Bugsnax has a special effect on people. By that we don’t mean the fact that your limbs turn into food when you eat such an appetizing Bug snack, but the way in which the indie game immediately gained cult status after its bizarre debut trailer with just as catchy theme song. Fortunately, now that we’ve played Bugsnax, we can conclude that this attention is not undeserved.
In Bugsnax, thirteen Muppet-like Grumpuses are enticed by an invitation from explorer Elizabert Megafig to discover the tasty snack insects on Snaktooth Island. Some see the trip as an opportunity to escape from their private troubles, others are there to start a new life or to be inspired. You play a journalist who travels to the island to interview Elizabert about her discovery, but once you arrive it turns out that something is wrong.
Elizabert has disappeared without a trace and the resulting panic has resulted in the Grumpuses leaving the only settlement on the island. Only the sympathetic but helpless Mayor Filbo has remained. It’s up to you to investigate where Lizbert has gone and to bring the departed Grumpuses back to camp one by one. Naturally, the Bugsnax that swarms over the island comes with that.
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Talkin’ about Bugsnax
“Kinda bug and kinda snack,” the band Kero Kero Bonito happily sings about the bugs in the catchy title song. We cannot think of a better description. There are burgers on chips legs, flying pizza moths, swimming soda cans and so on. Obviously, the game’s creators let their creativity run wild in designing the Bugsnax, probably on an empty stomach. While there are a number of recycled designs among a hundred different species, exploring Snaktooth Island and discovering the local wildlife is a festive – and tasty – reward in itself.
Armed with a scanning device, a catapult that fires a variety of sauces and a trap to catch Bugsnax, you set off. The walking calorie bombs apparently have a strong persuasive power, as most Grumpuses are not ready to return to Snaxburg until you bring them the requested Bugsnax. So you are mainly concerned with finding and catching the right Bugsnax to restore the population of Snaxburg in that way.
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It is a wonderful smörgäsbord of all kinds of elements from games from a bygone era, which gives the playing a nostalgic feeling.
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Gotta Ketchup ‘Em All
Catching Bugsnax is like solving small puzzles. Unlike a predictable Strabby (a walking strawberry with wobbly eyes), the hamburger Bugsnak Bunger is not easy to catch. With your scanning device you discover that Bunger has a love for ketchup (and repeatedly calling out his own name, but that aside), a trait that you can abuse with your sauce catapult. For example, you can make a pad of ketchup to lure Bunger into a cage, or smear another Bunger with ketchup to pit them against each other.
There is no right way to catch a Bugsnak and the game gives you the freedom to experiment with it. The scanner often gives you just enough hints to help you on the right path, so that you have to think for a while, but it never takes too long before the penny drops. Along the way, you will of course unlock many more gadgets and the Bugsnax puzzles become more complex. In some cases they tend to be on the frustrating side, for example with Bugsnax made of ice or on fire. These require a special approach that sometimes involves just too much luck.
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The heart of Bugsnax
You may think that having to catch Bugsnax to feed them to others quickly becomes repetitive, and there are indeed times when you feel like some sort of Home Delivery Courier. Still, the game has a nice pace and the areas change quickly, so you don’t get bored quickly. In between, you often come back to Snaxburg, where you put your journalistic skills to the test by interviewing the returned Grumpuses.
Snaxburg is the beating heart of Bugsnax and this manifests itself in various ways. Not only are the empty tents and houses a constant reminder of what you have to do and how far you are in the game, but it is also where you get to know the Grumpuses better. During the day they take a walk through the camp, greet each other (or argue), and in the evening they sit by the campfire. As you play the game, a real community develops here. This contributes to the adventurous and warm atmosphere of Bugsnax.
It’s the moments you spend in Snaxburg that teach you that this game isn’t about the Bugsnax, it’s about the people (well, Grumpuses). Every Grumpus has their own personal dilemmas and as you get to know them better you will actually want to help them and find out how they are going.
Take Chandlo, a macho Grumpus who prefers to eat his Bugsnax with a lot of protein. Despite his physical strength, he has a soft spot for the paranoid conspiracy thinker Snorpy and is unsure how to protect his friend from imaginary enemies. It is amazing how Bugsnax manages to write profound relationships and storylines with apparently one-dimensional characters, and that with a healthy dose of humor. You want nothing more than to help every Grumpus with their problems, even if it means slowly transforming their bodies into snacks.
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Body horror en Bugsnax
Because it has to be said, as cute as the Bugsnax are, it remains somewhat disturbing to see the legs, noses and even the skin of the Grumpuses turning into fries and hot dogs when you feed them a Bugsnak. Where do the Bugsnax actually come from? Were there any previous civilizations on Snaktooth Island and what happened to them? These are questions you may be afraid to find the answers to, and Bugsnax does a good job of keeping you captivated to the end and coming up with a thunderous conclusion.
Bugsnax is, especially on the PlayStation 5, not a graphic or technical miracle and we really cannot excuse the changeable frame rate of the PS5 version. Still, this game cannot be blamed for. It is a wonderful smörgäsbord of all kinds of elements from games from a bygone era, which gives the playing a nostalgic feeling. The humor is reminiscent of Psychonauts (and of course Octodad, from the same makers), catching Bugsnax on Pokémon Snap and building Snaxburg on Dark Cloud, all wrapped up in a whodunnit-esque mystery straight out of an old-fashioned adventure game. could have come. Bugsnax may be a bit of an acquired taste, but you don’t have to be a foodie to enjoy this game.
Bugsnax is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and p. For this review, we played the game on PS5.
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