Of the PS5’s launch games, there are few odder than Bugsnax, the newest game from Octodad developer Young Horses. As the first PS Plus game for PS5 owners, there’s a good chance that early adopters have given it a try, or at the very least, heard of it. And while its narrative is markedly different from anything that Pokemon has done in the past, there are a few key ways that Bugsnax could shape the next Pokemon game for the better.
Bugsnax parallel’s with Pokemon are obvious. The game sees players travel around collecting unique creatures, an idea that also stands at the core of the Pokemon franchise. For decades, the Pokemon series has largely maintained this core gameplay with its main entries in the franchise, introducing new locations and Pokemon to keep things interesting. With a dedicated audience, those new additions were enough to keep fans engaged with the franchise without issue, or at least it was.
Leading up to launch, Pokemon Sword and Shield were embroiled in controversy due to omissions of key Pokemon from the roster. The validity of those concerns has still been a matter of debate, with some considering the Pokemon included at launch more than sufficient, while others felt shorted. It’s a difficult situation for the Pokemon franchise to be in, as including every Pokemon in the series at launch is a Herculean task, and one that will become increasingly difficult as more are added in future entries.
Enter Bugsnax, which may represent a middle-ground for the fractured Pokemon fanbase. It features a range of cutesy creatures that say their own names as they wander about the world, with varied designs inspired by different foods. They’re strikingly similar to Pokemon, at least on a similar level, and while the food element is distracting, it isn’t that hard to imagine some of them becoming full-fledged Pokemon. After all, a few aren’t that far removed from the likes of Oddish, and there are far stranger Pokemon out there.
What makes Bugsnax special is the way they interact with the world around them. They have different likes and dislikes, and can interact with each other in a few different ways. It makes catching a Bugsnak a lot more engaging than just throwing a Poke Ball after a battle, as it can require a bit of thought on the player’s end to bag one successfully, especially when it’s a multi-part process. As far as core mechanics go, the process of catching a Bugsnak is solid.
Pokemon would do well to take notice. Fans have been catching Pokemon the same way for two decades now, and while there is some variation, there could be far more to it than wandering through tall grass in hopes of finding a preferred Pokemon. Making the process a bit more complex would not only keep players engaged, it may even help forge closer bonds with the Pokemon that have been caught. A unique story to go along with a new addition to one’s team can make the Pokemon all the more valuable to the player, and deeper catching mechanics would go a long way to achieving that goal.
Incorporating behaviors for every Pokemon might be a bit of a stretch, but with less of a roster, it doesn’t seem impossible. Plus, by drawing deeper connections with the Pokemon being caught, fans disappointed that their previous favorites didn’t make it in might find fewer things to take issue with, though that all depends on how well the system is incorporated into the game. Considering how long the franchise has been around, though, maybe it’s time for a mainstream entry to try something new.
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