Summary
Developer – Fabraz
Publisher – Atari
Platforms Reviewed – Nintendo Switch 2
Review copy given by publisher
Fabraz and Atari have brought the iconic Bubsy franchise back to life with Bubsy 4D. The platformer was first announced last year, providing high hopes for the game from the developer of Demon Tides.
Bubsy is on a new, intergalactic, platforming adventure for the first time in 3D since 1996. The game offers new mechanics that perfectly match the personality of the protagonist. He will face new challenges, new moves, and more in Bubsy 4D. We are here to give our impressions of the modern era of Bubsy.
Right from the start of Bubsy 4D, the world feels so much bigger, and the dialogue hits right away. The opening cutscene introduces you to the main characters of the game – Bubsy, Oblivia, Terry, Terri, and Virgil. There is no question that the game has great dialogue throughout between the antagonists and Bubsy. What I will say is that there is a ton of humor, which is to be expected when it comes to this game.
Gameplay Impressions
Bubsy 4D offers fun and unique platforming experiences across its worlds and levels. However, during my gameplay, I found that the controls sometimes became frustrating, which negatively impacted my overall experience. Fabraz does an excellent job of making the gameplay feel distinctive at times with its challenging platforming. Nonetheless, I wish the controls were improved. Additionally, there is some repetition in the level design, such as rolling down long slides, which appears in a good number of them.
Bubsy’s moveset includes Double Jump, Glide, Pounce, and Hairball. Sometimes, landing a Pounce in this game can be difficult for whatever reason.
Each level is timed, allowing speedrunners to see how fast they can get through a level. There is even a leaderboard to see how fast other players are beating levels.
As for the level designs, there are collectibles to find in each level within the worlds, such as Blueprints, which are a big part of improving Bubsy’s movesets. The Boss Fights in Bubsy 4D aren’t anything too difficult, at least for me. I would’ve liked to see more combat within the game aside from just your standard platforming. In some of today’s biggest 3D platformers, there is some combat involved, and in this version of Bubsy, it definitely lacks that.
Music, Sound, and Visuals
There are downsides to the experience of Bubsy 4D, and that’s the audio. While some levels seem repetitive, so is the music, and probably even more repetitive than you’d like to see in the game. The generic audio sounds are not appealing to the point that you may want to mute your TV. What saves the audio part is the occasional voice acting between cutscenes or talking to other NPCs.
Visually, Bubsy 4D looks just like it was advertised. Being familiar with Fabraz and its previous games, I actually enjoy the art style of the characters, enemies, and the world environments. On the Switch 2, I’ve had no issues with its performance or its visuals in handheld mode or on TV mode.
Verdict
The biggest question has been, “Is this the return of Bubsy that we hoped for?” While it is still a decent revival of the iconic series and an above-average platformer, some repetitiveness becomes evident throughout its levels. However, the addition of a speedrunning aspect provides more replayability than expected. The game comes very close to being a truly great 3D platformer, but as it stands, it remains just an above-average experience, which is perfectly acceptable.
