He's another weird one from the Playstation 5 reveal event, another real headscratcher that makes you question what exactly was going through the minds of the event organisers when they threw together their line-up. And I don't mean that in the inherently disparaging way, I mean that as a genuine question; what was their goal to achieve with the games they choose? It clearly wasn't to show off the breadth and power of their new console, despite bragging how this generation would be their largest leap yet in terms of tech. It wasn't showing off the talent of their first party studios as much of the games were third party titles which Sony bought out for timed exclusivity, revealing some of the more gross sides of the company. Maybe they were just going for a, 'throw every dart we can and see what sticks' kind of approach. (And hey, people still seem to think this was the best event so I guess it must have worked.)
Bugsnax was... I dunno. 'Deceptive' would probably be the word I err to most easily when thinking about this game, just in the way that it seems to promise on thing then deliver another, but even then it retains that original innocence, it's a tough one to get a bead on. I think that everyone's initially reaction was 'oh, this is meant to be cute'. With 'meant to be' being very operative in that assessment. Sure, in concept the idea of making a whole bunch of strawberrys sentient and giving them googly eyes sounds adorable but in practice I find it mildly horrifying. (Maybe that's just me.) But aside from that the entire world appears to mimic this child-like innocence to it's aesthetic that is instantly recognisable to all of our inner-kid. There's bright colours, cute sounds, even a friendly Australian voice over. And then things take a little turn.
Yes, then our little walrus friend starts eating the sentient food things and the concept becomes a little more clear. This island is a place wherein the 'bugs' are all replaced with sentient foodthings that the residents carelessly munch down, and honestly with a little bit of head-turning this could prove to be a very morbid concept. If not for the music, colours, and vibes, there might be some serious questions to ask about the morals behind eating things that very much appear to be alive, but then that is kind of the whole MO of Young Horses, the studio behind the game. Previously they released the famous indie title 'Octodad', which placed an Octopus at the head of a household and forced him to go through everyday life whilst expecting the audience not to think too hard about it. They excel in these surreal concepts and situations, which is probably why this Bugsnax trailer tracked so well.
If there's one thing I can say about the world of Bugsnax, aside from that it's rather grim if you think too hard about it, It's that the whole place is dripping in creativity. Just the very idea of replacing the wildlife of an island with food items is refreshingly unique, but the specific way that this team pulled it off is so particularly imaginative and commendable. You have a cut of pork ribs scuttling around like centipedes, a cut-up apple in the shape of a crab, and plenty of vegetables that have been attached with wings. It is, once again, the sort of world you'd find delving into the mind of a child or an insane person, and that's the reason why it stands out so well against the rest of the games that were shown off. That and it has an adorable catchy theme tune with the kind of lyrics that you can sort of make out but can't really. (I don't know those are the songs that stay with you the most, there must be some psychological basis in there somewhere.)
The success of this title is a matter I'm going to be very curious in for the months to come, as it's undoubtedly going to be compared up against their last two title from the Octodad series. Those games were pretty much indie phenomenons when they landed due to their quirky premise and purposefully awkward control scheme which worked great as lazy content for streamers on the Internet. Youtube in particular was instrumental in cementing Octodad's success and I wonder if those same creators and communities will latch on top Bugsnax either out of name recognition or, preferably, because the aesthetic and feel is somewhat similar. (Although I don't believe this is a title that relies so heavily on awkward controls in order to sell it's gimmick, in fact from the little snippet of gameplay this looked more like an adventure title with some customisation options.)
In today's age there is certainly a different relationship between games marketing and online game players, but I think Bugsnax has the potential to restore some of that. 4-5 years back there was a tight knit relationship wherein the big titles could rely on the support of the Internet to get the word out there, but as video games came at odds with advertisers that sort of symbiotic union faded away. (Even as Indie title desperately needed the exposure.) Bugsnax does look like the kind of game that can get past obvious advertiser blockers, however, due to the plain fact that all the worrysome elements appear to just be mostly implication. (I'm sure eating living beings alive won't set off anyone's alarm bells.)
Of course, with developers like these and a game as overtly cutesy like this, there was no way this trailer wouldn't end without a little bit of an edge to it. For this title the 'edge' appears to be that the various food-bugs of the island can form together to create some form of zombie Bugsnax that is no doubt going to prove the conflict of the story. (And here I thought this would end up being an aimlessly cute game like 'Viva Pinata' or 'Slime Rancher'.) It's the kind of cap-off that worked so perfectly in helping turn this title into a bit of meme; already it's achieved that sort of status. As a game that tries to do everything and surprises everyone, people just couldn't help but smile and join in on the joke and that's the sort of pop culture relevance that could end up translating rather well for the developers. (Young Horses does it again, these guys could teach Masters on marketing.)
Once it's all said and done, however, I must admit that this isn't the sort of game that plays to my personal tastes, at least not from what I can tell so far. I gravitate around the sorts of games that either tell a compelling tale or allow me to build one, so the sorts of titles that focus around gimmicks and funny controls just don't land too well with me. That being said I hold nothing against them and can imagine this title doing really well with folk that don't share my sentiments. Whatsmore, I hope this game does land as we need more creativity entering the game market nowadays. So kudos to Bugnax and Young Horses for nailing the landing on this trailer, fingers crossed it tranlsates into a strong game!
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