Bubsy 4D Review – Bobcat’s Big Break

It’s been three months since hell froze over. In February, Demon Tides—an indie 3D platformer—received positive reviews across the board—a feat none of its peers have achieved. While I’m still waiting for the world to catch up to this monumental shift in the power dynamics of the genre, time certainly flies, and Fabraz, the developers of that masterpiece, are already releasing their new game, and it’s a sequel to Bubsy 3D. Wait. HUH?

Going from arguably one of the genre’s crowning achievements to a sequel to its biggest laughing stock may just be this year’s greatest gaming storyline. It also warrants a bit more of a background; see, Atari, who’s the publisher here, has been grinding towards their moment for a while now. They’ve been working with indie developers on revivals of their IPs to mixed success. It brought us innovative games like Missile Command Delta that went unnoticed, modern arcade classics like I, Robot and Breakout Beyond, unique gems like Yars Rising, and, admittedly, a couple of remarkably forgettable titles. I’ve played a good bunch of them, not all, but I find the effort admirable at its worst, and exceptionally inspiring at its best.

Bubsy 4D falls into the latter category. A popular indie developer with years of experience in a genre gets the chance to tackle a once-famous franchise. Results? Great! Not without caveats, though. One: this is a very short game, though not one that I would say needed to be longer. A sequel, if that’s ever in the cards, should be, but this game explores its mechanics and level design without overstaying its welcome. Two: the lack of overall polish was very palpable in the version I played. More on that later. Lastly, so much of the DNA here comes from Demon Tides, including animations and even specific assets. Bubsy 4D does not feel like Demon Tides at all, but the origin of this project is obvious.

What are the differences then? For one, no open world. Bubsy 4D is entirely level-based: three worlds, five levels per world including one standard, classic, movement-based 3D platformer boss fight each, totaling 15 stages. Each level took me around eight minutes when exploring, two to four minutes on a speedrun (after many attempts). Although some mechanics are revisited, Bubsy 4D levels play very little like the more exploration-based, multi-objective, freeform-forward islands of its muse. There are exploration-based objectives, and a few of them are well-hidden, but with a more defined core moveset, Bubsy is a game that actively tries to push the player towards the bobcat’s origins—going fast like its Blue Blur inspiration.

One could argue that Bubsy 4D’s basics are the best in Fabraz’s entire body of work so far. I may prefer the expansive, customizable approach of Demon Tides, but the usefulness of every move here is finely-tuned to the levels. Fabraz’s 3D platformers always shone brightest when you realized just how far a simple triple jump or wall jump can take you, when massive levels suddenly shrink in your head upon discovering one skip. That identity feels built into Bubsy 4D from the very beginning. You’ll likely spot potential massive skips as early as the tutorial level.

It comes down to the incorporation of the rolling mechanic into the main courses. Bubsy turns into a round, fluffy ball at any moment and can roll at the highest of speeds with a bit of space to ramp up. It’s the greatest tool in your arsenal when it comes to time-saving and cheeky skips. This is what I was most looking forward to back when I first played the game’s demo, and it is as great as I had hoped. It’s wonky, but incredibly satisfying, blowing levels wide-open with momentum-based shenanigans, and adding new vertical options as well with just one upgrade. At this point, I would love nothing more than a full-on ball-rolling game from Fabraz in the future.

Though Bubsy’s furball form is the star of the show, each move has intricacies that both ground the game so that it doesn’t get too crazy, while also providing extra friction. The glide gives you a tiny bit of verticality, has a short timer before you start plummeting, and cannot be reengaged once canceled. The leap can be used on the ground for Bubsy to start leaping, while mid-air it completely stops your momentum before providing that extra distance.

This means that for optimal distance, after a successful launch using the ball form’s top speed, you’ll most likely want to use your second jump first, then glide until your momentum drops to a halt, and only then use the leap. For quick mid-air turning in tight quarters, you might want to completely reverse the order. A leap and the other moves can get you just far enough so that you can end in your ball form and either immediately start rolling upon hitting the ground or quickly bounce off the platform, changing jumps to gain extra height down the line.

Though each level contains a blueprint for a move upgrade, unfortunately only three feel particularly impactful. One is a collectible-finder, a must for clearing up the last few things in a level. Second is the aforementioned bounce in the ball form, which does open up a whole world of possibilities. Third is extra health to make accidental hits less impactful. Two of these are rather unexciting, and I wish I could say I found use for cool moves like the spin jump or crouch leap, but that would be a lie. I forgot they existed until just now.

At worst, that simply makes collectibles little more than fun secrets after a while. The blueprints usually lie on a side-path with their own optional challenge that would otherwise interfere with the speedrun path, so it’s something you’d want to do anyway. The yarn balls can unlock costumes, which is a bit better, but a few are just uninteresting variations on the default outfit. Others are solid gags, like a puppet version of Bubsy, the model from Bubsy 3D in all its square glory, or a riff on Sonic where Bubsy sports only gloves, shoes, and a pixelized lower half.

The humor is certainly going to be a contentious part of Bubsy 4D. Whenever I recommend a Fabraz game to someone, they come back with a strong take on the writing. They’ve been making the “arrogant kid with a soft side” protagonist for a while now, and given Bubsy’s reputation as an annoying quip master, overexploited for the sake of self-deprecation/irony in his last outing, this was a recipe for disaster. Or, a stroke of genius. I mean, you probably know what you signed up for with Bubsy, right?

Personally, I thought an older, washed-up Bubsy is the best version of the character yet. He’s still a product of his time, but the levels of mockery endured by other titles have washed away a lot of the shame that came with enjoying a good quip delivery. Sean Chiplock, who voices Bubsy, is very good at it. Even the one-note companions feel right in a story this short. I eyerolled as many times as I paused the game to process a joke, and Bubsy barely ever stops talking, but for once I can say: I get it.

For all the praise I can give, there was a simple feeling permeating my time with Bubsy 4D: this game needed a bit more time. There are a few simple bugs like misplaced, floating objects, but then there are far worse ones like flat ground having random invisible edges that completely stop the momentum of your Bubsy ball. The worst of the worst comes in the form of sections where you shoot Bubsy out of a pipe in first person. He just does not fly where you aim. It feels like there’s just a few general zones you can pick between, but you don’t get to see them.

The state I played it in puts it a tier below other Fabraz games, but let’s get a few things straight. This is Atari’s best title in the past couple of years, and they should absolutely pursue further collaborations and, if possible, back each one even more. Indie 3D platformers have been this good and better for the past decade; catch up, silly. Finally, this is the single greatest sequel in history in terms of a jump in quality. Make Bubsy a mainstay instead of reviving him just to poke fun at the franchise. Look at how warmly the reveal was received. Look at the influencer names in the voiceover credits. The social media era is where the bobcat can finally thrive, he just needs a bit more support. With Bubsy 4D, he’s about to get a whole lot of fans. Myself included.

Mateusz reviewed Bubsy 4D on PC with a provided review code. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing, and our score will not be changed.