Bubsy 4D Review – Fabulous Flailing Bobcat

Bubsy 4D Review

Bubsy games are usually kind of a hot mess. So imagine my surprise when I found out that Bubsy 4D is a pretty good time. The platforming is janky but reliable, the visuals are delightful, and the writing is appropriately cheesy. If you’ve only had awful experiences with Bubsy games, this latest release might be the one that changes your mind about the entire series. On the other hand, this is still a retro 3D platforming title, so the usual generous caveats still apply. Expect a heaping helping of elation and frustration in equal measure.

I was sure that Bubsy 4D would enrage me at times. And it sort of did. But at the same time, the challenges feel a lot more organic and achievable than ever before. Really tough stages are just a matter of practice and persistence. You hardly ever feel like the stages are built to harvest your bubbling anger for some dark design. Notice how I didn’t say never! This is still a Bubsy game, after all. You will, on rare occasions, imagine your controller passing through your TV like a meteor. But for the most part, I was all too happy to try again, certain that success was just over the horizon.

Walking That Fine Line

This change in sentiment is largely due to the controls. Bubsy feels like a skittering beast, too fast and frantic for his own good. But he also restores his jump charges every time he touches a horizontal surface. So if you miss a jump (and you absolutely will), you get multiple chances to correct yourself. It feels like the world is designed to test you, but Bubsy is built to rise to the challenge. Two opposing forces that are still equal in strength. There are also checkpoints and hit points to negate the many hazards that litter every level. But it never feels insurmountable.

Right off the bat, you’ve got two jumps, a glide, and a dash, all accessible immediately. This turns Bubsy’s weird floaty vibe into something a lot more concrete and tangible. Suddenly, your every mistake feels less catastrophic. Instead, you can just roll into success from the most dire fumbles. This makes even my frantic flailing look more deliberate and controlled. Such is the genius of Bubsy 4D. The game captures the graceless violence of a cat falling off their perch, while still managing to land on their feet.

On top of all that, you’ve got a ton of extra skills to unlock, all of which make a material difference in your performance. For example, you can gain the drifting skill while rolling around in ball form. This is pretty much essential, as some of those turns are crazy tight. You can also unlock more hit points and the power to hang off walls. It feels like the stages get harder at a steady rate, but you’re also acquiring new skills at the same rate. So there’s a delicate balance being struck. On the other hand, the item to unlock these skills is usually very well hidden. So you’ve got to put in some serious labor if you want to get better.

Essential New Powers

I’m quite charmed by Bubsy 4D’s visuals. While the character models are somewhat limited in their expressions, the world they inhabit is incredibly colorful and delightfully weird. These stages feel like a Saturday morning cartoon from the 90s that you can run around in. Every level is built around a connecting theme that extends to all parts of the architecture. The first world is totally fixated on wool and knitting. So you’ve got needles, thread, lace, spools, and stitching crammed into every corner. This singular dedication to thematics persists throughout the game, which totally rules.

And it wouldn’t be a Bubsy game without his constant quips. He can’t stay quiet for long, and not even death can stifle his wit. In particular, each style of death comes with its own bespoke zinger. But not like, multiple zingers per death. So if you end up drowning a lot, get ready to memorize that one line! Oh, and most of the first world is surrounded by water. If it’s any consolation, Bubsy’s whole supporting cast also seems sick of his corny humor. Thankfully, most of Bubsy’s lines are actually pretty funny at first. The rest of the cast has even cornier dialogue, but at least they’re really going for it. None of this writing feels phoned in, which I appreciate.

A Cavalcade of One-Liners

I had a lot of fun with Bubsy 4D. The platforming is frantic and flailing, but somehow still precise and forgiving. The writing is corny yet charming. And the visuals feel nostalgic for a world that existed for a handful of Saturday mornings. At the same time, this game can be pretty frustrating. Not nearly as much as I was expecting, but still! A significant reserve of patience and persistence is essential for getting to the end credits. If your memories of Bubsy are either bad or blissfully absent, you may be shocked at what you find here. Although the bar is comically low, this game absolutely clears it. Bubsy 4D is easily the best game in the franchise.

***A PS5 code was provided by the publisher***