Bugsnax Is Weird, Plain, and Simple (Bunger? Bunger!)

AHHHHHH (Bunger Bunger Bunger) | Bugsnax Gameplay [PS5]

Bugsnax is a weird game, no point in sugar-coating it, but that is what makes it such a special game.

There’s no combat due to Bugsnax being a puzzle game… a truly bizarre one at that.

You run around an island and collect the many creatures that inhabit it while also feeding the residents.

I mentioned that the game is a weird one and here is where that comes into play. But I’ll dig deep into that explanation later.

Let’s gather our nets and run into the great unknown as we catch some Bugsnaxs!

Welcome to Bugsnaxs

Hunter Armada and Strawberry — Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Welcome to Bugsnax! Please take a seat, relax, and get comfortable. It’s a big world out there.

This game is weird, like really weird, like so weird that you have to play it to fully understand.

But otherwise, it’s a good solid puzzle game wrapped up tight in a time loop.

You run around a big island, make friends and capture the wildlife to feed it to people.

On paper this sounds pretty standard, but… the residents are a little too eager to start eating.

This is just the start, let’s dive right in by interviewing the residents and see if we can get to the bottom of this place.

Interviewing Gramble

Bugsnax Interview — When you interview residents it’s time to get serious

The interviewing aspect of the game is pretty straight forward; you just go down a checklist of interview questions.

It boils down to just picking an option and exhausting the rest of the list. Certain questions open up new dialog options, but it’s all linear.

The real fun comes from the interview! The character’s answers reveal insight into who they are and their various thoughts on the world.

The key draw is that each person has likes and dislikes about everyone else within Bugsnax.

After each interview, you usually get an item to move the story forward but I couldn’t figure out where to use the key that Gramble gave me.

Exploring the Town of Snaxburg

After the interview process, I take a bit to explore the town of Snaxburg.

It is a fairly big town that expands as you progress through the game. This happens as you bring back residents and various bugsnaxs.

You can scan all the people within the world to see what their interests are and even the nature of their relationships with other characters.

The world runs off a day and night system which entails a live clock. With this, certain bugsnaxs come out only at specific times.

Bugsnax Guidebook — This book will keep track of your adventure

You can keep track of all the Bugsnax you collected, a map of the world, every character, your items, and even all your tools in a handy-dandy notebook.

It’s nice to have everything available all in one place to help keep you on track towards your goal in the Bugsnax world.

We run over to Gramble to get a side quest where you can donate Bugsnax to help expand your carrying space.

With that, let’s run into the Scorched Gorge and start catching some Bugsnax!

It Gets Weird in Scorched Gorge

Entering the Scorched Gorge — This isn’t the weird part but keeps reading cause it’s coming

Here we run into our first Bugsnax as well as our first puzzle! This involves a scorpion and… popcorn kernels? Yes, you read that right.

The idea is that you can’t catch popcorn kernels because they’re too small for your trap.

What do you do with popcorn kernels and a scorpion made out of the fire? Well, you anger the scorpion who will shoot fireballs to light you on fire.

When on fire, you run over the kernels to make them pop. Once popped, they can be caught.

Lit on Fire — I wasn’t joking when I said you have to be lit on fire to solve this puzzle

I know that was a lot but that’s just the start of this insanity trip.

Next up is Spuddy, which is a rock and a baked potato. I fail to catch it, but man do I piss it off.

I run into Triffany (Yes, that is her name) and try to get her back to Snaxburg; the problem is that she needs help with her skeletons.

Before we move on, this is a good showcase of the 3D Pulse Headset that you can read more about by clicking here!

The audio is so well done and everything sounds amazing for every aspect of the game. This feature truly adds to the immersion in a great way!

I can’t find what she wants in this video but I’m working on it in my playthrough.

Pressing onward, we meet Cromdo the shifty salesman to get a new tool to help catch Bugsnax with the lunchpad (Puns, so many puns).

After a few failed attempts, I discover that you have to mix it with the buggy ball, and soon after it is all mine.
Cromdo wants 3 cheepoofs for payment for the lunchpad.

I run into (my favorite Bugsnax) Bunger as I am catching the cheepoofs!

I love Bunger. He is the best part of the entire game and I won’t hear otherwise.

After a bunch of fails, I eventually get all 3 and we move onward to the weirdest part of the entire game.

Warning It Gets Weird — This warning is here for a reason, I’m not joking

So this is the part I’ve been avoiding this entire time, the main draw of the game.

The critters you collect are all food which you then feed to the residents on the island.

Sounds reasonable enough until you start the feeding frenzy.

Depending on the Bugsnax you choose, the resident’s chosen body part will change to that animal in question.

Feeding Cromdo three Cheepoofs turns him into the picture below… I can’t make this up.

Cromdo and Cheepoofs — I said I wasn’t joking

Next up he wants a Fryder so off we go to toss the Snax Trap over to catch it and return to Cromdo.

Cromdo and Fryder — I don’t even know what’s happening anymore

So, as you can see, Cromdo is becoming a carb combo as he sports cheese puff and fry limbs.

After we finish up the payment to the salesman we learn that he wants to change his feet into icicles so he can walk in the desert safely.

I don’t manage to get to the snowy area in this episode but I’m still working on it in my own time.

We end our tour of Scorched Gorge by finding a nice Desert Ruin Mural for a little backstory, the game is good at telling you the plot with the world.