Animal Crossing: New Horizon's most chill pastime takes the spotlight in this cozy indie game

Bug & Seek
(Image credit: So Peculiar)

This upcoming cozy game takes one of the best parts of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and gives it its own game.

Indie developer (and husband and wife duo) So Peculiar is currently working on a cozy creature collecting game called Bug & Seek, which sees players take over a local bug museum as they build their collection, upgrade their skills and equipment, and explore the town of Bugburg to uncover its secrets. Just like in Animal Crossing, the game is full of real-life insects which can be caught, donated, and sold in-game.

As you can see from the video below, players will inhabit an adorable 8-bit world that's full of creatures to catch. They'll also be sent on errands by the local townsfolk to find a variety of bugs for a variety of reasons. There are enough bugs for everyone as the game features over 175 different species of insect - everything from the Monarch Butterfly to the Huntsman Spider, Dung Beetle, and much more. 

It won't just be the local wildlife keeping players busy, as Bug & Seek will also have players expanding and customizing their Insectarium, choosing everything from its tanks, its layout, and even the art on the walls. Bug & Seek even has an element of mystery to it, as the player will buy the Insectarium a year after someone broke into it and stole all the bugs in its collection. Players will need to piece together the clues and uncover who's guilty of such a heinous crime. 

Bug & Seek is now available to back on Kickstarter and is set to release on PC (via Steam) sometime in 2023. If you want to stay up to date with the project, we recommend following the devs on Twitter and wishlisting the game via its Steam page. I can't wait to catch all the creepy crawlies when this game eventually releases. 

Find out what other hidden gems are on the horizon with our upcoming indie games list. 

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.