systems.

Riabtsev said, “I didn’t want snow to be just visual, but something you constantly interact with, affecting how you move, explore, and fight.” He has described Dome Keeper and Frostpunk as influences on the balance between resource management and the snowy setting.

Riabtsev studied computer science and previously released smaller mobile titles before developing Froggy Hates Snow as his first larger project for PC and consoles. The game is available now on the Xbox Store for Xbox Series X|S.