On Christmas morning in 2018, I opened up a gift from my brother. Based off its shape, I knew it was a video game, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out which one it could be — my collection was practically filled at this point with every game you could think. As such, I was rife with anticipation when I removed the wrapping, where I was greeted by a portly rabbit on the cover of a PS4 case, with the words “Big Chungus” jumping out at me.
I was, admittedly, quite confused by this game I had never heard of, and even more so by the “Adults Only” rating it had achieved. I feigned excitement to not disappoint my brother, who just smiled at me in a way more resembling of a smirk. His eyes screamed “I love you” while mine screamed “What the fuck is a chungus?”
It wasn’t until a few days later when, left all alone in my house, I cracked open the case, popped in the disc, waited a meager four hours for all the updates to kick in, and then dived into the world of “Big Chungus.”
For this, my life will never be the same.
As soon as the title screen appeared, I, to quote Dr. Jordan B. Peterson after he consumed a glass of apple cider, felt “an overwhelming sense of impending doom” although I reckon that even Dr. Peterson, a Canadian clinical psychologist and dismantler of YouTube feminism, would have cowered before the sight of this title screen. How did my childhood hero, Bugs Bunny, expand to such a size? What did they do to him? Or, more appropriately, what will I do to him? The horrible thoughts consume me.
I press start.
The gameplay is much like Shadow of the Colossus in that it’s not how much you pack into the game, but what you pack into it. The game is relatively simple; Elmer Fudd, who’s metabolism appears to have given way, seals a hole in the ground to prevent Bugs Bunny from escaping. Your mission is simple: escape from the hole and expand Bugs Bunny in a mocking fashion. Seems easy enough, right? But you’re probably asking: what do you expand Bugs Bunny with?
Dreams. Memories. That first day of school. Fruit Gushers. That first kiss. Graduation. Those days when the beers were cold and reality was colder. That big promotion. Speaking to the ghost of an old friend rather than who they are now. That firstborn. Big Chungus will take everything from you, leaving you a hollow vessel where your only complaint will be the lack of crossplay with the PS Vita.
Big Chungus is the game you never knew existed, wish it never had, and will now never forget. 9/10, it really makes you feel like Big Chungus.
