I always feel a little bad about comparing indie games to their influences, but this game is so aggressively "classic Paper Mario" that it's kind of impossible not to.

That said... it holds up pretty well against classic Paper Mario! There's just a lot to love here - the world is charming, the characters are charming, the art style is charming, it's just a good time all around. That's married with a surprisingly good amount of content (it took about 40 hours for me to clear, doing most sidequests along the way) and a battle system that lets you do some really fun builds once you get far enough in the game.

It's not perfect, though - the "once you get far enough in the game" is doing a ton of heavy lifting in that last sentence. Up until about the halfway point I was feeling pretty battered by the game's strict economy; even a regular battle can take a ton of time and resources, so healing is paramount, but free heals are few and far between, and items are costly enough and money scarce enough that I was always scrambling to stay afloat. Most of the game's interesting build options also don't show up until about halfway through, and then you're limited by how many points you've put into medal capacity. Eventually I found my feet and had a pretty good time with the battles, but I don't blame people who tap out before that.

I do wish the quest and level design was a bit stronger. A lot of sidequests in this game are about running all over the world, and while fast travel options eventually open up that still means a lot of time spent walking through the same few towns and dungeons. And speaking of dungeons, this game is big into environmental puzzles based on positioning and using your overworld abilities, a la Golden Sun... but when everything is paper-styled and there's limited indication of where you're actually facing, it can get real frustrating real quick. There's one puzzle room in the last dungeon that had me gritting my teeth so hard I thought they might shatter, because it was clear the devs had wanted a puzzle that required all three characters' abilities but the result was a frustrating, slow mess where I was fighting the controls and collision detection all the way.

"Wow that's a lot of negatives" you might be saying about now and honestly yeah, but I still think this game is worth it. It's just a solid, fun indie RPG and while it's got its share of headaches, they were never damning for me. Ultimately the joy of this world and the strengths of the gameplay well outweighed the frustration. Strongly recommended.

Such a nicely made game. Haven't played a single Paper Mario game, but I'm pretty sure this would be my favourite.

The combat is well-made, well-balanced, and more or less a perfect difficulty. Battles, while not always as creative as desired, are tense and engaging, and require just enough thinking to be fun.

The story is quite interesting, but what's more interesting is the characters and their interactions. Vi, Kabbu and Leif are all very active and likeable protagonists and have a great balance of importance between them. They aren't the only likeable characters though - the wide and fun plethora of side quests provide for even more fun interactions between our protagonists and the rest of the world.

Overall, quite enjoyable. It's quite unusual for me to like a turn-based RPG, but this is just great.

4/5: Good Turn-Based Game

Upset about what's happened with Paper Mario since TTYD? Well this is literally the game that was made and kickstarted for you. That's the whole thing, and it does it with flying colors. It makes you care about the characters (which I think is the highest barrier to entry as soon as you toss the Nintendo cast out the window.

If you love those old Mario games, you absolutely should support Bug Fables.

Check out our book club style gaming podcast, Garbage Game Club on Bug Fables - https://open.spotify.com/episode/35On3hG0qyHDATkG3502q4?si=997P3U8sTb6H1WhVD-YT1g

As a fan of the classic Paper Mario games, this game hits all the marks spot on. All the characters have a ton of personality, and I was surprised by how compelling the arcs of the 3 main characters are. The story and plot kept me engaged the whole way through. The battle and overworld mechanics aren't just cheap imitations of Paper Mario's, they genuinely feel like they surpass them, and are the logical next step in terms of design. Having 3 characters not only adds a bunch of strategy to the battles, but enhances the puzzles and traversal in the overworld as well, and I'll just say it, this game does those things better than any of the original Paper Mario games did. The only issue I really have is with the look of the game. While it did eventually grow on me, I still feel like the game could have been improved on in the visuals/character design department. That's honestly a pretty minor complaint though, the game still has plenty of charm and the visuals never really get in the way of anything. Overall this game is the real deal, if you're a fan of the original Paper Mario games at all, I HIGHLY recommend this game. It's almost certain to scratch that itch just as well, if not better.

If you are a fan of the first two Paper Mario games and desperately wish the series would return to its roots, do me a favor and stop reading this and go get it on your platform of choice. Go on. You can come back and read this later.

I put this game off for too long, thinking it wouldn't live up to my memory of Paper Mario. But it does. Every minute playing this game was an absolute delight. You know that scene from Ratatouille where the food critic is transported to his days of youth upon taking that first exquisite bite? That was playing Bug Fables.

Now, this game isn't a rip-off. It is merely inspired by Paper Mario, and then goes off on its own way from there. You have a set party of three almost from the get-go, for one. But that's fine, as it really lets you get to know each of our three heroes and see them develop.

The character designs are simple but endearing, and each character is more charming than the last. The combat is engaging, with many optional challenges to go through (tip: put most of your rank-ups into medal points.) The story is memorable, the locations unique, and by the end of 100%-ing it I was absolutely satisfied.

I'm really looking forward to whatever the team over at Moonsprout Games has in store for the future, and the memory of my journey with Kabu, Vi, and Leif will live on in my heart for a long time.

Bug Fables is a phenomenal spiritual successor to the first two Paper Mario games that is packed to the brim with content. I spent about 55 hours playing this delightful $24.99 RPG on my Switch and fell head over heels for its expansive lore and quirky characters.

While very similar to early Paper Marios in gameplay style, a tried-and-true formula I already adored, I have to say that I now honestly prefer Bug Fables. I love how you follow one group of three talkative explorers and really get to know each of them deeply along the adventure, Mario himself was never given much of a chance to emote or really develop in his RPG spinoffs.

To cap things off, Bug Fables is super creative and full of so many different things to do that I adored. It’s complete with mini games that are actually a blast, original creature designs that totally rock across the board, a number of surprisingly unsettling segments, fantastic music, charming humor, and heartfelt character dynamics. It’s one of my favorite games of all time now that I’ve played all the way through it, and it’s without a doubt my favorite in the RPG genre. I would happily go on another quest in this world with Kabbu, Vi, and Leif if the developers were to ever make a sequel, but this is such a complete and delightful package that I‘d also be fully content with the story ending here!

A+

A really great spiritual successor to Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door, which is one of my favorite games of all time! Bug Fables absolutely nails the look, charm, and gameplay of the old school Paper Mario games in a way that is really impressive for a small indie studio.

All the ways in which Bug Fables improves on the combat of Paper Mario feel very natural and give it just enough depth to be completely engaging. Having 3 party members as opposed to 2, the turn relay, party member position effecting atk/def values, and the combo attacks are all fantastic additions. There's also a ton of really fun bosses, a lot of them even being completely optional!

Another area where I think this game really succeeds is in that optional content. All the side quests feel like more than just fetch quests, letting you meet tons of really cool characters and building out the games world. There's a bunch of optional areas, bosses, and even a companion that you can stumble across which are great.

My biggest complaint about this game is in regards to the puzzle solving & platforming elements. Every character has their own set of abilities to use on the overworld to solve puzzles, and that's a really neat idea on the surface. Unfortunately, the further you get in the game the more abilities you unlock and the harder it is to manage them. I can't tell you how many times I was trying to use Vi's beemerang and accidentally flew off a cliff instead.

Overall though this is a great game, and a must play if you're a fan of Paper Mario or simple RPGs in general.

I am not going to go into the whole discussion about what Paper Mario should be and all of that stuff right now, but regardless Bug Fables was an absolute joy from start to end. The combat was fun as hell, the story was deep, the characters were memorable, the side quests were fun, the world of Bugaria was very interesting, and the music was pretty good. My only complaint is an unavoidable one. This game is pretty janky and buggy at times, not enough to ruin the game but enough to intrude at points. On top of that, there are one or two sequences, especially in chapter 4, that I really did not like, but I still love this game. I recommend all of you play it! This was an absolute delight and I can't wait for what Moonsprout does next.