𝅘𝅥𝅮 Feed somebody and you'll see, We are whatever we eat 𝅘𝅥𝅮

Bugsnax

A famed explorer tells me they're delicious



Bugsnax Logo over a background image containing the character Filbo Fiddlepie, a cyan Grumpus, holding a net and a bugsnax trap, with a slingshot in his. He is chasing a strabby, a strawberry shaped bugsnax. Behind the logo there is a large Watermelon bugsnax, surrounded by smaller bugsnax in the shape of melon balls. to the right there is a taco shaped bugsnax. In the background there is a crab shaped bugsnax made of green apple slices, as well as the gray grumpus Elizabert, holding a camera.

Developer: Young Horses
Publisher: Young Horses
Genres: Creature Collector, Psychological Horror

Whatever you are expecting from this game, you're probably wrong.

Holy crap what did this game turn into?? I was having so much fun catching the bugsnax, enjoying the world-building with it's little hints that Grumpus society is just as messed up as ours (possibly more so!), and the sheer cursed nature of the snackified Grumps, especially once I turned Filbo into what I like to call "Mayor Hotdog."


Screenshot from Bugsnax. Filbo Fiddlepie is sitting on a log in front of a campfire in the middle of Snaxburg. He has been snackified with a weenieworm body and arms, strabby nose, incherito horns, instabug hair, and twisty snakpod legs

But almost nothing could prepare me for the Undersnax.

I was...fortunate? Unfortunate? In my play through and never actually saw the Snaksquatch on accident. I actually had to mess around with the sleeping bags, sleeping so that I could get it to spawn for the achievement. But the sound it makes when it collapses gave me shivers when I first heard it. There were a few hints here and there that something really weird was going on, but uh...

Yeah.

That whole sequence was....interesting. It was creepier than you'd think subteranean tunnels of junkfood would be. It's also kinda creepy to think that that's what happened to Grandma Lottablog, that she became part of the snax. I really wonder how Triffy feels about that.

Gotta hand it to Eggabelle though, that's a ride or die Grump right there! I massively empathise with her too, as someone who struggles with depression myself. But I know her actions at the end weren't intended to be self harm/self sacrifice, but simply that if she couldn't be where Lizbert was, then what was the point? I get it. I feel the same about my partner. I'd never be able to just leave them in that kind of situation.


Screenshot from Bugsnax, Filbo Fiddlepie and Chandlo Funkbun are standing in front of your hut in Snaxburg. The dialogue on the screen is spoken by Chandlo, saying: I LIFTED YOUR CRIB, DAWG!

Anyway let's talk about Chandlo. Best character by far, the truest of bros. Love this guy. Also adore the sheer Useless Gayness of Snorpy. There's a reason that there's a trope of gay couples that have been dating for years and one of them (or sometimes both!) doesn't know it. Usually its a WLW trope, but it shows up for guys too.


Screenshot of bugsnax of Snorpy and Chandlo. Snorpy's dialogue on screen says: ahem, Chandlo...I-I...we've been together for so long and I've always wondered how you feel about me and...d-do you want to be my boyfriend?

I 100% refuse to make Gramble eat a snak. He's so pure and sweet, and it's really icky to try to force feed him without his consent. TBH they should have made him act differently to the player if he's snakified. This is one game I'm quite happy to not get 100% achievements on. I identify with him a lot in hindsight. He's pink with blue eyes (my signature MMO color scheme), loves to knit (I crochet, personally, can't knit to save my life), and he loves the little critters. The strabby hat is a bonus, since my favorite fruit is strawberries.

Beffica is 100% not my bestie. I really don't like her. She was starting to grow on me, but after her basically ruining Snorpy's emotional love confession just because she wanted non-existant dirt on Chandlo really rubbed me the wrong way. I mean, even Cromdo managed to get my respect, in an odd way, but never Beffica. More like Blehffica.


A screenshot of Chandlo in his room in the Old Mill House, standing beside his dumbell rack with his arms spread wide. His dialogue says: The great thing about being Chandlo? What you see is what you get.

Hat collecting was one of my favorite parts once I understood how you're supposed to find the hats. Really took me back to my Ragnarok Online days. There were quite a few times I burst out laughing when a snak started waddling up with a hat on, especially when I got the Strabby hat on the sandopede.


A screenshot of a sandopede walking through flavor falls. On the frontmost sandopede is the rainbow propeller beanie.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the DLC. My favorite part had to be the Triplicate Space. It took me some time to figure out where it was, but I found it eventually! Needed a hint to find the last interview tape, but I figureed everything else out pretty easily. I was not impressed with the darned coffee cup though. I took the easy way out and had MegaMaki knock it out for me.

I had to get one for my boy Gramble!

I also appreciate Floofty being NB, and how casually it's mentioned.

It's 100% worth it to do all the side quests, in my opinion, just for the simple fact that it gives the Snaxburg residents immunity during the final siege, which I was absolutely awful at. But, if you manage to get everyone off the island, and you've finished the Bigsnax DLC, then you get a nice little bonus shot in the ending about Lizbert and Eggabelle's fates.

And I'm really happy for them.

At the end of the day, there's one last scar that this game leaves me with.

I'll never be able to unhear Wambus as the guy from the Whataburger commercials of the mid 2000s.

More like Whatabunger amirite


A screenshot of Cromdo Face beside the airship, standing on the platform overlooking Snaxburg. His on screen dialogue says: I learned early on that life is ike a box of trax. You always know what you're gonna get...trash.

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Review posted 2023/09/14

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