Bugsnax was my GOTY for 2020. I firmly believe that it presented some of the best music, dialogue, characters, and overall vibe of any game I've played in the past few years. It's the gaming equivalent of a warm blanket, which arrived at the perfect time in Winter 2020. So when I saw the Isle of BIGsnax DLC announced during October's State of Play, I was HYPED.
And I couldn't be happier to say that it's everything I wanted!
You technically don't need to beat the base game to access this free expansion, but you have to come pretty close. Once you've unlocked and completed all of Snorpy's side quests, he and Chandlo take you out to the beach to investigate the source of the recent tremors which have shaken Snaktooth Island. While looking out to the sea, a smaller landmass rises out of the depths, prompting Chandlo to shout, "Broooo… it's a NEW ISLAND, DAWG! We GOTTA go over there!!"
The expansion's story builds on the core theme of the base game. As an outsider to Snaxburg, you are tasked with helping the Grumpuses overcome their grudges and differences, to come back to the village and be a community again. In the DLC, you accompany four of them to investigate Broken Tooth Island, and while you're there, these four strong personalities will want your help to investigate, each in their own way. However, you won't get to the bottom of things until you help them hash things out and work together.
From a gameplay standpoint, think of Isle of BIGsnax like you would the Pokémon Sword & Shield expansions. It adds one big new area with new monsters to catch. A new mechanic is unlocked with a resource you discover on the island, allowing you to shrink the massive Bugsnax down to catchable size, which adds a wrinkle to the catching techniques you've learned previously. Some of these massive critters are legitimately hard to catch, with the Spaghider quite possibly being the most challenging in the entire game. (Edit: My kids found a much easier way than what I was doing and I was simultaneously proud of them and ashamed of myself) With trampolines, new Buggy Ball puzzles, and flaming Bugsnax that you have to bait into lighting torches, plenty of new ideas are introduced here, so nothing feels stale.
The DLC also includes a handful of updates on the main island, such as fast travel, new challenge requests from villagers, and cute little hats for Gramble's pets. The neatest feature is that rewards given to you after fulfilling these villager requests can be used to decorate a new house of your own in Snaxburg. It's not Animal Crossing, but there are enough items that you can give your house a unique identity. But above all, the main draw of this DLC is simply getting more time with these characters and seeing them interact in new ways. I love these doofuses so much! There's also a really cool optional area purely introduced for lore reasons, so leave no corner of Broken Tooth unexplored. If you're invested in this world like I am, you won't want to miss it.
I had beaten the game on PS5 initially, so I played through it again on the Switch for this review to see how the game would run. Achievements/Trophies from other platforms are included in-game in the Nintendo port, which is a nice touch. Understandably, the incredible haptics and sounds from the Dualsense controller won't be present on other platforms, but I was still a little disappointed that there wasn't any meaningful use of HD rumble. The visuals are weaker, but I stopped noticing quickly, and a patch was released that dramatically improved the framerate. If Switch is the first platform you play Bugsnax on, I think you'll have a great time. But the Dualsense is absolutely the best controller for this game, as it makes excellent use of rumble, trigger haptics, and the controller's speaker. If you've been fortunate enough to get your hands on a PS5, that's where you should be playing this. After finishing the DLC content on Switch, I did it all again on PS5, and the difference made by the Dualsense and short load times cannot be overstated.
After nearly a year and a half, Bugsnax still rips. I absolutely love spending time with these characters, and Isle of BIGsnax is a worthy expansion to this gem of a game.
And I couldn't be happier to say that it's everything I wanted!
You technically don't need to beat the base game to access this free expansion, but you have to come pretty close. Once you've unlocked and completed all of Snorpy's side quests, he and Chandlo take you out to the beach to investigate the source of the recent tremors which have shaken Snaktooth Island. While looking out to the sea, a smaller landmass rises out of the depths, prompting Chandlo to shout, "Broooo… it's a NEW ISLAND, DAWG! We GOTTA go over there!!"
The expansion's story builds on the core theme of the base game. As an outsider to Snaxburg, you are tasked with helping the Grumpuses overcome their grudges and differences, to come back to the village and be a community again. In the DLC, you accompany four of them to investigate Broken Tooth Island, and while you're there, these four strong personalities will want your help to investigate, each in their own way. However, you won't get to the bottom of things until you help them hash things out and work together.
From a gameplay standpoint, think of Isle of BIGsnax like you would the Pokémon Sword & Shield expansions. It adds one big new area with new monsters to catch. A new mechanic is unlocked with a resource you discover on the island, allowing you to shrink the massive Bugsnax down to catchable size, which adds a wrinkle to the catching techniques you've learned previously. Some of these massive critters are legitimately hard to catch, with the Spaghider quite possibly being the most challenging in the entire game. (Edit: My kids found a much easier way than what I was doing and I was simultaneously proud of them and ashamed of myself) With trampolines, new Buggy Ball puzzles, and flaming Bugsnax that you have to bait into lighting torches, plenty of new ideas are introduced here, so nothing feels stale.
The DLC also includes a handful of updates on the main island, such as fast travel, new challenge requests from villagers, and cute little hats for Gramble's pets. The neatest feature is that rewards given to you after fulfilling these villager requests can be used to decorate a new house of your own in Snaxburg. It's not Animal Crossing, but there are enough items that you can give your house a unique identity. But above all, the main draw of this DLC is simply getting more time with these characters and seeing them interact in new ways. I love these doofuses so much! There's also a really cool optional area purely introduced for lore reasons, so leave no corner of Broken Tooth unexplored. If you're invested in this world like I am, you won't want to miss it.
I had beaten the game on PS5 initially, so I played through it again on the Switch for this review to see how the game would run. Achievements/Trophies from other platforms are included in-game in the Nintendo port, which is a nice touch. Understandably, the incredible haptics and sounds from the Dualsense controller won't be present on other platforms, but I was still a little disappointed that there wasn't any meaningful use of HD rumble. The visuals are weaker, but I stopped noticing quickly, and a patch was released that dramatically improved the framerate. If Switch is the first platform you play Bugsnax on, I think you'll have a great time. But the Dualsense is absolutely the best controller for this game, as it makes excellent use of rumble, trigger haptics, and the controller's speaker. If you've been fortunate enough to get your hands on a PS5, that's where you should be playing this. After finishing the DLC content on Switch, I did it all again on PS5, and the difference made by the Dualsense and short load times cannot be overstated.
After nearly a year and a half, Bugsnax still rips. I absolutely love spending time with these characters, and Isle of BIGsnax is a worthy expansion to this gem of a game.