With Atari once again owning the rights to the character, it’s roped in Fabraz of Demon Tides fame to deliver a new 3D platformer that should actually do the series proud. And in a damning with faint praise sense, it does, but it’s also riddled with significant flaws that prevent it from truly competing with the genre’s best (including the developer’s previous platforming efforts).

Story-wise, the alien Woollies are back at some point, kidnapping Earth’s sheep for their own nefarious purposes, and Bubsy can’t really be bothered. That is, until the spaceships return again and have seemingly been modified into sheep-like forms. Upon hijacking one, Bubsy and his unwitting family (alongside the ever crotchety Virgil Reality) discover that the Baabots are responsible—the sheep have seemingly usurped their captors.

"Of course, the main meat of the experience is platforming, and Bubsy 4D offers some extensive options. Beyond the jump, double-jump, pounce and glide combo, he can also convert into hairball form and roll around at the legally distinct speed of sound."

With the Golden Fleece in their possession and a “neener neener” demeanor towards the group, it’s up to Bubsy to bring the fight to them, unwillingly on most occasions and breaking the fourth wall on others.

I didn’t walk in expecting much of a story, and neither should you – not that this is an insult by any means. Bubsy 4D cuts right to the chase, to the point where I wondered if I had accidentally skipped a cutscene. There’s no explanation about who Oblivia is, how Bubsy has a niece and nephew (Terri and Terry), why they’re stuck with him (not that they’re really complaining), or why Virgil is the way he is (beyond being a nerd). And you honestly shouldn’t worry about it, because 3 out of the 4 were only ever touched upon in a Bubsy TV show that never went beyond its pilot episode, and personality-wise, are completely different here.

They can be fun to interact with between levels and after significant story beats. Seeing them chilling in certain sections—whether it’s the kids taking bets on a pit fight Bubsy is involved in, or Oblivia coming up with different ways to misspell Bubsy’s name—can be entertaining. Granted, the joke that no one cares about what Bubsy thinks can get tiring – we get it, he sucks – but there is some fine humor about EULAs, older titles, and even a nice little jab or two from Bubsy himself when you pause the game. I do wish Bubsy had more lines during gameplay, since hearing about why Golden Fleeces float in the air gets repetitive. But at least there’s (mercifully) an option to mute him.

Of course, the main meat of the experience is platforming, and Bubsy 4D offers some extensive options. Beyond the jump, double-jump, pounce and glide combo, he can also convert into hairball form and roll around at the legally distinct speed of sound. Discovering Blueprints leads to upgrades for things like teleporting between litter boxes, which serve as checkpoints in a level, or using hairball form to bounce between two adjacent buildings at a much faster pace than simple wall-jumping will allow. You can even uncover other moves like a triple jump or the ability to chain a single pounce into a series of follow-up leaps. Pouncing also helps Bubsy scamper up walls, though managing which abilities go on their internal cooldown during all this can take some getting used to. Pounce also feels like it can overshoot the mark at times, requiring some awkward finagling in mid-air.

"At least the boss fights can be enjoyable. Baarbee, the first of the Baabot “bosses” who makes contact with Bubsy and friends, can feel overtly straightforward…until each hit in a phase transitions to an outright chase through the surrounding level."

The biggest problem is that the levels in Bubsy 4D are initially intriguing but can end up feeling empty. There is a lore reason as to why they feel so artificial – the first planet comprising of wool, the second of arts and crafts, and so on – and you can encounter some interesting challenges that will put your precision to the test. The side stuff can also be occasionally compelling, even if it feels unnecessary to gather more blueprints beyond collection purposes after a point.

However, the overall look leaves something to be desired, lacking much by way of personality or ingenuity. Which isn’t to say that Fabraz doesn’t try to inject some, like meeting up with downtrodden Woollies who are less than thrilled about their current plight. If nothing else, they were intriguing to talk to in a depressing kind of way.

Despite those aforementioned challenges, you’ll spend a not-insignificant amount of time navigating half pipes in hairball form. It’s more than occasionally iffy – be prepared to make ample use of that brake button – but it’s all the more annoying when simply trying to enter regular pipes, since it can easily bypass them and slip off the edge into the abyss. Add some camera flubs on more than one occasion – wall-jumping from a side perspective is especially annoying – or how finicky the targeting on pounce could be against enemies, or the distance between checkpoints when first running through levels, and the act of actually navigating these levels frustrated me more than I would have liked.

That’s not to say it’s horrible all the time or completely unwieldy, but it definitely needs more fine-tuning and polish. At least the boss fights can be enjoyable. Baarbee, the first of the Baabot “bosses” who makes contact with Bubsy and friends, can feel overtly straightforward…until each hit in a phase transitions to an outright chase through the surrounding level. Meanwhile, Baartholomeo, her aniki, offers manic platforming on a fixed circular walkway as you dodge his many projectiles and lightning strikes.

"Regardless, if you feel weirdly compelled to embark on this adventure with a main character that’s treated as mostly a joke, then you could do far worse than Bubsy 4D. But you could also do a heck of a lot better."

Regardless of whether you like Bubsy 4D or not, it’s worth noting that this isn’t the longest experience. Once you’ve cleared all 15 levels, it’s possible to return to them and collect any remaining yarnballs or Blueprints. Yarnballs can be used to purchase cosmetics, including a horrendously tacky line-up of jackets, Bubsy’s classic look and even a 3D model which calls back to the bad ol’ days. The more competitive-minded have leaderboards and ghost data, and there’s even a hardcore mode called Nine Lives where you’re only allowed to take nine hits throughout an entire playthrough. Die, and you’ll have to start all over.

If you’re looking for the next big 3D platformer to deliver tons of memorable moments, excellent level design and tight gameplay throughout, then rest assured that Bubsy 4D probably isn’t it. It’s not the worst experience out there – and keep in mind that this franchise has seen its share of horrible experiences – but it’s also not something that I can wholeheartedly recommend for everyone. If anything, Demon Tides is a far better time investment and showcases what the developer is really capable of in terms of 3D platforming greatness.

Regardless, if you feel weirdly compelled to embark on this adventure with a main character that’s treated as mostly a joke, then you could do far worse than Bubsy 4D. But you could also do a heck of a lot better.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

The story sees Beebz venturing through the Demon World and taking out different turf leaders to climb up the ranks and defeat the Demon King. Along with platforming, Beebz can also push and pull enemies, using the power of physics in combat. Some interesting mechanics include the ability to place checkpoints anywhere (or nowhere at all to go for a flawless run).

After liberating certain levels, you can also go back and complete various other challenges. If you’re not keen on using mods, then there are dyes and pets to acquire as well. Demon Turf is slated to release this year – stay tuned for more details on a date in the coming months.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDLYgcBq_f8

Yooka-Laylee developer Playtonic is celebrating its sixth anniversary, and to commemorate the occasion, they’ve made a pretty big announcement- the opening of a new publishing label, called Playtonic Friends (which is the rebranding they were teasing earlier). Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, Playtonic boss Gavin Price said that the new publishing label felt like the next big step for the studio.

“About a year ago now, on the back of launching Impossible Lair, there was an opportunity to do some reflection and say ‘Hey, how’re our games going, how’re our processes going, what do want to be doing with our own IP?’ But also as a business as well to think, what else can we be doing?” said Price.

Price also spoke about this next big step for the studio, saying that Playtonic Friends’ purpose is to help smaller titles get the recognition and success they deserve at launch. He remarked that with Playtonic staff (many of whom were at Rare during the Nintendo days) having had experience as first party developers, independent developers, and crowd-funded developers, they are in the unique position of having plenty to offer to indie developers in the industry.

“We like seeing great games come out and achieve success,” Price said. “We don’t like seeing great games come out and not get the attention or love, or the commercial success they deserve. Sadly that’s too common a story in the industry.

“We thought, well, if we can help great games come out and get attention and have that better chance, having given developers this long-term sustainability, everyone wins… We’ve always had people coming to us for advice, but one of the advantages of being old is having all this experience. We’ve had experience of being first-party, being independent, of doing crowd-funding. We have a lot to share.”

Price added that Playtonic isn’t looking for any specific types of games to publish, and that they want to have no arbitrary restrictions in place for the same. Additionally, developers they work with through the publishing label might be considered later for work on games in Playtonic’s own Yooka-Laylee universe.

“There’s no barrier to the types of games and people we went to help,” he said. “It would be arbitrary to say ‘we can’t help you because your game doesn’t have a million different collectibles’. There’s companies we’ll be working with and games we’ll be announcing which will make people go, ‘woah, how did we get from a chameleon and a bat to this over here?’

“But as we’re going to be working with great partners through the Playtonic Friends label, we may find some great people who can help us with content in the Yooka-Laylee universe as well.”

Three developers have already signed on with Playtonic Friends for their next games- Awe Interactive (developer of BPM: Bullets Per Minute), okidokico (developer of OK Golf), and Fabraz (developer of Slime-san).

Among the various new titles showcased during the Summer of Gaming expo by IGN is Demon Turf. This 3D platformer channels a 2D animated aesthetic and is about Beebz, a young demon set on becoming the Demon Queen. Check out the trailer below along with gameplay and an interview with developer Fabraz.

As Beebz explores the Demon World, she’ll take out various turf leaders and platforms her way through (even revisiting liberated levels for more challenges). Physics are pretty important as they’ll dictate the combat and even how you take damage. Checkpoints are also handled differently as you place them wherever you feel like, which sounds similar to Ori and the Blind Forest.

Other interesting features include Photo Hunt where you take pictures of hidden environments; mods that will change your playstyle; and much more. Demon Turf is currently in development for Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch and PC. It will release either in 2020 or 2021 so stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.