Bugsnax’s Depiction Of Failure Is Painfully Real
It’s easy to go into Bugsnax thinking you’re in for a cheesy few hours of saccharine snak-catching, but around the halfway point in the game, it’s clear there’s much more to it. You start to learn more about Bugsnax, pulling at the thread that makes up the game’s central mystery, and the disappearances of Lizbert and Eggabell take on a more sinister tone full of very human personalities and problems.
The Grumpuses – the muppet-like creatures at the centre of the game – who inhabit Snaktooth Island will tell you about these problems as you get to know them through their side quests. These variably involve catching specific Bugsnax or creative uses for your hunting tools, but they all teach you more about the Grumpus in question, their personalities and, most importantly, their goals and reasons for coming to Snaktooth.
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It only takes a few side quests to realise that every Grumpus you encounter is dealing with a severe, personal failure. Wiggle fails to find inspiration, haunted by the fear that her musical success is a fluke. Snorpy is wracked with anxiety, failing to engage with society without the safety net that is Chandlo, who himself fears failure in the form of letting Snorpy come to any harm. Wambus butts his head against a wall, repeatedly trying to farm Bugsnax as if they were crops, the only thing he’s known in life. The pattern repeats, with every new friend you make revealing their fears and failures.
While wrapped up in a fluffy, puppet-like exterior, the feelings that these stories evoke are very human. The writing sneaks up on you, surprising you with the emotional depths that these Grumpuses plumb. You may have turned Triffany into a
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