How to kill bugs
Bug Hunter is a difficult game because luck is a determining factor in your ability to advance to the next level. The first few runs were quite short for me because I quickly got outnumbered by bugs. After a few attempts, I realized that the bugs did not actually hurt you if you made contact with them. I had the preconceived idea that enemies always hurt you when they make contact with you. Then I realized that the holes, which were annoying obstacles, could also be used to push bugs into them.
Elevated platforms could be used to jump on bugs to kill them, which makes sense because many human-caused bug deaths occur by squishing. Movement was no longer determining what direction I moved in, but how I would manipulate my ability to push monsters. Through this experimentation, I discovered that the energy placed all over the tiles could be used to push bugs onto them. The energy that I initially ran towards then became another method of offense. Finally, I realized that I could shoot the energy to cause an explosion within the surrounding tiles, which allowed me to chain explosions.
Difficulty
So, after listing all these methods of killing bugs, why is this game difficult? Because you are giving a starting hand with two attacks, the rest of your actions are movement-based. There is a shop available where energy is the currency, but sometimes it is more ideal to use energy to kill monsters rather than to buy more actions. Additionally, the bugs you do not kill by the end of a round evolve in the next round, and how they evolve is random. If the blue bug evolves and you have no jump abilities to get on top of elevated tiles, good luck, because you won’t be able to reach it. Let’s say you do climb an elevated tile; well, good luck with your attacks since they might not line up with the bug. And just like that, because of one bug and its evolution, you lose. Moreover, you have to get 30 kills within 10 “days,” failing to do so is a game over as well. Not only are the bugs a threat, but so is time and energy. You see how this game is difficult? You are given so many tools, but you are also thrown into a game of chance. Despite the randomness, this game had me hooked for hours. It is casual but not easy to master. (Can you even master a game so dependent on luck and randomness?)
This was one of the games I played while playing through UFO 50, and I agree that this game is very difficult but also very fun to play. Related to what you were saying with difficulty, I think a lot of the game’s difficulty comes down to knowledge and having to learn from failure and experimentation. Alongside not knowing all the different ways to kill bugs (to be honest I didn’t know some of the stuff you described in how to kill bugs section despite playing the game for a decent amount of time), you also have to know what all the options in the shop are and what they to. When I first opened the shop, I was surprised by the sheer variety of actions you can spend your energy on. My first few playthroughs were filled with trial and error as I attempted to learn what each of the things did, how they could be used efficiently, and which ones were better than others. As such, I feel like overcoming the game’s difficulty is a matter of learning all your options and how can use those options. Related to this, I feel like knowledge is the way you can master a game that comes down so much to luck. Even if you’re dealt a bad hand, if you know how to best use everything you’ve been given, you should be able to still win. I don’t think I’ve reached the level yet, but based off of my experience the game, I certainly think its possible.