Battle Bugs: An Infestation of Puzzle Combat

Time to Beat: 15.4 Hours

How does the Steam search bar function? It doesn't prioritize owned games or the player's wishlist. In searching for Battle Bugs, the classic 1994 real-time strategy game developed by Epyx, Inc, typing “Battle B” into Steam returns five selections, PUBG: Battlefield, Battlefield 2042, Star Wars Battlefront II, Backpack Battles, and Battlefield V. On top of not showing games I own or wishlisted, Steam's list includes three games I ignored! Steam's search engine must prioritize popular games, to the detriment of the player's library, liked games, and ignored games.

As a child I played Battle Bugs on the first PC my parents owned. This quirky game pits the player against a computer enemy in a series of battles more akin to puzzles. Each of the fifty-six levels is its own scenario with no impact on future levels. Each scenario features a single or collection of cartoon bugs positioned to fight a stronger enemy force controlled by the computer.

Battles come in two varieties. The player is tasked with killing all enemy bugs, or capturing food to score points. Food comes in a variety of sizes, like a slice of pizza, an eclair, or a single chip. Different foods award different amounts of points. To capture an objective a bug has to stand next to it. This starts an animation of a flag moving up a flagpole. When the flag reaches the top of the flagpole the food is secured. If the bug leaves before the flag reaches the top the flag resets to zero. If an enemy bug approaches the flag stops moving. Food can be captured and recaptured.

This description gets ahead of the game. Entering Battle Bugs requires bypassing old fashioned security. Upon launching the game, the player's screen displays two Rhinoceros Beetles. Dressed as Military Police, these fierce guards protect a metal door with a keypad. Accessing the game requires inputting the correct four digit code. Six of the eight images are throwing weapons from Battle Bugs, like Stinky Cheese, Rocket, and the classic, the Bomb. The door rotates through ten possible codes. If the player fails three inputs Battle Bugs kicks the player out and closes the program. Where can the codes be found? Then: In the paper manual that came with Battle Bugs when it was sold on floppy disks! Now: in the digital manual on the Battle Bugs' Steam page. In 1994 I'm not sure if this was supposed to illustrate the game's character, or prevent players from sharing it. In 2024 this feature combines frustration with retro charm. Unless the player writes down the ten codes on a piece of paper, they'll have to check the manual every time they boot up the game.

Battle Bug's key feature is the campaign. As previously mentioned this is composed of fifty-six individual battles of increasing complexity. If the player fails a mission three times, Battle Bugs allows them to skip it. However, the game limits the player to three skipped missions at a time. The battles slowly introduce new bugs, weapons, and concepts. The first five levels comprise boot camp. In the very first level, called Dirt Simple (the game loves puns), the player controls two Ants, the most common bug unit, and faces a single opposing Ant. The Ants, like all the bugs, are humanized, cartoony, and soldierized. They stand straight up like a human on two feet. They have three segments in their body and two arms each coming off their shoulders. Their head contains large human-like eyes (white with a black dot in the middle), and two antennae that stick out of their helmets. The player's bugs are distinguished by brighter colors, with green or orange skin, and green accessories (if they don't have green skin), while the enemy prefers darker tones and favors gray and red skin/accessories.

On a mini screen on a “Fony” device, the player can view a larger picture of the individual bugs.

This first battle, two Ants for the player, versus one for the computer is dead simple. But most levels are asymmetric, favoring the computer. The very next level, Mad Bomber, teaches this. It appears as if the player has a single Ant against three Spiders. Any Spider alone would defeat the Ant. But clicking the Ant shows it has something in its backpack: three bombs. The trick is to avoid the spiders, maneuver so they clump up, and then let fly with three explosives.

Before explaining more concepts, there are some simple mechanics in need of explanation. Battle Bugs happens in real time, but can be paused at any moment. Selecting a bug automatically pauses time. A selected bug salutes, and the player directs it to move to a location, move to attack a target, follow another allied bug, draw a path the player wants the bug to follow, stop, switch between flying/walking mode (only for specific bugs), adjust its defensive perimeter (the range at which it will automatically move to fight an enemy) or use the items in the backpack (only for Ants, Pill Bugs, Bees, Lightning Bugs, Robber Flies, and Wasps). Bugs walk, fly or jump to their target as best they can. The computer pathing is normally satisfactory, but sometimes the bugs take a wacky route around impassable terrain. Battle Bugs released in 1994, so moving a group of bugs is a pain. Selecting more than one forces them to maintain their formation. Because impassable terrain prohibits formation, and there is an abundance of impassable terrain, the player is forced to micro many individual movements. 

Battle Bugs has twenty-two bugs and each is unique in so many ways. First, the artwork distinguishes each with attitude. Some are fierce, some determined, some spunky, and some are cute. Mechanically, every bug has a different sized health bar, attack value (how much damage it inflicts), a defense value (how much damage is reduced), and a walk speed. Every bug has at least one unique feature. Various bugs throw or drop items from the backpack. These include rocks, firecrackers, bombs, rockets, stinky cheese, and poison. Each item inflicts radically different effects. A bug only has items if the level gives it to them at the start. Bugs also have abilities. The sturdy Cockroach, along with a high defense and large health bar, is immune to poison and harmful terrain. The Moth transports units as it flies. And the spider hits all nearby bugs simultaneously. The more common abilities are flight and jumping. Bugs with these abilities (and a few others like the Medic Ant which heals allies), have an energy bar. Using an ability consumes part of the energy bar.