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Bubsy 4D promises an exciting return for the franchise
C
Charlie Wacholz
4D’s tone kind of all centers around this idea, down to its plot and Bubsy himself. Despite a shiny, new, cell-shaded redesign and an acrobatic moveset, Bubsy is washed in 4D. Jumping and diving between platforms may feel as acrobatic as your Italian plumber of choice, but he’s clearly over it. Reluctantly thrust back into action by his old foes, The Woolies, Bubsy huffs and puffs with each hop and double jump.
I have a lot of respect for Fabraz’s approach to framing this game. Obviously, story and tone aren’t the most important thing in a platformer. Heck, I don’t think Shakespeare could save a platformer with tank controls. But for a series whose sense of humor has been a part of its identity for a while now, it’s nice to see Fabraz thread the comedic needle without cheapening its work for easy laughs we’ve already had elsewhere.
Even the unlockable costumes had some fun stuff going on, including a classic skin that swaps out the high-fidelity, cell-shaded model for Bubsy’s first 3D model from the 90s. One fit was called Hedgehog Style, which strips him down to a pair of sneakers. It also blurs and pixelates his lower half as if he were naked.
All good stuff! But I’m here for the movement.
Bubsy’s buttery-smooth locomotion fits like a glove. He scurries around 4D’s more linear levels with just the right balance between speed and precision. In addition to the genre-requisite jump, the bobcat also has a double jump, a dive (which also doubles as an attack), a glide/float, and a hairball form, which kind of controls like the balls from Super Monkey Ball. He can also wall cling and wall jump. Chaining these various options together is as compelling as it is rewarding.
The handful of levels I’ve tried so far haven’t just let me push that flexibility and freedom to their limits, but also actively encouraged experimentation. Perfectly-sized gaps consistently dared me to create my own shortcuts at every opportunity. This, combined with extremely fluid movement options, is the hallmark of a good platformer.
Normally, I think the fact that this is all happening in fairly linear levels might turn off some fans, but I vastly prefer this precise structure, which throws meatier sections in between quick sections of straightforward platforming instead of just plopping you into overwhelming open areas with all sorts of points of interest. This sharpened structure opens up all kinds of doors to really mess around with Bubsy’s toolkit.
Each move is consistent and dependable, but also highly modular. Stringing a dive into a double jump might get you one result, while doing that in a different order will get you something else. The differences between these combinations aren’t too extreme, but this game controls with such high precision that they’re definitely noticeable. This is a clever, efficient way to multiply Bubsy’s move pool and reward skill without overcomplicating things.
The best part of all this is that Fabraz so clearly wants players to break their game. Every level times your run, giving both an arcade-y reason to revisit each platforming challenge and compete with your friends for shorter times. One leaderboard I breezed past in my ravenous quest to play more Bubsy showed cavernous differences between clear times (I’m talking minutes to seconds), speaking to my inner speed demon.
I cannot believe I’m this excited about a Bubsy game. Long relegated to the butt of jokes online, this revival promises to do the Bobcat justice in a way I never expected. Blending smooth, expressive platforming with measured cheek, I didn’t want my demo to end. If the rest of this game measures up to the half-hour demo I played, it’s sure to be a modern classic 3D platformer.
Wishlist Bubsy 4D now on Epic Games Store.