REVIEW: ‘Bubsy 4D’ Can’t Breathe New Life Into This Once ’90s Classic

Throughout gaming’s history, numerous platformers and their mascots have come and gone. Soon, Bubsy, the classic ’90s platformer, returns in 3D form in Bubsy 4D by Atari and Fabraz. Even with more recent sequels in the 2010s, Bubsy has never really returned to the 3D platforming space since Bubsy 3D. And with a return of many 3D platformers, maybe Bubsy, the wisecracking, fourth-wall-breaking bobcat, could too. After getting through Bubsy 4D, that doesn’t really feel the case. Maybe Bubsy’s 3D jaunts should stay in the past. Or maybe it should’ve stayed cooking in the oven a little longer. 

One chill afternoon, Bubsy and his family find a stash of old things. His niece and nephew quickly grow attached to the camcorder. Well, thank goodness they get really into recording everything. They capture the Woolies’ return and their kidnapping of Bubsy’s sheep to make their own Golden Fleece on camera. Later, those same sheep have freed themselves and taken over the Woolies’ galactic empire. So Bubsy and his family embark on an interstellar quest to put a stop to the Baabots and their intergalactic tirade. 

The story in Bubsy 4D is treated basically as an afterthought. Sometimes, even as a joke that there is some narrative throughline. There’s the occasional cutscene at the start and end of each world. Beyond that, the longest cutscene is by far at the beginning. And that cutscene, the one that is supposed to hook you in right away, lasts way too long. 

Despite its premise, Bubsy 4D lacks a strong hook in its storytelling.

The cutscenes throughout Bubsy 4D serve as introductions to each world’s boss. There are only three worlds and three bosses you’ll face throughout the game. And the bosses themselves are so stale. Almost like checking off a box and taking the rule of threes to the nth degree. There are three archetypes of bosses: the nerdy tech-savvy boss, the buff dumb boss, and the ringleader boss. Bubsy constantly acts like everything happening in the game is such a bother, making it hard for the player to get invested in what’s going on. 

Even gameplay-wise, there are attempts to make Bubsy 4D feel “modern”. A lot of movement tech is more or less identical to current 3D platformers, like Mario Odyssey or Donkey Kong Bananza, with rolling around and combining moves to cover greater distances or reach greater heights. Yet the level design itself is stuck in the past like a stick in the mud. 

Each level for a first playthrough took about five to ten minutes to beat. But what was most shocking was the time to beat to earn a speedrunning ribbon. Each level in Bubsy 4D has what’s basically a “par” time. And they’re listed at about two to six minutes. That’s when it’s clear this game really feels built for the speedrunning community to a fault. Only if you’re into platformer collectathons is the game only slightly deeper than at first glance. 

The levels are surprisingly short and designed for speedrunning.

For the most part, each level is filled with odd mishmashes of some villages with two to three houses, or roadways, and tall or challenging platforming sections. There’s no rhyme or reason, and no coherence to the overall structure in Bubsy 4D. You just go from one structure to the other to reach the final golden yarn ball that marks the end of the level. 

Taking a step back, just looking at five levels and three worlds, five to ten minutes to beat each level on a first attempt, it’s not hard to see that there’s not really much game in Bubsy 4D. That five-to ten-minute time includes 100%ing each level, too (besides the time trial). Collecting every piece of yarn, getting swatches of fabric, and finishing each level doesn’t take much time, including just searching every nook and cranny for everything. 

At least for the collectibles, going out of your way to get everything is worth it. Yarn unlocks some fun, referential skins, to the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and past Bubsy titles. Fabric swatches reward upgrades to Bubsy’s basic moveset. The upgrades, at times, even feel almost critical, making the overall gameplay feel just more manageable. 

There are some cool collectibles and skins to earn in Bubsy 4D.

Like one that lets you fast travel between the litterbox checkpoints, or another that has Bubsy sniff out any remaining collectibles in a level. These and the ones that give more flexibility to the base moves are kind of surprising, since they’re not built in from the start, unlike in other modern takes on 3D platformers. Even then, there is a plus that you can just pick and choose which of the upgrades you want from the jump. None of the upgrades are locked behind progression or completing certain challenges. They’re only restricted by how many swatches you’ve collected on your journey. 

Yet even when investing in movements, controlling Bubsy is parody-levels of sluggish. Bubsy 4D wears its influences on its sleeve. The downside to this is that when there’s something that is blatantly comparable to what’s presented, you’d better make a product that lives up to those inspirations. Even just having weaker parts, the overall whole better proves why you can’t reinvent what’s included to fit your product. 

Specifically, climbing up walls, rolling around levels, and Bubsy’s claw dashes are not great combinations. Particularly when levels lead you to lose lives by falling through level floors when doing the right movement combinations. But the times that Bubsy fell through the earth. Many of the jumps that led to glitches, like falling through the earth, required a fairly precise combination of moves to make it, particularly when trying to speedrun the same levels.  

The controls don’t entirely sync up, with the “hairball” maneuver being the trickiest.

Rolling, especially, just feels horrible to control. Bubsy can bounce or roll as a “hairball”. But the sharp turns of levels, where being a “hairball” is encouraged for turning, are rough. Instead, it’s a smoother experience to switch in and out of the mode quickly to make tighter corners. It’s the same for bouncing. Why add a way to jump gaps when the jump itself will regularly not be enough to cross gaps? As such, you have to combo-switch in and out of “hairball” mode with Bubsy’s classic triple jumps and claw dashes to make it over the gaps. 

Heck, when trying to speedrun levels to earn their time-based rewards, the game falls apart even further. The times are quite tight on their own. And exploring levels to get all the collectibles quickly reveals valuable shortcuts for when you choose to speedrun the levels that also serve no purpose from a collectathon perspective. As in, these shortcuts have no collectibles, no rewards, no incentive to explore them beyond just remembering they even exist for that speedrun attempt. 

Bubsy 4D is trapped in the past and hasn’t quite adjusted enough to the modern world.

Yet, when trying to chain Bubsy’s kit together to get the fastest possible speed to make each level’s par time, the platforming feels worse. As in the moves are there, but not cohesive enough to make Bubsy fun to control. What’s even more frustrating is that Bubsy just isn’t a good character to play as.  He’s a dinosaur of the past, from clunky controls to bland writing full of one-liners, that has a hard time being a part of the modern world. He’s also just so apathetic toward the game’s events that it makes even playing the game feel less enjoyable. 

Bubsy 4D tries to modernize, yet still feels stuck in the past. Uninteresting level designs, underwhelming bosses, and a short game overall leave one wanting more. There are signs of a good game throughout, such as the collectathon elements and upgrades. However, the overall package doesn’t feel worth the time or money unless you want just a quick game with a retro feel that, at best, is like a Saturday morning cartoon. 

Bubsy 4D is available May 22nd on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.