Little Bug

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

Little Bug is a Platformer released on PC in 2018 and ported to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch in 2021. In this game, players take the role of Nyah, a young girl full of imagination who struggles with family issues, in part because her imagination keeps running away with her, like whisking her off in a strange wilderness where pink neon hands try to grab her and a ball of white light lifts her into the air like a bungee cord.

The visuals in Little Bug are striking, and it’s impressive that this game not only runs well on the Nintendo Switch, but only takes up 680MB of space. Nyah runs through 3D environments on a 2D plane, with those environments ranging from urban and rural areas to strange and surreal landscapes. However, making these environments even more visually-striking is the absolutely fantastic lighting and shadows in this game, which is especially appropriate as you’ll be doing a lot with light in this game. Obstacles in the environment are rendered in a crudely-drawn and crudely-animated neon pink, while Nyah herself looks reasonably detailed and animates extremely well, spinning and somersaulting as she’s flung through the air, and hear hair responding realistically as she does so.

These visuals are backed by a moody soundtrack that helps to set the game’s somewhat otherworldly tone. And throughout the game, you’ll get little snippets of Nyah’s personality in the form of text conversations she has with a few characters, her grumblings to herself after you’ve died too many times in one spot, as well as her commentary on items she collects, which gives just a peek into a young girl with an absolutely delightful personality.

While the visuals here are striking, the gameplay is also noteworthy. Despite that this is a Platformer, Nyah has no ability to jump whatsoever, she can only move left and right. However, with the right stick, players will control a ball of light that can create a tether between the two, pulling Nyah to the light like a bungee cord, but only for a limited time. Using this, players must make their way through hazardous environments, using the light to fling Nyah around in a way that’s really fun and liberating.

One of the more challenging elements of this game is the need to manage the movements of both Nyah and the ball of light at the same time – if either one hits a hazard, you’re toast and need to restart from the last checkpoint. These checkpoints are placed somewhat irregularly – two of them might be right next to one another, while some are extremely far apart. In the game’s last section, players will have to go through an extended gauntlet without any checkpoints, which is extremely difficult.

That raises another issue – this is a very tough game, especially for one with such a young protagonist. The game does thankfully allow you to restart quickly after dying, which is good because you will be dying a lot in this game. Another issue here is length. Little Bug is extremely short, taking only an hour or so to complete, with some unlockable challenge levels tacked on at the end.

Still, despite these issues, Little Bug is an absolute joy to play while it lasts. It may be tough as nails, but it’s a lot of fun to move around in this game, and the visuals are excellent eye candy. If you’re the sort of person who can enjoy a short but sweet experience, and who likes challenging Platformers, you should absolutely give Little Bug a try.

tl;dr – Little Bug is a Platformer that has really nice visuals, lots of personality, and unique gameplay that has players controlling both a young girl and a ball of light that tethers to her to swing her around the environment. This is an extremely challenging Platformer, and it will only last you a few hours, but if you fancy a challenge, this game’s joyous movement and great atmosphere is well worth experiencing while it lasts.

Grade: B

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