Typically, when you play a platformer title, it has controls that feature various movement options like jumping and dashing. Developers Buddy System had a different concept in mind when they created Little Bug and now that publisher RedDeerGames has brought it to Xbox and Nintendo Switch. While this unique control system has worked well for PC players, did it transfer to the console well?

Story

As a little girl named Nyah who lives her childhood as a rascal, playing outside and coming home late are not unusual for her but it does upset her mother. Sometimes, it upsets her mother enough that things get heated between the two and she ends up referring to Nyah as a ‘Little Bug.’ When this happens, it seems to send Nyah into an imagination-driven world that turns the journey home into a fantasy adventure.

Gameplay

When the Nyah is alone, the only thing you can do is move left and right. If you come up to one of the few interactable objects in the world or find a collectible item, you simply press the interaction button. At least you don’t have to interact with checkpoints. When you pass by a lit candle, it will automatically blow out and save your spot there.

Most of the time, interactables will be for a collectible and you can only hold six collectibles in your suitcase. If you grab a seventh item, you must have it take place of one of the six you already have and then give that item up as an offering to a dead stray cat that appears for these offerings.

Shortly into the game, you will be introduced to the ball of light that joins the little girl. This is where you get the mechanic that makes this game a platforming one, despite the lack of jumping, running, sliding, and the like. With this ball of light, you can pull Nyah into the air from wherever you position it. At first, the game will make it more directed so that you can properly see how the ball of light works, but after her first time reaching home, the game gives more freedom.

After you reach home and the scene resets to the journey, you will once again find the ball of light and this time you control it with the right analog stick while controlling the little girl with the left analog stick. Now it is up to you to start getting used to how to utilize the ball of lights ability to lift the girl in a way to move her forward through various obstacles. You should be able to figure out how to lift her up, swing her forward, and even use her falling momentum to fling her upwards.

Once you get a little way into the game, you will find your first enemy to face off against. While there is no combat, it is an obstacle that can move rather than the usual stationary ones you have overcome so far. Once you get within their bubble zone, they will start coming after you. They will just keep moving towards you, so use that knowledge to get them to walk off of an edge or get out of the way.

Enemies and obstacles will evolve as you progress to bring about a variety of challenges. This includes big pits that you have to cleverly swing over, kill walls that only appear when actively using the ball of lights beam, and more. Be sure to really get used to all of these controls as you go through the game because the final area is a real challenge!

Audio and Visual

They definitely went with an aesthetically pleasing art style. The majority of the game is in a dark, city-at-night theme, featuring blacks, grays, and the occasional white and yellow, but once you get into the fantasy world of the game there is a lot of pink neon. Granted, touching anything that is a pink neon color is deadly, but it sticks out vividly and adds a pop to the atmosphere.

As for the audio, they kept it fairly quiet and left it to a subtle music style. There was definitely a focus on getting players to enjoy the visuals more than the audio aspects of this game, but where the sounds needed to be, they were put and were never overpowering.

Replayability

Despite trying my best, I didn’t find all of the collectibles in my first playthrough. I did get close, but getting all of the collectibles is a reason to play through the game again. There is also a stats screen on the main menu that shows you your records, one of which is your fastest playthrough of the game.

What Could Be Better

It would have been nice to have a map to pull up that shows the journey I have taken. This would help when trying to see what pathways I missed and make it more likely to find all of the collectibles in the game.

I didn’t understand why I wasn’t able to offer up the items I had in my suitcase either. That left me with six collectibles I had to hold on to as I finished the game and they weren’t counted when I completed the game. This means you absolutely have to go through the game again and find at least six more collectibles just to offer the six you end the game with if you want to gather them all.

Verdict

Little Bug is definitely an interesting platformer with an intriguing control style! I haven’t played a game that based itself on limiting the controls down in order to utilize one they have added before. While it definitely was a fun game to playthrough, I feel like this game was a sample of what it could be. It is a short game to get through as well, so I would have liked to have seen more in the overall of the game. If they make a title similar to this one and include usual platforming mechanics, such as jumping and sliding, then there are a lot more options when it comes to utilizing the ball of light. Still a neat game that provides an entertaining experience regardless!