[News] Bugsnax Don’t Judge a Bug by Its Snack

[King_of_lion]

When the first trailer for Bugsnax dropped earlier this year, we knew little apart from a catchy song and edible creatures shaped like snack food. However, there was something special about Bugsnax and my curiosity was driven to extreme heights. Young Horses, the studio behind the indie game Octodad, had captured my imagination and refused to let it go until I boarded the earliest floating barge out to the island of Snaktooth.

It's almost as if my own editor is speaking through the game somehow...

In this story-driven puzzle-centric adventure, we take on the role of a journalist looking for their next big scoop in order to save their career. This is when a renowned explorer Elizabert Megafig reaches out to us about a mysterious island where creatures roam, somewhere far off in the ocean. Not knowing any better, our intrepid protagonist makes their way to Snaktooth Island only to find that Elizabert is missing. You’re caught up to speed by the interim mayor Filbo Fiddlepie, a grumpus with a heart of gold and get started on your journey to uncover the mystery of Bugsnax.

The main premise of the story kicks off when you arrive at the main settlement on the island, the town of Snaxburg. Filbo asks you to help bring together all the former residents of Snaxburg, giving you the opportunity to interview each of them to find out what happened to Lizbert. In time, they start to open up to you and give you various requests for Bugsnax they want to snack on in return for their help.

Since the game is heavily driven by its narrative, I can’t give too much away here. But I can assure you that the story is hilarious, well written and surprisingly emotional. The characters in Bugsnax have a depth to them that I did not expect and they wonderfully portray several unique personalities in the form of these cute, anthropomorphic creatures called Grumpuses. As you unravel the clues behind Lizbert’s disappearance, you get to know these characters and their relationships through side quests. While they’re not required to be completed in order to progress the story, I found myself actively wanting to know more about them, what kind of Bugsnax they would ask me for and how they would reach the conclusion of their personal story arcs.

Everyone needs our help, especially Wambus and Cactriffy.

What I love most about Bugsnax stems from these characters and how their diversity is handled. Eating Bugsnax turns your body into that snack, but deep down, you’re still the same person. After all, it’s what is on the inside that matters, not how you look. Which is a good thing, because the more Bugsnax you feed them, the crazier they look. Imagine having a pickle arm, popsicle leg and popcorn for teeth.

Nice to meat you too.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about the cute little creatures themselves. Bugsnax are creatures that are kinda bug and kinda snacks. With that in mind, you start to discover around a hundred different kinds of Bugsnax over the course of your game, each with their own specific method of capture and unique appearance on consumption. As you discover new areas, you come across Bugsnax native to these environments and it’s hard not to smile at their adorable design and goofy names. It really never gets old.

Don't talk to me or my mini-melon snaks ever again.

Catching Bugsnax is the main mechanic with which to progress through the game and let me tell you, some of these little critters do not want to be captured. Using a variety of tools you acquire, you’ll be figuring out the best way to trap them. While some of the mechanics of the tools can be a little finicky, it generally works in your benefit with some hilarious scenarios that come up. The physics in this game is geared towards fun and it shows when you work with tools like the Lunchpad and Trip Shot.

Here are some quick notes on the more technical aspects of our review. Bugsnax runs fairly well and isn’t too taxing on the system resources, however there are significant load times on PC when moving between areas. Apart from the occasional bugs (no pun intended) and traversal glitches that have to be fixed with a quick save reload, the game is straightforward and easy to get a hang of. There’s no fast travelling between areas but you get the hang of traversing between the locations fairly quickly. Navigating the Journal which contains all your quests, record of Bugsnax and other useful information is intuitive and laid out well.

I miss them already.

It’s hard to define exactly what this game is in a few words. There’s an abundance of charm and sentiment in Bugsnax, and it takes you through countless flavors of love, perseverance and acceptance. A memorable cast of diverse characters elevates the game to a “must play” in my opinion. The half snack, half bug creatures are an exciting instrument of story-telling and Bugsnax utilizes them to weave a mystery of epic snak-portions.