Little Bug is a platform game on PC that throws you into a world created by the main character, Nyah. Innocently walking home from school she is thrown into a world where dangerous spirits linger and she and her spirit guide must work together in tandem to help her get home again.
The first thing you notice when you open up Little Bug is the quirky yet deceptively dark music. It definitely gives you a Fran Bow feel, with the black cat in the background – another game that I enjoyed.
The darkness quickly fades away as the game starts and opens with a small girl getting off the bus at the end of her day at school. While it continues to stay daylight for a while, if you look closely you notice in the background, dark, foreboding characters watching Nyah.
The game lets you choose to play with either a keyboard or a controller. Choosing the controller, I found to have a good challenge for me once the game was in full swing. Throughout the game you play as both Nyah and her spirit light, and use both analogue buttons to move them around separately.
While Nyah herself can not jump, by using her spirit light and their telepathic bond, you are able to help her jump over obstacles and break through the barriers to make your way through the dark, enigma that is the landscape. Her telepathic bond with her spirit light only lasts for a short period of time, therefore it is important to time those jumps and puzzles just right to get Nyah through them without the bond running out. Save points are fairly regular throughout the game and it automatically saves as Nyah runs past it.
Nyah’s large imagination and curiosity shines through the game as she uses her lunchbox to collect little treasures scattered across the landscape that reveal little snippets of the surroundings and hint at Nyah’s magical roots. Some special items can even unlock secret challenge levels.
Overall, the story of Nyah had me gripped from beginning to end.
Concept:
You play as, Nyah, a little girl who after being separated from her mother, explores a distorted world while using a telepathetic bond with a white spirit light to jump through platforms and timed puzzles.
Graphics:
The art style is beautiful and pleasant while mixed with dark undertones, helping to create Nyah’s confusion and innocence throughout her journey.
Sound:
The music itself plays a large part in how the story is told throughout Nyah’s adventure. The adaptive music has both a light-hearted childlike innocence feel coupled with a darker intonation lurking underneath. Music changes to go along with the story and how Nyah would feel in the moment.
Playability:
The game is available to play with either keyboard or game controller. The gameplay works all parts of the game controller, which is something I personally enjoy. While sounding challenging, it doesn’t long for even the least professional gamer to master.
Entertainment:
I was really entertained by how the story was woven into the puzzle platformer style. The puzzles during the game were always challenging enough that you did not get bored or frustrated by them and the constant change in the background, kept you admiring the views to see what happened next.
Replay Value:
There are quite a few collectables, and secret challenge levels that would encourage those 100% players to go back to complete it again.
Overall I would give Little Bug a howling rating of 4 howls. Definitely a game that has left me with a resonance that I will remember for a long time to come.
The information in this article are my own thoughts and opinions. I have no affiliation to the publisher or creator. To form your own opinion, please try the game out for yourself.
Video Review can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Richard writes: "The night is drawing in and Nyah still isn’t home yet. Her mother will be worried sick with fear that her eight-year-old girl hasn’t returned home yet. The thing is, Nyah is stuck in a hostile fantasy world trying to escape. Can you help? Find out in Little Bug, out today on Xbox and Nintendo Switch."
"I was given the opportunity to play a multitude of amazing games this past week at E3 2018. Most of which were big third-party titles like Resident Evil and Spiderman. But as spectacular as those games are, there were quite a few indie titles that stuck out amongst the rest, one of which is a game called Little Bug. I happened to come across the game at an event known as The Mix and at first glance, it didn’t seem all that special. I watched one of my colleagues play as the developer was explaining the mechanics of the game to us. Once I started to understand how the game worked and was able to play it my self, and I instantly I fell in love." -- PC Gaming Enthusiast
Joanna Mueller writes: "Little Bug throws this concern to the wind. Not only does it have a bizarre premise and strange graphics, it doesn’t rely on boring or tired mechanics. Instead players are tasked with simultaneously guiding both Nyah and her spirit companion through a fast-paced puzzle-solving adventure."
