Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling Review (Switch)

Review code used with many thanks to Dangen Entertainment!

Bug to paper

Bug Fables, like so many games, buzzed under the radar late last year on PC. But now it’s swarmed over to console hoping to warm the hearts of a new audience.

The game takes clear inspiration from a certain plumber made out of paper. However, this title hardly hovers in the leafy shadow of that series. Instead, it aims to burrow down into your heart and become a sweet honey-filled addition to your Switch library. Let’s see what’s on offer in this bug-riddled game.

LadiesGamers Bug Fables Everlasting Sapling — Get ready for a bug-riddled adventure (no, not that type of bug).

Three unlikely heroes

The game follows the adventures of three bugs: Kabbu (beetle), Vi (bee) and Leif (moth, and the first ever moth my wife has ever given any compliment to). They are on a quest for the ant queen to find the everlasting sapling, which grants the bug bearer the power of eternal life.

Of course, the journey is not that simple. If it was, this game would be over before you knew it and you’d have run over to the kettle to put another cup of coffee on. No, this quest requires you to travel the world of Bugaria to find various artifacts.

The three protagonists are instantly likable. Kabbu is kind and noble, Vi is easily irritable but fun, and Leif is calm and curious about the world. Their dialogue with each other and other bugs you meet is filled with a lot of humor and charm. You can’t help but love them.

Not so creepy crawleys

The graphics are just delightful. Everything in the game is 2D paper-like sprites in a 3D environment. You’ll visit a variety of environments, encountering a huge number of bugs—some friendly, some you have to fight. There are also nice small details I appreciated, like when you cut the grass or a bush, it topples over like a solid piece of paper. Or when you enter a building, it feels like the front of the building folds down so you can see inside. This is all accompanied by a friendly upbeat soundtrack that kept me buzzing.

Platformer and RPG

Bug Fables balances its gameplay between unique turn-based RPG mechanics to exploring and platforming. As you explore the world you will bug into all sorts of enemies which you can see on the level. There are no random encounters and you can quite easily avoid enemies if you want to avoid conflict. However, doing so will stop you from earning exploration points (EP, the game’s experience currency).

Bug attack

When you head into a battle, you really have to pay attention. Choosing an action-like attack will prompt you to use the controls in a certain way to get the best results.

For example, for Kabbu, you need to hold the down-button down, then let go at the right time after a short countdown, in order to score the best hit and damage an enemy. For Vi, you need to stop a marker within a meter; and for Leif, you have to press the right face button after the countdown.

The latter I struggled with the most. You see, I’m well-versed in face buttons for the Xbox and PlayStation, but I’ve never adjusted to the Nintendo face button placements. Probably because their controllers lack color and the face buttons are mapped differently from the Xbox. After playing this game though, you bet I learned it through lots of failed button pushes.

The good news is that failure is not the end of the world; it just means you do less damage. You can also defend from oncoming enemy attacks by pushing any button to defend at just the right point, to reduce enemy damage—something I handled OK. I found this method of pushing buttons at the right time very satisfying and found each battle to be a challenging and engaging experience.

Bug Fables encourages you to push forward and experiment. In fact, going back later to grind for EP in battles nets little reward—something that those who hate grinding will appreciate.

There’s no bug in team

As well as attacking you can use abilities which cost Team Points (TP), a meter that all your characters pull from. So you need to be careful not to overuse it.

You can also “spy” on enemies, which scans the enemies’ stats and weaknesses. Like most actions in a battle, you complete another mini game of pushing a button when a cross-hair hovers over the enemy at the right point. The best part is that each time you encounter the same enemy, in future encounters it will display its health automatically.

There isn’t really a right or wrong way to go about defeating enemies. If you’re stupid like me and not great at RPGs you can simply rely on attacks to see you through. However, balancing abilities, using certain attacks on certain enemies, and using items the right way can really give you an edge.

There are many items you can use to help in battle which are appropriately based on the game’s bug theme. Health comes in the form of leaves and mushrooms. There’s also a variety of plant life which adds perks to your characters, like increasing attack or defense in battle.

You can also equip medals to your party which add passive perks, like adding new abilities to specific characters, as well as increasing stats like defense and health. You’re limited, though, to how many you can equip unless you level up. When you level up, the game lets you decide how to grow your characters. Either increase a little health, TP points, or medal capacity. There are a lot of combinations to choose from.

When you’re not fighting, you’re exploring. The game is split up into chapters with the main quest clear. But should you get lost, a push of the minus (—) button will give you a hint on what to do next. Something I rarely used.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking time to explore the various environments, talking to the many NPCs and taking on little side quests. Bugaria is just a nice place to hang out and definitely the best buggy RPG game I’ve played to date.

The game also features platforming sections as you take on the main questline. These were a mixed bag. Sometimes they required some thinking outside the box—for example, getting Leif to freeze some water into an ice cube and getting Kabbu to move it to an area where you could jump on it to access a higher platform.

Vi can use a bomberang or beemerang to hit switches which move platforms around. This mechanic was required a lot in chapter two and quickly outstayed its welcome. It was hard to direct where Vi threw the bomberang, leading to a lot tedious repetitive attempts. Some sort of lock-on ability would have helped immensely. It’s not game-breaking, but it made up one of the game’s rare low moments in design.

The game takes around 30 hours to finish, but there are plenty of side quests and collectibles to find which will add to an already packed adventure. This really is a game you can sink your teeth into and get lost in for hours at a time. Like a really, really long and satisfying picture book.

The good bugs

Bug Fables is a wonderful bug-riddled adventure—in a good way. Charming characters with fun witty dialogue. An adventure that feels suitable for the entire family. The only trouble is that, since it is a single-player game, you may need to fight over who gets to play. Good thing the game provides additional save slots. While I struggled with pressing the right button many times, I was constantly smiling while playing this game. A wonderful piece of gaming that more people should discover for themselves. Don’t let it buzz by you.

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up