Capitalizing on social media trends is an easy way for video game developers to spread the word about their upcoming titles and try to foster an engaged community. Last year, CD Projekt Red put outCyberpunk 2077Instagram filtersto give its users a taste of what it might be like to have cybernetic enhancements, and today Young Horses Games put out a filter that gives each user the opportunity to find out whichBugsnaxcharacter they are.
The filter was developed by Popagenda co-creator Genevieve St-Onge, and cycles through a long list of characters above each individual’s head to dole them out randomly. The concept has been seen for all manner of TV shows, video games, and more in the past, but it does seem to fit the colorful cast of bug/food hybrids found inBugsnax.
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Young Horses Games, previously known for theOctodadseries, has drawn a lot of attention for its clever marketing aroundBugsnaxsince the game was announced during Sony’s “Future of Gaming” livestream in June. British indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito revealed a uniqueBugsnaxtheme song as part of Geoff Keighley’s Summer of Gaminglast month, which can be streamed or purchased on vinyl.
The developer then went on to satirize the social media attention brought about byBugsnax’s theme song. TheBugsnaxPS5 gameplay trailerrevealed during Sony’s State of Play livestream yesterday began by letting players know they will be journalists for the news organization GNN documenting the discovery of each Bugsnak around the abandoned town of Snaxburg.
That new trailer ends on a darker note, with the player character falling off a cliff as a larger, more imposing Bugsnak flies overhead. When the game was first revealed, many fans believedBugsnaxmay secretly be a horror titledue to how heavily the whimsical title leans into a strangely off-putting element of body horror as characters transform whenever they eat the food-themed creatures.
Even with a State of Play that focused on some major next-generation games likeCrash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Timeand the looter-slasherGodfall,Bugsnaxcontinues to intrigue many. Young Horses' Instagram filter should only help bolster excitement as fans can start to learn the names of each Bugsnak. Meanwhile, newPS5 announcements may come soonfollowing this week’s event, according to a Bloomberg News report.
Bugsnaxis expected to launch this holiday season for PC, PS4, and PS5.
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