(5-year-old's review, typed by her dad)
You get to catch a lot of Bugsnax. They're half Bug and half Snax. You get to feed people Bugsnax and that's it!
No that's not it. There's new places that you get to explore and catch Bugsnax, that's it.
You get to catch a lot of Bugsnax. They're half Bug and half Snax. You get to feed people Bugsnax and that's it!
No that's not it. There's new places that you get to explore and catch Bugsnax, that's it.
Bugsnax is shit
I always wanted to play this game since he was released on PlayStation Plus. I had the opportunity when Microsoft added to Gamepass.
Just after few hours I could see how this game is boring. You need to do just one thing: catch a bug to give to a NPC.
Boring…
Just after few hours I could see how this game is boring. You need to do just one thing: catch a bug to give to a NPC.
Boring…
Okay okay I won't lie, I breezed through this as an easy platinum and payed far less attention to the characters and the dialogue than I should've, but even doing that I grew to like the world and it's inhabitants, which I suppose says a lot for just how much charm the game has.
The gameplay loop and mechanics themselves aren't really anything special, and there was a severe lack of Kero Kero Bonito throughout 99% of the game, but playing the final hour or so without skipping it and watching TV on the side made me realise that maybe I should've played it properly from the start...
I feel pretty confident my score could have been a 4 or more if I'd properly immersed myself instead of treating it like a side project that took longer than I wanted so uh, more fool me I guess lol.
This is an easy breezy collectathon with a quirky aesthetic, yes. But maaaybe don't be like me and pretend that that's all it is until it's final moments.
Hopefully there's a sequel and I can play that more appropriately
The gameplay loop and mechanics themselves aren't really anything special, and there was a severe lack of Kero Kero Bonito throughout 99% of the game, but playing the final hour or so without skipping it and watching TV on the side made me realise that maybe I should've played it properly from the start...
I feel pretty confident my score could have been a 4 or more if I'd properly immersed myself instead of treating it like a side project that took longer than I wanted so uh, more fool me I guess lol.
This is an easy breezy collectathon with a quirky aesthetic, yes. But maaaybe don't be like me and pretend that that's all it is until it's final moments.
Hopefully there's a sequel and I can play that more appropriately
They're talkin' 'bout Bugsnax - bu why are they talkin' 'bout 'em? Skibbedy Boppendottem wants to eat three of the avocado kind before she gives me the key with the big tag that says 'isProgressionUnlock'. Krumpinus Sweatypie says he killed a man for fun - hah, so quirky! I'm Todd McFarlane
Took me a while to get round to playing the game that stood out the most during the PS5 reveal conference but happy to say it was worth the wait.
The Snax are the highlight here - there are some inspired design decisions and even with the overall number being padded out by colour variations, relatively few of them felt cheaply done. It's genuinely amazing how much work a pair of googly eyes can do to make them look so appealing and fun. There are also very few words in the history of video games as fun to say as Scoopy Banoopy.
The cast of Grumpuses also stood out, along with their own specific anxieties and eccentricities. Each character has a set of side-missions which are okay (more on that in a second), but the reward of learning more about them, their personalities and relationships made what could be quite tedious at times worth the effort.
I do wish the act of actually interacting with and catching Bugsnax was a bit more interesting though. It starts off fine, with some simple puzzles to solve as to how to get them into the right position but it never really progresses much further than that. Once you receive a certain trap, most other become obsolete and you're barely challenged in how to catch any new creature you come across, barring a handful of exceptions - hopefully this is something that's tackled in the upcoming DLC.
But as I sit here and contemplate my playthrough, those frustrations barely register - the game became a meme during that initial reveal but it's anything but, with tender stories and explorations of interpersonal relationships hidden underneath those admittedly goofy looking googly eyes. Definitely worth a playthrough.
The Snax are the highlight here - there are some inspired design decisions and even with the overall number being padded out by colour variations, relatively few of them felt cheaply done. It's genuinely amazing how much work a pair of googly eyes can do to make them look so appealing and fun. There are also very few words in the history of video games as fun to say as Scoopy Banoopy.
The cast of Grumpuses also stood out, along with their own specific anxieties and eccentricities. Each character has a set of side-missions which are okay (more on that in a second), but the reward of learning more about them, their personalities and relationships made what could be quite tedious at times worth the effort.
I do wish the act of actually interacting with and catching Bugsnax was a bit more interesting though. It starts off fine, with some simple puzzles to solve as to how to get them into the right position but it never really progresses much further than that. Once you receive a certain trap, most other become obsolete and you're barely challenged in how to catch any new creature you come across, barring a handful of exceptions - hopefully this is something that's tackled in the upcoming DLC.
But as I sit here and contemplate my playthrough, those frustrations barely register - the game became a meme during that initial reveal but it's anything but, with tender stories and explorations of interpersonal relationships hidden underneath those admittedly goofy looking googly eyes. Definitely worth a playthrough.
(8-year-old's review, typed by his dad)
I like the part where you get to catch all the Bugsnax and you get to feed them to the Grumpuses and my FAVORITE is the BUNGER! I like the sounds that it makes and I like that it can bump you and I can make a good Bunger impression! Do you want me to do it?
BUNGER BUNGER BUNGER BUNGER BUNGER
I like the part where you get to catch all the Bugsnax and you get to feed them to the Grumpuses and my FAVORITE is the BUNGER! I like the sounds that it makes and I like that it can bump you and I can make a good Bunger impression! Do you want me to do it?
BUNGER BUNGER BUNGER BUNGER BUNGER
In a culture of greed, gluttony, and corn syrup, the amount of slop that we put into our bodies (myself included) goes right past our eyes. It's only fairly recently have we been able to see more and more of how our food is made, and how ineffectively it is distributed. Look up the food safety section on Wikipedia. If it's anything I want to take from this game, it's that you should be aware of what you eat. Be very aware of what you eat. Also, really cute creature design! Cheepoof definitely takes my crown. Also in love with Bunger as everyone should be. Bunger Bunger. Hahahaa.
bugsnax is shit
Real cute game with a bit of jank. Very good time
Lord help you if you play this game high.
From a gameplay perspective, Bugsnax is the logical evolution in creature catching gameplay in a post-Pokémon Snap world. I feel like I missed a few transitionary steps in that sequence, but as the bugs chirped names at me over the Dualsense speaker, I could think of nothing else.
The toolset of traps and interactions available for hunting down the snack monsters is a fairly well rounded and satisfyingly physics enabled set. 80% percent of the time, the core gameplay is snappy, reactive, and sensible even as it engages in light puzzling. 15% of the time it can get a bit jank or tedious (somewhat an inevitability of trap gameplay for me)... 5% of the time I don't know what exactly happened but I got the bug so all's well in the end.
As is inevitable, I'm unable to compel myself to completion amount beyond "a bit more than necessary," so it was nice to see the game didn't really demand any more than that from me. I did what looked interesting and moved only fairly smoothly.
There were likely a few "big catches" at the end of some of the sidequest lines that I might have wanted to get to, after having incidentally gotten at least two of them and having fun there. However, my chimp brain couldn't stomach teleporting back and forth across the island another dozen times to catch a bunch of stuff I'd already gotten to before, in order to get to said final quests.
Which brings me to the part of the gameplay that ground my gears: small inventory space but frequent demands for random critters.
Usually with a bunch of collection quests, I try to nab 1 or 2 of everything as I see them so I can quickly turn in and move on, or at least get a head start. But Bugsnax foiled my every attempt to take the initiative.
First it introduces a funny but insidious mechanic where you can feed anyone snax at anytime to transform body parts. Entertaining, but effectively all it does is make you waste bugs that you should be shoving into the ranch for backpack upgrades. This likely should be considered an element of interactive storytelling.
Second, and to my actual point, is that the number of times I had to discard a bug that I thought I was done with to make room for 3 or 4 of one type I needed, only to then find out I needed one of those discarded ones 10 minutes later, was too damn high. Probably have been an issue if I didn't catch anything until requested so I didn't waste the effort...
... But why would I not catch every new bug I see in a bug catching game??
There's no storage at base (that I was aware of), so anything you couldn't hold in your hands was wasted or consumed. As a bit of mechanical storytelling, kind of genius. As someone who only barely enjoys collectathon gameplay, screw you, game.
And as for the storytelling.
Well, it somehow managed to bypass my expectations. Certainly hasn't done anything to mend my suspicion of muppet-based stories.
What I will talk about, is that for the most part it was Muppet Gilligan's Island, which was a bit charming. I found the main points of the character drama early in a bit too petty, though, and not done with the right kind of humor to make it work for me. It was funny often, but its the difference between getting hit by a stick wrapped in foam versus a stick and a piece of foam.
To summarize: as a game, Bugsnax is delightfully weird and a very solid experience with just a few manageable flaws. As a complete experience, it gave me tonal whiplash and not in the way I like.
Not-quite-kid-friendly puppet stuff just isn't the same without Bowie 😔
From a gameplay perspective, Bugsnax is the logical evolution in creature catching gameplay in a post-Pokémon Snap world. I feel like I missed a few transitionary steps in that sequence, but as the bugs chirped names at me over the Dualsense speaker, I could think of nothing else.
The toolset of traps and interactions available for hunting down the snack monsters is a fairly well rounded and satisfyingly physics enabled set. 80% percent of the time, the core gameplay is snappy, reactive, and sensible even as it engages in light puzzling. 15% of the time it can get a bit jank or tedious (somewhat an inevitability of trap gameplay for me)... 5% of the time I don't know what exactly happened but I got the bug so all's well in the end.
As is inevitable, I'm unable to compel myself to completion amount beyond "a bit more than necessary," so it was nice to see the game didn't really demand any more than that from me. I did what looked interesting and moved only fairly smoothly.
There were likely a few "big catches" at the end of some of the sidequest lines that I might have wanted to get to, after having incidentally gotten at least two of them and having fun there. However, my chimp brain couldn't stomach teleporting back and forth across the island another dozen times to catch a bunch of stuff I'd already gotten to before, in order to get to said final quests.
Which brings me to the part of the gameplay that ground my gears: small inventory space but frequent demands for random critters.
Usually with a bunch of collection quests, I try to nab 1 or 2 of everything as I see them so I can quickly turn in and move on, or at least get a head start. But Bugsnax foiled my every attempt to take the initiative.
First it introduces a funny but insidious mechanic where you can feed anyone snax at anytime to transform body parts. Entertaining, but effectively all it does is make you waste bugs that you should be shoving into the ranch for backpack upgrades. This likely should be considered an element of interactive storytelling.
Second, and to my actual point, is that the number of times I had to discard a bug that I thought I was done with to make room for 3 or 4 of one type I needed, only to then find out I needed one of those discarded ones 10 minutes later, was too damn high. Probably have been an issue if I didn't catch anything until requested so I didn't waste the effort...
... But why would I not catch every new bug I see in a bug catching game??
There's no storage at base (that I was aware of), so anything you couldn't hold in your hands was wasted or consumed. As a bit of mechanical storytelling, kind of genius. As someone who only barely enjoys collectathon gameplay, screw you, game.
And as for the storytelling.
Well, it somehow managed to bypass my expectations. Certainly hasn't done anything to mend my suspicion of muppet-based stories.
What I will talk about, is that for the most part it was Muppet Gilligan's Island, which was a bit charming. I found the main points of the character drama early in a bit too petty, though, and not done with the right kind of humor to make it work for me. It was funny often, but its the difference between getting hit by a stick wrapped in foam versus a stick and a piece of foam.
To summarize: as a game, Bugsnax is delightfully weird and a very solid experience with just a few manageable flaws. As a complete experience, it gave me tonal whiplash and not in the way I like.
Not-quite-kid-friendly puppet stuff just isn't the same without Bowie 😔
One of the best PS2 games not for the PS2, Bugsnax is like a visual joke against its high-spec peers. But it is simplicity - both in aesthetic and gameplay - that makes the game universally appealing, for adults and kids alike.
However, if the cutesy surface didn't fool you, it's quite clear there's a sinister depth to it all: the mystery of Lizbert, an explorer missing on an island of Grumpuses (furries) who eat and then body-morph with the Bugsnax that you collect for them; you conduct interviews and piece together clues such as codes, maps and a secret journal, discovering along the way the many secrets of the town's inhabitants; all as the story builds to a pretty freaky final act - yes, it's pretty much Twin Peaks. Alongside the fun to be had with learning and shouting out the infectiously silly names of the snax you hunt down - Scoopy Banoopy, Bunger, Bopsicle, etc - it's surprising how engaging the parallel adult stuff is between the Grumpuses: relationship drama, addiction, creative inertia and even gay insecurity!
Whilst it plays beautifully with the PS5's haptic features - the way rain and thunder shimmers through your controller vibrations and the clicky triggers when setting a trap - Bugsnax otherwise makes little attempt to push mechanical boundaries. Instead, it simply aces the things that matter in an adventure game of its kind: it is fun, endearing, intriguing and always with a uniquely uncanny atmosphere.
If there's that anything to be suggested from the CBBC-sounding pop banger that Kero Kero Bonito closes the game with, it's that it's still pretty cool to play and enjoy 'kids' games. A grumping post-ironic masterpiece.
However, if the cutesy surface didn't fool you, it's quite clear there's a sinister depth to it all: the mystery of Lizbert, an explorer missing on an island of Grumpuses (furries) who eat and then body-morph with the Bugsnax that you collect for them; you conduct interviews and piece together clues such as codes, maps and a secret journal, discovering along the way the many secrets of the town's inhabitants; all as the story builds to a pretty freaky final act - yes, it's pretty much Twin Peaks. Alongside the fun to be had with learning and shouting out the infectiously silly names of the snax you hunt down - Scoopy Banoopy, Bunger, Bopsicle, etc - it's surprising how engaging the parallel adult stuff is between the Grumpuses: relationship drama, addiction, creative inertia and even gay insecurity!
Whilst it plays beautifully with the PS5's haptic features - the way rain and thunder shimmers through your controller vibrations and the clicky triggers when setting a trap - Bugsnax otherwise makes little attempt to push mechanical boundaries. Instead, it simply aces the things that matter in an adventure game of its kind: it is fun, endearing, intriguing and always with a uniquely uncanny atmosphere.
If there's that anything to be suggested from the CBBC-sounding pop banger that Kero Kero Bonito closes the game with, it's that it's still pretty cool to play and enjoy 'kids' games. A grumping post-ironic masterpiece.
I love Bugsnax.
I was expecting to go into this game with a neutral/positive outlook. A game I'd play, focus on main objectives, have some minor frustrations here and there, finish it, and just say "that was solid, I liked it." and move on...But then I got hooked. I got into the groove with what the game had to offer: Capturing bugsnax was addictive, fun, and I love how the game encourages & rewards experimentation. I found the Grumpuses charming, funny, and having a surprising amount of deep characterization to them when you learn of their struggles and how you help them through it all. And that ending man, not only was the twist earned, but the (good) ending made the entire experience worth fully completing to me.
I'd genuinely consider Bugsnax in my Top 5 Indie games right now. Stellar work to the team behind it.
I was expecting to go into this game with a neutral/positive outlook. A game I'd play, focus on main objectives, have some minor frustrations here and there, finish it, and just say "that was solid, I liked it." and move on...But then I got hooked. I got into the groove with what the game had to offer: Capturing bugsnax was addictive, fun, and I love how the game encourages & rewards experimentation. I found the Grumpuses charming, funny, and having a surprising amount of deep characterization to them when you learn of their struggles and how you help them through it all. And that ending man, not only was the twist earned, but the (good) ending made the entire experience worth fully completing to me.
I'd genuinely consider Bugsnax in my Top 5 Indie games right now. Stellar work to the team behind it.
Bong Joon-Ho's "Parasite" (2019)
Bugsnax unironically has some of the most endearing, well-written characters of any game I've ever played. It's so heartwarming to have a story based around all different kinds of people learning to work together and care for each other. The world is such a pleasant place to hang out, which is arguably the most important thing for a game like this to get right. The Pokemon Snap-inspired gameplay is exactly my kind of thing too. Clever puzzles that aren't too brain-breaking or unfair.
Avoid spoilers if you can, but just so you don't get frustrated trying to get a certain caramel-flavored Bugsnak, you should know that when you pause and look at your map, it has a weather forecast for the day. I didn't notice that for waaaayyyy too long.
Bugsnax unironically has some of the most endearing, well-written characters of any game I've ever played. It's so heartwarming to have a story based around all different kinds of people learning to work together and care for each other. The world is such a pleasant place to hang out, which is arguably the most important thing for a game like this to get right. The Pokemon Snap-inspired gameplay is exactly my kind of thing too. Clever puzzles that aren't too brain-breaking or unfair.
Avoid spoilers if you can, but just so you don't get frustrated trying to get a certain caramel-flavored Bugsnak, you should know that when you pause and look at your map, it has a weather forecast for the day. I didn't notice that for waaaayyyy too long.
This one started off really strong but then I lost interest as it went on. The game is a strange mix of vibrant and kid friendly silliness mixed with adult issues and body horror. I'm not sure it meshes very well, but it's a very interesting game nonetheless.
You catch Bugsnax and basically talk to other vibrant muppet type characters (grumpus's I think it was?) and solve their issues. These issues have a wide range too. From anything like marriage woes to "OMG I want to get buff" to "I want to eat a Fryder, go get me one." It's kind of jarring going from solving relationship and communication issues between folks to then just grabbing a silly Bugsnak for them to eat.
Then on top of that, as you collect Bugsnax, you find out that it changes the way all these muppet people look. You can change their arms, hands, legs, feet, ears and eventually even their body. AND THEY LOOK HORRIFIC! Having a guy walk around with potato chip ears and a sushi body was just...ugh.
No spoilers but I feel like if I saw the final boss of this game when I was a kid, I would've had nightmares. It's like the cutest foody-hellraiser inspired enemy you'll ever see. YIKES!
Anyway, the reason it gets old after a while is because after a few hours, it feels like you're just going through the motions. Catch a Bugsnak, solve an issue, feed them, repeat.
Also, the dialog at times goes on and on and on and on and on. And it's not really clever, it just feels like talking for talkings sake some times.
You catch Bugsnax and basically talk to other vibrant muppet type characters (grumpus's I think it was?) and solve their issues. These issues have a wide range too. From anything like marriage woes to "OMG I want to get buff" to "I want to eat a Fryder, go get me one." It's kind of jarring going from solving relationship and communication issues between folks to then just grabbing a silly Bugsnak for them to eat.
Then on top of that, as you collect Bugsnax, you find out that it changes the way all these muppet people look. You can change their arms, hands, legs, feet, ears and eventually even their body. AND THEY LOOK HORRIFIC! Having a guy walk around with potato chip ears and a sushi body was just...ugh.
No spoilers but I feel like if I saw the final boss of this game when I was a kid, I would've had nightmares. It's like the cutest foody-hellraiser inspired enemy you'll ever see. YIKES!
Anyway, the reason it gets old after a while is because after a few hours, it feels like you're just going through the motions. Catch a Bugsnak, solve an issue, feed them, repeat.
Also, the dialog at times goes on and on and on and on and on. And it's not really clever, it just feels like talking for talkings sake some times.
pretty good
Really special game, brimming with charm and humor. Knew I would love it to begin with but I was really surprised with just how lovely of a time it was.
As the colourblind customer said to the wallpaper vendor : What the hell is this tone?!
After nine months of thinking about this game, I've changed my mind. This is, in actuality, a 5/5 video game and I was a coward for not scoring it accordingly the first time!!
Bugsnax continues to be my only Platinum trophy. 100% baby! All the challenges, all the furniture, all the hats, and Wambus ate the secret final fast Bugsnak.
BUGSNAX 4 LIFE
Bugsnax continues to be my only Platinum trophy. 100% baby! All the challenges, all the furniture, all the hats, and Wambus ate the secret final fast Bugsnak.
BUGSNAX 4 LIFE
idk this shit actually made me cry. what the fuck?
I'm gonna be honest and preface this review with the following: I picked up this game expecting to play it ironically. It was never my intention to play this game for more than 30 minutes, and I absolutely did not see coming that this would be one of my favorites of the year.
There were 2 things I knew about the game: it was similar to Ape Escape (series I haven't played so I can't confirm nor deny), and that everyone desesperately wanted this game to be an undercover horror game (this includes me).
Despite doing something as stupid as booting up a game for "ironic" purposes is, I'm really glad to say I was met with a really entertaining and charming cast of characters, a bopping ost, and a really engaging story.
Despite Bugsnax's characters filling the role of an archetype (the jock, the nerd, the gossip girl), they are all cleverly written and have actual depth to them. The relationships that the Grumpuses have with eachother make them feel like actual characters instead of walking tropes. Dialogues are also very well written, finding a good balance between comedy and character development. I found most of the cast to be very likeable and charming, and was very interested in seeing how their stories developed and concluded. This is all neatly tied with a superb voice acting ribbon.
Not to mention how nicely the LGBT representation is handled, caught me completely off-guard.
In terms of plot, I was really surprised to see how quickly I found myself engaged. The underlying mystery that surrounds Snaktooth Island and Lizbert's dissapearance keeps you guessing while you traverse the levels to unlock the next clue. Finding out the events that transpired before your arrival feels satisfying, culminating in a climax that had me at the edge of my seat and an ending that got me on the feels a little.
Surprisingly, the only aspect of Bugsnax that I found kind of lacking was the gameplay. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly serviceable, but it also feels clunky.
Bugsnax operates on a pretty simple loop:
Get a quest -> find bugsnax -> catch the bugsnax -> resolve quest -> get more story.
The one that matters most here is the catch the bugsnax part, where you'll use a small arrange of tools to catch bugsnax. Of course, it's not always a simple task, with some bugsnax having gimmicks attached to them (such as being on fire, or needing to be cooled down, or being too big for the trap). These gimmicks are what lay the foundation for the puzzle aspects of the game, sometimes requiring you to lure bugsnax to different areas in the level in order to capture them.
Sadly, I think it falls short on the puzzle aspect. Luring out bugsnax isn't really all that challenging, just annoying. It also doesn't really go further than having to cool down one that's on fire with water/ice and viceversa, which mostly leads to a lot of luring bugsnax into eachother or the environment. This is mostly just annoying, or just feels really clunky. This also happens with some capturing methods, like combining the launchpad with the trap, or finding a surface to place the tripwire. A lot of the time, I felt that a succesful catch was mostly luck or brute force instead of actual puzzle solving.
Another weird mechanic includes day/night cycles and weather, both of which affect certain bugsnax' spawning, but it's fairly underutilized (specially weather, since only one bugsnak is affected by it).
There's also a severe lack of replayability, unless you wanna see the characters being bugsnaxed or if you missed a bugsnak (which doesn't take long to complete since there's not a lot of them).
Still, I really can't stress enough how good this game is. The amount of charm and quality the writing and the characters have is really impressive. And if you're on the club of people that wanted this game to have a horror underside, you're definitely not gonna be dissapointed.
There were 2 things I knew about the game: it was similar to Ape Escape (series I haven't played so I can't confirm nor deny), and that everyone desesperately wanted this game to be an undercover horror game (this includes me).
Despite doing something as stupid as booting up a game for "ironic" purposes is, I'm really glad to say I was met with a really entertaining and charming cast of characters, a bopping ost, and a really engaging story.
Despite Bugsnax's characters filling the role of an archetype (the jock, the nerd, the gossip girl), they are all cleverly written and have actual depth to them. The relationships that the Grumpuses have with eachother make them feel like actual characters instead of walking tropes. Dialogues are also very well written, finding a good balance between comedy and character development. I found most of the cast to be very likeable and charming, and was very interested in seeing how their stories developed and concluded. This is all neatly tied with a superb voice acting ribbon.
Not to mention how nicely the LGBT representation is handled, caught me completely off-guard.
In terms of plot, I was really surprised to see how quickly I found myself engaged. The underlying mystery that surrounds Snaktooth Island and Lizbert's dissapearance keeps you guessing while you traverse the levels to unlock the next clue. Finding out the events that transpired before your arrival feels satisfying, culminating in a climax that had me at the edge of my seat and an ending that got me on the feels a little.
Surprisingly, the only aspect of Bugsnax that I found kind of lacking was the gameplay. Don't get me wrong, it's perfectly serviceable, but it also feels clunky.
Bugsnax operates on a pretty simple loop:
Get a quest -> find bugsnax -> catch the bugsnax -> resolve quest -> get more story.
The one that matters most here is the catch the bugsnax part, where you'll use a small arrange of tools to catch bugsnax. Of course, it's not always a simple task, with some bugsnax having gimmicks attached to them (such as being on fire, or needing to be cooled down, or being too big for the trap). These gimmicks are what lay the foundation for the puzzle aspects of the game, sometimes requiring you to lure bugsnax to different areas in the level in order to capture them.
Sadly, I think it falls short on the puzzle aspect. Luring out bugsnax isn't really all that challenging, just annoying. It also doesn't really go further than having to cool down one that's on fire with water/ice and viceversa, which mostly leads to a lot of luring bugsnax into eachother or the environment. This is mostly just annoying, or just feels really clunky. This also happens with some capturing methods, like combining the launchpad with the trap, or finding a surface to place the tripwire. A lot of the time, I felt that a succesful catch was mostly luck or brute force instead of actual puzzle solving.
Another weird mechanic includes day/night cycles and weather, both of which affect certain bugsnax' spawning, but it's fairly underutilized (specially weather, since only one bugsnak is affected by it).
There's also a severe lack of replayability, unless you wanna see the characters being bugsnaxed or if you missed a bugsnak (which doesn't take long to complete since there's not a lot of them).
Still, I really can't stress enough how good this game is. The amount of charm and quality the writing and the characters have is really impressive. And if you're on the club of people that wanted this game to have a horror underside, you're definitely not gonna be dissapointed.
Bugsnax is shit
I wonder what David Cronenberg would think of Bugsnax...
dildo wetfart is my favorite characer
Eu tô extremamente surpreso com esse jogo. Me parecia uma tranqueira das brabas, mas eu estava completamente errado.
O jeito que criaram uma parada seguindo a linha de Pokémon, mas com um estilo próprio. O nome dos Bugsnax são criativos pra caramba, os mapas são bem bonitinhos e os personagens são carismáticos pra cacete. Quem não gosta do Filbo pra mim não é boa gente. A tradução ficou incrível e deixou o jogo, que já é engraçado, ainda mais hilário. Também achei muito maneiro e até bonito como trouxeram representatividade dentro do jogo de forma que desenrole naturalmente e não pareça forçada e robótica só pra ganhar ponto, como tem rolado muito nos jogos, cinema e séries.
O jogo é bem curtinho se tu for jogar ele fazendo só as missões, mas ainda assim ele perde uns pontinhos por acabar se tornando um pouco repetitivo lá pra metade. Tudo bem que é um colletathon, mas ainda assim aquele esquema de "capture o bugsnax X para o grumpus Y" meio que foi ficando monótono, principalmente se tu for fazer as missões secundárias. O que salvava era a variedade de mapas e suas temáticas.
O jogo também é zero dificuldade, basicamente. Tu não perde vida, tu não morre se pegar fogo, se ficar embaixo d'água, nada. A dificuldade, por assim dizer, tá em descobrir como tu tem que fazer pra pegar os bugsnax mais avançados quando tu progride no jogo, um fator que me prendeu bastante. E o sistema de progressão e recompensa é bem gostoso. Tu consegue desbloquear armas melhores e ainda ganha coisas pra mobiliar tua casa.
O final também me desceu meio esquisito. O jogo passa a campanha inteira todo fofinho e caricato, pra no final ter um plot twist que torna tudo extremamente dark. Fiquei completamente perdido no tom da parada.
Tiveram alguns bugs que eu peguei na minha gameplay. Missão não registrando, os bugsnax que eu capturei sumindo do meu inventário. Mas o pior foi na minha primeira gameplay: eu tava chegando na Triffany quando do nada um bicho me jogou pro alto e eu acabei parando numa área mais avançada sem querer. Pensei "beleza, só voltar e seguir o jogo", mas eu errei feio errei rude. O jogo simplesmente dava como se eu tivesse zerado, todas as missões estavam concluídas, todas as armas desbloqueadas, todas side quests, entrevistas, tudo. Depois disso, tive que recomeçar meu jogo do zero. Como eu estava no início ainda foi tranquilo, mas imagina se isso rola com alguém na metade do jogo ou sei lá. Bizarro.
Mas, ainda assim, é um game que tu pode pegar pra relaxar, dar risada e te divertir. Vale muito a pena, acho que principalmente pra uma galera mais nova. Queria muito ver uma sequência desse jogo, em vez de Red e Blue podia ser um Bugsnax Chocolate e Morango, sei lá.
O jeito que criaram uma parada seguindo a linha de Pokémon, mas com um estilo próprio. O nome dos Bugsnax são criativos pra caramba, os mapas são bem bonitinhos e os personagens são carismáticos pra cacete. Quem não gosta do Filbo pra mim não é boa gente. A tradução ficou incrível e deixou o jogo, que já é engraçado, ainda mais hilário. Também achei muito maneiro e até bonito como trouxeram representatividade dentro do jogo de forma que desenrole naturalmente e não pareça forçada e robótica só pra ganhar ponto, como tem rolado muito nos jogos, cinema e séries.
O jogo é bem curtinho se tu for jogar ele fazendo só as missões, mas ainda assim ele perde uns pontinhos por acabar se tornando um pouco repetitivo lá pra metade. Tudo bem que é um colletathon, mas ainda assim aquele esquema de "capture o bugsnax X para o grumpus Y" meio que foi ficando monótono, principalmente se tu for fazer as missões secundárias. O que salvava era a variedade de mapas e suas temáticas.
O jogo também é zero dificuldade, basicamente. Tu não perde vida, tu não morre se pegar fogo, se ficar embaixo d'água, nada. A dificuldade, por assim dizer, tá em descobrir como tu tem que fazer pra pegar os bugsnax mais avançados quando tu progride no jogo, um fator que me prendeu bastante. E o sistema de progressão e recompensa é bem gostoso. Tu consegue desbloquear armas melhores e ainda ganha coisas pra mobiliar tua casa.
O final também me desceu meio esquisito. O jogo passa a campanha inteira todo fofinho e caricato, pra no final ter um plot twist que torna tudo extremamente dark. Fiquei completamente perdido no tom da parada.
Tiveram alguns bugs que eu peguei na minha gameplay. Missão não registrando, os bugsnax que eu capturei sumindo do meu inventário. Mas o pior foi na minha primeira gameplay: eu tava chegando na Triffany quando do nada um bicho me jogou pro alto e eu acabei parando numa área mais avançada sem querer. Pensei "beleza, só voltar e seguir o jogo", mas eu errei feio errei rude. O jogo simplesmente dava como se eu tivesse zerado, todas as missões estavam concluídas, todas as armas desbloqueadas, todas side quests, entrevistas, tudo. Depois disso, tive que recomeçar meu jogo do zero. Como eu estava no início ainda foi tranquilo, mas imagina se isso rola com alguém na metade do jogo ou sei lá. Bizarro.
Mas, ainda assim, é um game que tu pode pegar pra relaxar, dar risada e te divertir. Vale muito a pena, acho que principalmente pra uma galera mais nova. Queria muito ver uma sequência desse jogo, em vez de Red e Blue podia ser um Bugsnax Chocolate e Morango, sei lá.
I love quest logs, affinity charts, dialogue trees, weapon wheels, the Pokédex. I love systems, I love rules, I love formal standards. I love when every button, every menu widget, does the exact thing I expect it to do from playing other games in the genre. I love when the only remotely unique things about a piece of media lie entirely within its content rather than its form. Weenie worm’s voice actor liked my tweet “who up playin with their weenie worm” so I’m basically legally obligated not to give this game a half star.
Bugsnax is a joy to play. And I don't say that solely based upon the fact, that the main theme of this game is FOOD. No, I say that because usually I wouldn't look for characters to get attached to in a game like this, but in the end this gave me a LOT more than for example the characters of Ghost of Tsushima (random comparison, because that was the last game I played) did. Each and every one of those grumpus have a distinct personality. Granted, they are oversubscribed and more like caricatures, but even if the narrative is simplified to be enjoyed by young and old, their perspective, anxieties and their needs are believable and make for a heartfelt story that feels like a fitting antidote to the isolation and loneliness of the past year. It's about building a community with people coming together despite their different backgrounds. I'm also surprised by the way LGBTQ+ representation in this game is normalized rather than sensationalized or dramatized. All the queer characters lead normal lives, have normal and healthy relationships, are wholesome and a natural part of the community. I think it's beautiful that this portrayal is possible in a fantasy world and It's wonderful how many things they get right. Apparently the devs also valued the same level of representation in the production of this game. So a lot of praise for that as well.
But it's not just the characters and the story that make this game a joy to play. Catching the (creatively and hilariously named) Bugsnax and the light puzzling with it stays fun until the very end.
But it's not just the characters and the story that make this game a joy to play. Catching the (creatively and hilariously named) Bugsnax and the light puzzling with it stays fun until the very end.
"We are born of the Bugsnax. Made men by the Bugsnax. Undone by the Bugsnax. Our eyes are yet to open. Fear the old Bugsnax."
"I must take my leave."
"By the gods. Fear it, Filbo."
"I must take my leave."
"By the gods. Fear it, Filbo."
Didn't expect to love this game as much as I did but it was such a charming and enjoyable experience! Pokemon Snap vibes but with adorable food creatures and clever ways to capture them. The cast of characters puts it a cut above imo.
Total play time: 2.5h
Status: Abandoned
Sorry this game is not for me. The first 30 minutes are interesting and fun, and then you start the collecting bugs part. Wow some of them are super tedious! Sure you can scan to figure out what they like and how to catch them, so the simple ones are easy enough to figure out. The more complicated ones require you to experiment in unintuitive ways. For example some bugs require you to have 2 bugs interact with each other, if you didn't know that and caught one of the bugs, you CANNOT catch the other bug. You will pull your hair out trying to fiugre out why and then look it up on the internet and realize the "bait" bug you shouldn't have caught, and reload the level.
Though initially it seemed fun to catch bugs the core mechanic of catching bugs is just super tedious and wears you think quickly, due to a more trial and error basis vs it being a puzzle with clues. Too bad it had promise.
Comparing this to arceus which I also bounced off from, this seemed like it introduced some more interesting ways of catching things rather than just throw a pokeball or catch after a fight.
Status: Abandoned
Sorry this game is not for me. The first 30 minutes are interesting and fun, and then you start the collecting bugs part. Wow some of them are super tedious! Sure you can scan to figure out what they like and how to catch them, so the simple ones are easy enough to figure out. The more complicated ones require you to experiment in unintuitive ways. For example some bugs require you to have 2 bugs interact with each other, if you didn't know that and caught one of the bugs, you CANNOT catch the other bug. You will pull your hair out trying to fiugre out why and then look it up on the internet and realize the "bait" bug you shouldn't have caught, and reload the level.
Though initially it seemed fun to catch bugs the core mechanic of catching bugs is just super tedious and wears you think quickly, due to a more trial and error basis vs it being a puzzle with clues. Too bad it had promise.
Comparing this to arceus which I also bounced off from, this seemed like it introduced some more interesting ways of catching things rather than just throw a pokeball or catch after a fight.