Black Josh

Bugsnax is a task simulator first and a creature collecting game second. The game advertises players with the opportunity to capture copious amounts of adorable food-inspired insects, crustaceans, etc. That, in it of itself, is a perfectly fine concept. Take for example Monimi Park's "Slime Rancher". The gist of Slime Rancher is very similar to that of Bugsnax: capture copious amounts of adorable slimes and collect these crystals called "Plorts" to sell and make money. Where Slime Rancher succeeds in the creature capture aspect with an easy-to-use device that makes collecting easy and fun, Bugsnax fails to grasp the same charm with it's collecting mechanics by making every snax a chore to collect after the first time solving it's dedicated "puzzle". The gameplay is decent, but can become tedious at times. The main issues, however, are the characters and the story. Firstly, the character designs are by far some of the most unappealing models in the past few years. The pencil sketches that appear in the player's notebook in contrast are much more vibrant and expressive than the "eyes half open" models that you interact with. Second, none of the characters are likable, save for the farmer, Wambus and his archeologist wife, Triffany, which ironically, have the most believable relationship of the rest despite the heavy LGBT representation this game throws in your face. The beginning segment can be summed up as this: You are a journalist cordially invited by Lizbert Megafig to an island to conduct interviews on the phenomenon of bugsnax. Lizbert disappears and it is your job to find the scattered islanders, bring them back to the main camp, and interview them as to the disappearance of Lizbert and her lover Eggabell Batternugget. Where do bugsnax fit into the story? They are simply a scavenger hunting item to feed to each villager to complete a side quest. That is all. There is no point to collecting any of the bugsnax and placing them in the farm where, mind you, you don't own nor have the option of choosing what creature you want to see. Bugsnax was in way over it's head from the very beginning. Had it simply been a creature collecting game with a background story like that of Slime Rancher, I would have enjoyed it much more. I simply cannot recommend this game to others because its too short as a creature collecting game, too monotonous to enjoy the characters, and too convoluted as a narrative game.