Upon its surprise reveal this summer, Bugsnax proved to be a refreshing launch title for the Playstation 5, offering a deliberately kid-friendly, colorful, cartoony game for early adopters to enjoy. Its bizarre premise showcased a world where furry, humanoid creatures capture and consume Pokémon-esque insects formed from various junk foods. The idea is original, wacky, and strange, to be sure. As a game, it feels like a more modern take on Pokémon Snap, taken off rails and with actual capturing added to the formula. But the biggest surprise of all to players of the game was how roughly half of its campaign is talking to the fuzzy denizens of the island. In this regard, Bugsnax honestly shows it has the chops to function as a kid-friendly franchise, and could at least make for a compelling animated film.
This article will be leaving endgame spoilers hidden in case readers might wish to experience the game for themselves, and in general, specifics will be kept to a minimum. Suffice it to say, however, that there’s more depth to Bugsnax than its goofy theme song would have one believe. It’s these layers to its story which could be a strong foundation for a film.
Bugsnax has a cast of quirky characters who get developed in short but meaningful arcs which contrast against each other. It has representation in the form of a gay couple, a lesbian couple, and a nonbinary character, and it’s treated with more organic nuance than most high profile animated properties seem able to handle. By the end of the Bugsnax, there are some very real stakes that come into play, and it works in part to how endearing the cast is despite their simplistic personalities.
What’s even more important is the fact that Bugsnax has positive theming and messaging going on. Characters have occasionally intense conflict with one another, lives are sometimes in peril, there’s a lot of arguing between them, and it’s up to the nameless protagonist to help them accept one another and band together. It’s very kid-oriented, and yet many of its hidden details show how it refuses to speak down to its audience. It presents metaphorical messaging about the dangers of addiction or unhealthy relationships and yet never spells out what those messages are or what to make of them. It shows the circumstances of various kinds of relationships and how conflicts are natural and can be overcome. Honestly, the game contains some surprisingly well-written, solidly voice-acted stuff for the kid’s cartoon vibe it’s going for, making it a great family-friendly video game that also ends up being deeper than most children’s programming.
The only real hurdle potentially holding back an adaptation of the game might be in how to restructure its narrative and protagonist to work within the time limits of a movie, and how to incorporate the capturing mechanic into the film. Then again, Pokémon movies have managed to do just fine on these fronts, so it’s clearly doable. As a bonus, such a conversion into a movie could give a creative team the opportunity to animate these lovingly crafted Grumpus characters with more detail, further enhancing each one’s personality.
All of the key ingredients for a strong animated film targeting a younger audience are clear and present with Bugsnax. It has layered theming, a likable and personality-driven cast, a unique and pleasantly ominous concept, and a catchy theme song. Whether or not the game will remain a one-time affair or be franchised further remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a pleasant surprise with the launch of the PS5 to see it has real potential to extend beyond its initial game release.
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