Just like you, we're still trying to process the hilarious, infuriating, disastrous rollout that was Cyberpunk 2077. If there's any silver lining to the entire debacle, it's that it at least made us pause to look back with fond memories at a time when games could be fun, innovative, weird, and at least halfway reliable. Take this strange-as-hell, unfinished Dreamcast game based in the world of The Simpsons, for example.
According to recent online discussions, once upon a time there was a titled called The Simpsons: Bug Squad! due on Sega's final console in which you played as an insect wandering around Homer Simpson's domicile. Seriously.
Unfortunately, it's no Bonestorm —
A team of dedicated fans over in the Dreamcast-Talk forums took files from an abandoned dev kit and pieced together a small tech demo of this previously unheard-of tie-in video game. Honestly, not too much is still known about Bug Squad except that it was created by Red Lemon Studios, the same outfit responsible for another infamous, unreleased title, Take the Bullet. Since it's a rudimentary prototype, there's really not much people can do in the game itself apart from wander and/or fly around the first floor of The Simpsons' house. Still, the art is pretty great, and seems to indicate the game would have been a cell-shaded affair, which is a very under-appreciated video game aesthetic, if we're being honest.
In the footage shown so far, Homer is pacing about the place, albeit silently, since there aren't any sound files available. The player's bug can't even seem to interact with the Simpsons patriarch, which is also unfortunate. Basically, what we're trying to say here is that this is no Bonestorm. But then again, what is?
Dead on arrival —
Of course, it's clear that The Simpsons: Bug Squad! never made it very far in the development process. The YouTube channel, Dreamcastic, notes that the game's playable portion was dated from circa late-2000. Since the Dreamcast got itself discontinued the following year, it seems likely the project was simply another casualty of console cancellation. Sigh... if only we could trade one of the million Call of Duty sequels for a finished copy of Bug Squad.
But hey, with rumors of a Dreamcast Mini making the rounds recently, perhaps there still is a faint glimmer of hope that this strange, zany concept will finally get the proper focus it deserves.
