For over 30 years now, Bubsy has been a laughingstock in the gaming industry. All of his games have ranged from mediocre to one of the worst games of all time in the case of Bubsy 3D. Previous efforts to revive him have landed flat on their faces. The only time people remember he exists is to make fun of him. What changed is that in 2023, Atari, who has been going through struggles of their own, acquired Bubsy. Instead of leaning into Bubsy’s troubles to make an intentionally bad game, Atari flipped the script. They hired Fabraz, an indie game developer best known for 3D platformers Demon Turf and Demon Tides to develop the game. And what they created is the best Bubsy game ever, and a genuinely fun video game on top of that.
A Complete Gameplay Revamp
The most important change was a complete revamp of his movement. The developers scrapped tank controls, where the player moves characters relative to the character’s position instead of the camera. That’s because 3D platformers don’t work with tank controls under any circumstances. This turns moves like his flutter glide and pounce attack into actually responsive attacks. What makes them even more responsive is how snappy Bubsy controls. Bubsy’s floatiness is gone. He instantly moves after every input!
Next there’s the level design. In previous games, the environments ended up rather boring. The game had barely any unique set pieces to latch onto. Level themes were very one note and blended into each other. Even when the levels did have some variety and character, they didn’t have any cohesion. For Bubsy 4D, that poor level design has changed for the better.
Each of the three worlds has a unique theme. The first world has a wool and fabric aesthetic. The second world has an arts and crafts bend. The third world is made entirely of garbage. They lean heavily into the theming. The first world has a bridge made out of strips of fabric. The third world uses empty gaming computers as houses. The second world has scissor obstacles that will try to cut Bubsy into pieces.
Each level ends with Bubsy collecting a Golden Fleece, and there’s an optional blueprint collectible that you can use to unlock powerups like being able to travel between checkpoints or a twirl jump you can do by spinning the analog stick around. These blueprints are located behind difficult platforming challenges. This includes climbing up a series of sinking towers and reaching the end of an obstacle course over a deadly lake before the time runs out. It’s actually fun to move around and play through levels in this game, which is something that no other Bubsy game has been able to accomplish.
Gaining Its Own Identity
Along with the gameplay, the writing has gone through changes as well. Fabraz kept the Saturday morning cartoon style while moving away from the annoying nature of the rest of the games in the series. In this game, Bubsy is older and ashamed of his past. His white t-shirt with the exclamation point has been changed to a white coat and tie. And he’s an uncle now to two kids. There’s even a character called Oblivia, a character who was first introduced in a pilot cartoon for Bubsy back in the nineties that never got a full show. In this game she’s sassier and is Bubsy’s love interest, who he might or might not date. The game pokes fun at Bubsy’s stupidity, but gives him some moments to shine so that he’s not a complete joke.
This game also provides a good starting point for the Bubsy world, with a reintroduction to races like the Woolies and the Baabots. The Baabots have enslaved the Woolies using the power of the Golden Fleece, and Bubsy has to take them back. The end of each world features a boss fight against one of the Baabots, who have a science fiction flair, complete with technological eye bands and flying saucers. The boss fights are one of the highlights of the game, with cool mechanics specific to each boss that tested my reflexes, especially the second boss. This game has personality and charm that doesn’t stretch into being annoying, and I actually enjoyed the writing, which is yet another thing I wouldn’t have thought I’d say about a Bubsy game.
Shortcomings Don’t Stop This Proof of Concept
There are some shortcomings with this game. First, the game is slightly short, with only fifteen levels across three worlds. A 100 percent playthrough only takes somewhere between four to maybe five hours. While there’s replayability through playing through the levels as fast as possible, it still feels like there should’ve been one more world before the game’s end. The combat with standard enemies, just like in Fabraz’s other work this year, Demon Tides, is still mediocre. There’s a total of two attacks, and you’re only going to be using the pounce attack the majority of the time. And finally, there’s a solid amount of glitches and bugs. They range from the camera catching on parts of the environment to Bubsy falling through tunnels when switching into his ball form.
However, just like in Demon Tides, those issues don’t ruin the game in any meaningful sense. I’d recommend it both on sale and for full price, because the movement, level design, and writing are too good to pass up. Bubsy 4D is a solid proof of concept for what Bubsy should be going forwards, and an excellent redemption story that anyone can get behind.
