Ruffy and the Riverside review for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch

I really like Ruffy and the Riverside, but it took me a while to figure out why exactly I like it so much. I mean, it’s a 3D collectathon platformer at a time when the genre is experiencing something of a revival, which means that there’s no shortage of games to compare it to. What’s more, games like Penny’s Big Breakaway and Akimbot also aimed for the same feeling of nostalgia, mining 3D Sonic and Ratchet and Clank respectively, but I felt indifferent at best towards both of them.

Then I realized: that last sentence hints at what sets Ruffy and the Riverside apart from so many other modern 3D platformers. It may be influenced by a whole host of games from 25 years ago, but it never borrows from any of them so blatantly that it just feels like you’re playing a clone or a lesser version of a much better game. It’s its own game, with its own identity, and that’s enough to set it apart.

Of course, it’s also quite fun to play, which doesn’t hurt matters at all. The basic platforming here is done extremely well. Our eponymous hero, Ruffy, moves with ease; you can run and jump and do all the things you need to do in a 3D platformer, and it all feels very smooth. Just as importantly, the camera moves with you, so you never feel like you’re fighting with it.

Ruffy and the Riverside does more than just that, though. For starters, it has a neat mechanic that adds a fun wrinkle to the game: Ruffy has a SWAP tool that allows him to magically change the world around him, transforming blocks and magnets and whatever else you need into something more useful. It takes a little getting used to at first, but once it clicks, it works pretty smoothly.

It’s also helpful that Ruffy’s world is a lot of fun to explore. Much like, say, Super Mario 64 or Spyro the Dragon, you’re given a hub and all kinds of levels that branch out from that, and the whole thing is packed with stuff to do and items to collect. Just as importantly, though, Ruffy and the Riverside balances the “stuff” and the “items” well – you can follow quests and take occasional detours to grab items, and it never feels like one takes precedence over the other.

And, best of all, Ruffy and the Riverside has a look and feel all its own. The game sort of borrows from Paper Mario with a bit of a hand drawn aesthetic, but it never goes so far in that direction that you’d say that it’s a Paper Mario clone. Developers Zockrates Laboratories gave the game a style all its own, and it’s all the better for it.

Combine all those things – the unique visuals, the packed world, and, above all else, the fun platforming – and you can see why I’m so fond of Ruffy and the Riverside. It’s a 3D platformer you need to play if you have any kind of interest in the genre, and it’s good enough that even if you don’t, you may want to give it a try.

Phiphen Games provided us with a Ruffy and the Riverside PC code for review purposes.

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