No game has ever made me laugh, smile, and feel as much as “Bugsnax“ has. “Bugsnax“ combines child-like wonder, funny creatures known as Bugsnacks, and an enriching story to make a memorable experience I will not soon forget.
In “Bugsnax,” you play as a journalist (the coolest job out there) who receives a tape from renowned explorer Elizabert Megafig. She calls on you to come report on Snaktooth Island and its fantastic inhabitants, bugsnacks. After talking it over with your editor, you’re off to investigate the island with your career hanging in the balance.
Sadly when you show up, Snaxburg, the hub of the game, is in ruins. Its former inhabitants have scattered across the map. Not only that, but Elizabert has gone missing, and it’s your job to put the city back together and rescue her. This is as far as I’ll go with the plot, as there are twists and turns you’ll want to experience for yourself.
What exactly is a bugsnack? A bugsnack is a creature that inhabits Snaktooth island and can only be described as “kinda bug and kinda snack,” to quote the amazing theme song of the game. Bugsnacks also turn a body part of whoever eats them into a part of them. For example, if a character eats this Bunger here, their arm becomes a french fry.
This ingenious idea leads to some of the most creative and adorable creatures I’ve seen in some time.
Catching these bugsnacks for the muppet-like inhabitants of Snaktooth Island becomes the main gameplay loop. You progress through the story getting more and more tools to help you catch bugsnacks, but the game never goes away from the main loop.
Luckily, the main loop is delightful. Each bugsnack represents a different challenge – some can be caught in a basic trap, some fly, and some are on fire. The game’s primary goal is to outwit the creatures with the tools given to you to catch as many bugsnacks as you can.
However, enjoyable puzzles and bugsnacks are not what makes “Bugsnax“ an unforgettable experience. The characters you meet along the way bring “Bugsnax“ together into a cohesive whole.
There are 12 Grumpuses, the game characters on Snaktooth Island with varying personalities and social lives. At first glance, these characters are all very one-dimensional. Filbo is helpless, Beffica is the gossiper, and Wambus is a farmer, to name a few. However, as the story progresses, these characters start to develop layers, and the writing does a fantastic job piecing together each character’s motivations and development.
The characters are truly the focal point of the game, and it benefits greatly from that. While the main gameplay loop of catching “Bugsnax” is a real delight, it can get dull fast, and without the characters pushing me to catch more, I probably would have gotten bored with the game after a while.
That brings me to my main gripe with the game: some of these puzzles are a little too hard. I won’t bring up examples to keep this spoiler-free, but if you pick up the game, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
“Bugsnax“ combines the catching and design of the “Pokemon” games with the puzzles of a “Legend of Zelda” game. Add all that together with an interesting story and you have yourself what I believe to be an essential video game.
I implore you to pick up “Bugsnax” when you get the chance. The game currently sits at $25 and can be found on the Epic Games Store or the Playstation 4 and 5. Although the game only lasts around ten hours, it will be ten hours you won’t soon forget.
