Bugsnax

Bugsnax is a joyful, lovely experience from start to finish. With a surprising amount of heart, it’ll hit you in the feels time and again – even when you’re force-feeding snax down the throat of someone who’d rather keep them as pets (sorry, Gramble). It’s the sort of game you can’t help but play with a huge grin on your face and, long after finishing the main storyline, you’ll want to return to Snaktooth Island to round up more snax and hang out with your new furry friends. You might not be a Grumpus yourself, but Bugsnax certainly leaves you with a fuzzy feeling inside.

Despite some technical issues and wanting more out of the game’s map, Bugsnax is a fantastic follow-up to Young Horses’ Octodad: Dadliest Catch. It’s unlike any game released this year, and it feels like a breath of fresh air as this year ends. With 2020 being a hard year for me and everyone else worldwide, playing Bugsnax helped me forget about what's going on for a moment and provided nothing but pure joy. With such heavy hitters like Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Demon’s Souls on the PS5 at launch, Bugsnax is a delightful experience that no one should skip out on.

Bugsnax is a light-lifting puzzle adventure that is elevated by its strong story and characters that I enjoyed until the very end. Despite some simple mechanics, the laughs outnumbered the groans significantly as I found myself surprisingly invested in the events of the island and its inhabitants. With over 100 Bugsnax to discover and catch there’s plenty here to entertain the completionists, alongside those just looking for a well-told six-hour mystery that will keep you guessing until after the credits roll. All of this while making you feel emotionally connected to the characters, something...

Bugsnax is a very cute game that features a diverse cast of characters, but suffers from very repetitive gameplay.

Bugsnax is a faintly naughty, but never crass adventure that feels simultaneously like a love letter to, and a sharply observed satire of, the games that inspired it.

Bugsnax is not quite what I expected. I mean, for a game from the developer behind Octodad, it’s sufficiently zany and loaded with “how the hell did they even come up with this?” types of ideas. That was certainly expected. But what I didn’t think I would find is a game filled with heart and purpose, with endearing and memorable characters, with a message about community and belonging, and with one of the craziest endings for a game about eating anthropomorphic food and becoming it.

Despite early fanfare very much focusing on Kero Kero Bonito's catchy theme song, and on just how outlandish a game the initial trailer seemed to show it as, the actual fact of the matter is Bugsnax is a real success, a game chockful of charm, wit, and plenty of heart - and one that revels in its eccentric trappings and delivers a meaningful adventure that'll ensure you never quite want to leave the inhabitants of Snacktooth Island after all.

What seems like just another Bugsnax biome has a lot more crawling under the surface.

Republished on Wednesday, 10th August, 2022: We're bringing this review back from the archives following the announcement of August's PS Plus Extra, Premium lineup. The original text follows.

Bugsnax is an odd and wacky experience that'll be remembered as the black swan of the PS5 launch lineup, in the best way possible. It highlights PlayStation's commitment to having a diverse catalog of games at the PS5 launch, and with Bugsnax being free on PS Plus for PS5 players at launch, there's no reason not to try it if you're a subscriber.

A genuinely strange adventure with some great characters and not-so-great creature hunting.

Bugsnax is a game that is brimming with potential, but struggles in actual execution. Capturing hundreds of adorable snack-themed creatures sounds like such a great idea, but the lack of memorable characters, a frustrating control scheme, repetitive gameplay and numerous technical and design problems, particularly on Switch, makes for a somewhat lukewarm experience. There is certainly fun to be had here, but once you’ve played for a few hours, the magic fades and you’re left with a disappointing game that doesn’t live up to expectations.