Bugsnax, one of the games revealed during Sony’s PS5-focused “Future of Gaming” event, definitely intrigued gamers – but also left them asking a lot of questions. The upcoming title from Octodad: Dadliest Catch developer Young Horses was certainly colorful, unique, and featured a theme song (performed by British indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito) which hasn’t left any of our heads since. But what exactly was the titular Bugsnax? How would the game actually play? Nobody knew…until now.
Young Horses president Philip Tibitoski sat down with USGamer to talk about everything Bugsnax. He revealed that Young Horses has been working on the game for almost a decade and that it has been the studio’s main project ever since the 2014 release of Octodad: Dadliest Catch. After years of keeping everything regarding the project a total secret, Tibitoski was excited to finally reveal at least a few pieces of information about the brightly-hued game.
Tibitoski announced that Bugsnax will be a first-person adventure title. The player will step into the role of a journalist who receives a mysterious communication from adventurer Elizabert Megafig. She reveals that she’s discovered a strange new species called “Bugsnax” inhabiting a mysterious island – but, when the player arrives to help out, they find that Megafig has disappeared!
One of the game’s goals will be catching and studying the 100 different species of half-bug half-snack creatures that inhabit Snaktooth Island. You’ve got to listen for their cries, trap them, study them, and even eat them! (The latter, the trailer hints, might result in your own body undergoing some strange changes, such as your limbs turning into strawberries or hot dogs.) The Young Horses president revealed that more information regarding the individual types of creature and how to capture them will be revealed prior to the game’s release. (Plus, he also revealed that the official singular form of “Bugsnax” is in fact “Bugsnak”).
Young Horses members have worked together with people from Sony and Epic Games to ensure that Bugsnax makes full use of the PlayStation 5’s brand new features. In particular, Tibitoski notes that players will be able to hear the individual cry of each Bugsnak via the DualSense controller’s built-in speakers and use its haptic feedback function to experience traveling across different terrain and determine whether Bugsnax is trying to escape from various traps.
Regarding the ultra-catchy theme song, Tibitoski revealed that the Young Horses team members were already big fans of Kero Kero Bonito and that the band’s music perfectly fit the style they were looking for in their new title. The band was provided with a playable build of the game so that they could take inspiration from the world of Bugsnax when creating the theme tune – and, based on audience reactions so far, the collaboration was a huge success!
Finally, the president revealed a list of games and media that inspired Bugsnax, as collected by programmer and producer Kevin Geisler and creative director Kevin Zuhn. While some entries on the list are unsurprising – Ape Escape, Pokemon Snap, Pikimin – others are rather unexpected – in particular, grimmer titles including Dark Cloud and Bioshock. Paired with screenshots from the trailer featuring half-buried skeletons in a desolate desert environment, could this possibly indicate that Bugsnax might feature a darker story than anyone was expecting? What mysteries does Snaktooth Island hold? So far, only the Young Horses team knows – and they’re not telling!
Bugsnax will be released on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and the Epic Games Store. It is planned to release later in 2020, possibly during the holiday season when the PlayStation 5 is also predicted to launch.
Are you excited to discover the secrets of the mysterious Bugsnax? Let us know!
