‘Ruffy and the Riverside’ Feels Like Pure Joy and Has All the Makings To Be a New Age Classic (Review)

A game that can make us smile is worth everything, isn’t it? From the moment I booted up Ruffy and the Riverside, I knew I was in for an excellent adventure. Smooth controls, a beautifully rendered, hand-drawn animation style, and plenty of zing in the dialogue. Hopping, skipping, and jumping through each joyful level had me smiling just as wide as Ruffy himself. Ruffy and the Riverside may be a brand-new IP. However, it had me feeling nostalgic for my favorites of a bygone era, while also building on what made those titans as big as they are today. Joy is a hard emotion to get across at times, but you can tell that Zockrates Laboratories was feeling joyful with every ounce of love and passion poured into this project. The result is an adventure I won’t soon forget.

‘Ruffy and the Riverside’ Delivers Smiles per Hour, Even Though the Titular Bear Is Plenty Fast

Ruffy and the Riverside takes a lot of inspiration from many different places. Something old, something new, something borrowed, and swapping for something blue. Paper Mario, Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, and so many more have paved the way for this little guy to make his debut, and he has the potential to play in the big leagues. Ruffy and the Riverside isn’t your typical 3D platformer, and that can be noticed from the start. Every character is uniquely 2D, running around in a fully explorable 3D space. The art style, admittedly, needed some time to grow on me. But after bouncing around with this adorable little bear for hours on end, I can’t deny how beautiful this world is. Thick marker strokes make every character pop, and the aesthetic is wholly unique.

Graphics can only get a game so far, though. If a 3D platformer is stiff and uncomfortable to play, it doesn’t matter how good it looks. That’s where I was genuinely surprised. Even though the characters may be as flat as a piece of paper, they know exactly how to zoom through a level with ease. Ruffy and his bee partner Pip make a dynamic duo, with their movesets benefiting one another in more ways than one. Pip is also the strongest bee on the planet, seeing as he can help a bear glide like a leaf on the wind.

Puzzles, Combat, and More. ‘Ruffy’ Has Something for Everyone

Ruffy and the Riverside is just an endlessly creative game. From great puzzles to simple, yet effective combat, every part of the game was a joy to behold. The story flows at a great pace, making sure there’s always something to be done so we’re not just aimlessly wandering. But, if you feel like aimlessly wandering? You’re encouraged to. There are plenty of collectibles scattered throughout the world, and you’re not going to find them if you stick to the beaten path. I had to climb trees, use my SWAP power to change the world around me, and do whatever possible to try and find all of these different collectible items.

One of the major parts of Ruffy and the Riverside that helps separate it from the crowd of 3D platformers, outside of its unique aesthetic, is its SWAP mechanic. Aim at nearly anything in the game, and you’ll be able to copy it and put its texture elsewhere. Copy a group of vines and put them on a waterfall. Now you’ve got an easy way to get up a wall. Turn lakes into lava. Do whatever you want, however you want. The more creative you are, the more you’re going to love Ruffy‘s debut adventure.

‘Ruffy and the Riverside’ Demands That You Think Outside of the Box, Rewarding Creativity From Players

There were a few puzzles in Ruffy and the Riverside that had me scratching my head. Not because they were difficult by any means, but rather, because I wasn’t thinking outside of the box when I was trying to solve them. After landing on Crash Island, for example, I needed to collect a bunch of bottles. Inside these bottles were drawings that would help me leave the island and get to my next destination. I came across a wooden bridge that was broken in the middle. I wasn’t able to get enough speed to try and just jump on it. There was no way that I could raise the other half that was broken, so I sat there, wondering what I could do.

That’s when the idea struck me. “What if I turned the water into Lava?” Well, that bit of creative thinking was exactly what I needed. The support beams were destroyed, and the bridge itself was dropped just enough that I could land on it. After a short period, the Lava was gone, and the water returned, making the jump a lot safer than it was moments ago. Moments like this are where Ruffy and the Riverside really shine.

Don’t Fret; There’s Plenty of Action and Platforming (And Bale Riding) in ‘Ruffy and the Riverside’

Regardless of where I found myself on this surprisingly massive adventure, there was always something to do. I never felt like I was just exploring a world for no reason. One second, I was working to solve number puzzles by listening to a wise old crow giving me a riddle. The next second, I’m riding a motorized hay bale around in a Tony Hawk knockoff. The variety of the worlds, as well as what you can do in them, makes this adventure feel far grander than it may initially look.

Seeing as Ruffy is the Chosen One who needs to restore the power of the World Core, we’ll be going just about anywhere you can imagine. The places I went on my adventure were far beyond what I ever could have imagined. During every point of this adventure, I just couldn’t get enough of it. Ruffy may be a little guy, but he’s got a massive heart and a plan to save the world. I’m very glad that I got to be a part of that plan.

This Feels Both Old and New in So Many Ways, and I Just Can’t Get Enough of This Adventure

Ruffy and the Riverside has all of the pieces to make it a near-instant classic. Fantastic controls, a distinctive visual style, and some great music make it nearly impossible to put down. It’s charming in all of the best ways possible, and runs great on any platform. After testing initially on PC and then making the switch, pun fully intended, to the Nintendo Switch 2, I was happy with performance across the board. If I had to nitpick, the only issue I had was that ladders were sometimes a little more difficult to land in the middle than I would have liked. Otherwise? Ruffy and the Riverside controls like a dream.

It’s not very often that a game can feel both old and new, like Ruffy and the Riverside does. It takes inspiration from our favorite childhood classics while modernizing them enough to make them exciting and accessible to players of all generations. No matter if you grew up with platforming icons like Banjo or Crash, or you’ve been out of the loop on platformers for a long time, let Ruffy be your reintroduction to why you love these types of games so much. From the moment I started until the moment I stopped, Ruffy had me smiling. It rekindled the joy of classic platformers from my youth and made me feel just like a kid again. Sometimes, that’s all you can hope for from a game like this.

Verdict: Best In Its Class

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Ruffy and the Riverside will be available June 26 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 (Nintendo Switch version played).