Bugsnax

Genre: First-Person Puzzle / Misc.

Players: 1

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Bugsnax was first released in 2020 on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5, then ported to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch in 2022 alongside a free expansion for all versions of the game, The Isle of Bigsnax. This game somewhat defies description. It’s probably best described as a First-Person Puzzle, but there are Graphic Adventure elements, First-Person Platforming elements, and in a way this is a game that reminds me more than anything of Pokemon Snap… all while playing absolutely nothing like Pokemon Snap.

I’ll try to explain as best I can here.

Bugsnax is a family-friendly game that has you as a journalist arriving at the island of Snaktooth. The locals here (cartoony Muppet-like creatures called Grumpuses) have become obsessed over their discovery of the titular Bugsnax, a variety of cutesy creatures that look like food and oddly have the effect ot transforming the limbs of the one who eats them into said food… something the natives are delighted by, with no one acknowledging the body horror of it all. In any case, it seems that this discovery is the final straw that fractured a community already struggling with a multitude of personality conflicts, with the key event being the disappearance of the central unifying figurehead Elizabert.

With Elizabert gone, one of the other residents tries to step in to lead the fracturing community, but seemingly fails to have anyone’s confidence. Multiple residents are frustrated with the animal-lover of the group, who sees these critters as friends or pets and is mortified by the others eating them. And multiple characters find these personal grievances, as well as their own insecurities, pushing them apart.

As the new arrival, players find themselves running errands for the townsfolk, usually involving finding and catching the various critters for the different residents. This can be a simple matter of setting up a trap and springing it at the right time, but soon enough players will have to learn how to lure, stun, and flush out these critters, among other things. A part of the challenge of the game is figuring out just what sort of critter you need to complete the task at hand, and figuring out how to catch them.

This leads to one of the major problems with this game. Sometimes the way you’re meant to go about completing goals here isn’t very clear. At multiple points I wasn’t sure if a task I was expected to do was something I could accomplish on my own, or if I needed to return after getting some later tool in the game. At one point I was told to catch three of a particular critter hanging out in an area, when I could only find one such critter after searching high and low for the others… only to find that they respawn after leaving an area, making this the only way I could complete the task. I suppose these problems could be alleviated somewhat by looking up a guide, but that would kinda’ defeat the purpose of the game.

Another disappointing element here is how limited in structure and scope this game is. Players progress through the game by completing tasks given to them by the various people on the island, but apart from those tasks there’s very little reason to do… anything. Outside of the tasks you don’t accomplish anything by catching critters or exploring, and there’s not really anything to do if you haven’t expressly been told to do it by someone. In a game that could have had some really fun Monster Collecting elements to it, the lack of such elements really limits the game.

Of course, I can’t go through a review of this game without talking about the presentation, recognizing the snickering many gamers had when this game was seemingly revealed as an exclusive PlayStation 5 launch title, that joke being that this game in no way looks “next gen”, even on PlayStation 5, and it’s certainly not pushing even the low-powered Nintendo Switch to its limits either. That’s not to say it looks bad, though – the game’s 3D environments are nicely detailed, its cartoony “grumpus” characters are expressive and full of personality, and the bugsnax critters themselves are absolutely adorable in their designs.

A lot of the personality in this game comes from its excellent voice acting, with this voice acting doing a really great job of straddling the line between giving these characters fittingly archetypal personalities befitting their muppet-like appearance, while still humanizing these characters and making them feel like they have real depth. Combining this with the game’s excellent writing, and the result is a game that draws a surprising amount of emotion about a story that basically boils down to “a town full of Muppets has been arguing and now they’re all upset with one another”.

In addition to the traditional voice acting, the various bugsnax critters all have adorable Pokemon-esque vocalizations that really make it hard not to love the little guys, further adding to this game’s personality. This is all backed by an offbeat synthesized soundtrack with a real “indie game” vibe that isn’t especially memorable, but works well enough for the somewhat laid-back nature of the game’s pacing and action.

In the end, I really enjoyed Bugsnax, but I also feel like it could have used a bit more time fleshing out – not only was the game largely lacking things to do outside of its rigid core structure (even with the additional Isle of Bigsnax content), but the tasks that make up the meat of the game aren’t as well-explained or well-structured as they should be. However, the game largely makes up for this with its excellent well-written and well-voiced story, as well as its absolutely adorable presentation. I believe that these elements make Bugsnax well worth playing, despite its flaws.

tl;dr – Bugsnax is an odd game with various elements I feel I can best describe as a First-Person Puzzle game about an island of muppet-like “grumpus” people who have become enamored with the titular “bugsnax”, critters that look like food and are purportedly delicious. This game is limited by its lack of stuff to do outside its core game structure, as well as issues with accomplishing the goals you’re given. However, it largely makes up for this with its adorable presentation and excellent story. The result is a game that feels like it could have been something much better, but is still worth playing for the stuff it gets right.

Grade: B-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2022 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Puzzle Game, Best Misc. Game, Best Voice Acting, Best Port / Remake, Most Original

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Bugsnax

Genre: First-Person Puzzle / Misc.

Players: 1

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Review:

I’ve got to be honest, I wasn’t expecting a lot from Bugsnax, because Bugsnax isn’t an especially graphically-impressive game to begin with. Its simple character models, relatively low-resolution visuals, and aliasing weren’t going to be improved by the Nintendo Switch 2, and they’re not. But I was surprised at just how much a few other things were.

First, there’s the loading times, which see some of the most dramatic improvements I’ve seen in any Nintendo Switch game on Nintendo Switch 2 so far. Loading the game to the title screen dropped from 29 seconds to 11, and loading into a game from the title screen went from 31 to 15. Needless to say, this is a wonderful improvement that should definitely save players some time.

However, the big surprise here is the improvements to the framerates. I didn’t feel like Bugsnax on Nintendo Switch had framerate issues, it just had a fairly stable low framerate, something that’s fine for this sort of game and that I didn’t expect to see improved on Nintendo Switch 2. However, it was, and the difference was instantly noticeable, now much smoother. I don’t have the testing equipment to give you numbers, but I can say that this is a huge improvement.

Does any of this affect my grade for the game? Well, not especially. Like I said, I don’t feel like this is a game that was hindered by its graphics and performance, nor is its gameplay strongly dependent on high framerates. So this is still much the same experience. But make no mistake, the Nintendo Switch 2 is absolutely a better way to play this game than on the original Nintendo Switch… though of course, still not on par with other platforms like the PlayStation 5.

tl;dr – Bugsnax is an odd game with various elements I feel I can best describe as a First-Person Puzzle game about an island of muppet-like “grumpus” people who have become enamored with the titular “bugsnax”, critters that look like food and are purportedly delicious. This game is limited by its lack of stuff to do outside its core game structure, as well as issues with accomplishing the goals you’re given. However, it largely makes up for this with its adorable presentation and excellent story. The result is a game that feels like it could have been something much better, but is still worth playing for the stuff it gets right.

Grade: B-

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