Game Reviews

The Bug Butcher review - A brilliant mobile shooter

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iOS
| The Bug Butcher
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The Bug Butcher review - A brilliant mobile shooter
|
iOS
| The Bug Butcher

The Bug Butcher is an interesting twist on some classic arcade ideas. It’s basically Space Invaders but if Space Invaders was released on mobile first and was a lot more fun than Space Invaders ever was.

There’s a lot going on, and the game manages to balance twitchy shooting and more accessible action to create something that’s a bit special.

It’s not quite up there with the likes of Super Crate Box, but there’s still an awful lot to enjoy here if you like your bang bang super shooty.

Shoot me

You play a sort of spacenaut who’s drafted in to clear out an infestation of super alien bugs. Basically you have to kill everything that moves.

You’ve got buttons that let you move left and right, one that slides you around, and another that fires your weapon. You’re always firing upwards, and the bad guys bounce around the screen.

You also get special moves. These charge up as you shoot things and you can utilise them to turn the tide of battle.

Each level adds new enemies to kill. And they’re all wonderfully gloopy and gross in the best possible ways.

The focus of the game is on high scores. You want to charge up your combos, grab as many coins as you can, and generally try and not get squished by the monsters flobbling around the screen.

The whole thing is slick and highly polished, and it’s also an awful lot of fun to play. There’s a meaty beat here that recalls some of the finest gaming experiences of yesteryear.

But there’s a modernity here too. This is a game that’s not afraid to throw new ideas in, or push old ideas out, and that shows off an understanding of the genre that few other genres have.

This isn’t just an enjoyable experience, it’s a smart one. Sure there’s blasting and explosions, but they’re considered and well balanced.

Lasers

And there are lots of lasers. Like just a whole massive bunch of lasers. This is the sort of shooter that shows just how sharp mobile gaming can be.

On top of that, it’s just brilliant fun. Shoot stuff, smile, shoot more stuff. Keep shooting. Please never stop shooting.

The Bug Butcher review - A brilliant mobile shooter

A bright cartoony shooter with an awful lot going for it. Grab it, shoot stuff
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.