Developed By: Doot Tiny Games
Published By: Seaven Studio
Category: Simulation
Release Date: 05.28.26
Price: $5.99
After playing Kabuto Park for five minutes, I didn’t think I was going to keep playing. At the start, it’s just a simple bug catching game with a seemingly endless loop and no challenge. But after 30 minutes, I started thinking it wasn’t too bad, and I ended up enjoying the experience when it was all said and done 90 minutes later. The game won’t be for everyone because of its pacing, but people looking for a relaxing and chill game will love it.
You play as a young girl who spends her summer at a sort of camp. She makes a bunch of friends and spends her days catching bugs. This is basically the main gameplay loop, and it’s the easiest gameplay mechanic that I ever experienced. You pick a spot, find a random bug, and do a quick time event to see if you catch it. Some of the quick time events will be harder in later zones, but never impossible because the game is not designed to be hard at all.
The game never penalizes you for playing poorly, because there’s no such thing. You get unlimited chances to catch bugs. At the start, you only get two attempts in one go. But then you can keep going over and over as much as you like. You could catch 100 bugs before ending your first day if you wanted to. There’s many different kinds of bugs too, including different rarities like Common, Uncommon, and Rare. There are shiny variants too that surprised me.
Each bug you catch has stats. You can sell bugs that you caught to get a currency that allows you to upgrade the bugs you want to keep. Then you use your best bugs to battle other kids in a tournament. Each bug has cards that do different things and your goal is to push your opponents bugs off the arena. If you win, you progress to the next day and you get money that allows you to buy things like upgrades and items that make catching bug easier.
Your goal is to make it to the end of the month and win the entire tournament before heading back home. As you progress, new zones are unlocked and the older ones receive buffs. You also unlock a terrarium where your favorite bugs will live. The game becomes a lot of fun later on. I spent too much time grinding bugs so I could upgrade my favorites. Then I spent a lot of time looking for shiny variants so I could add them to the terrarium.
At first, the game was slow and rather boring. But after I got past the first three days and got a real grasp on what I was doing, I started having lots of fun. Kabuto Park is a very chill and relaxing title that many players will enjoy. It’s a very simple game that will cost you around two hours. It’s really cheap too, which makes it even more appealing for those looking for a chill and relaxing experience.
8/10