Modern-day culture is driven by nostalgia. It seems as though there is always a remake or remaster of a popular game from ten or twenty years ago in the works. But what would these games look like if they were created from scratch today? Ruffy and the Riverside attempts to envisage what a 3D Collect-a-Thon could be like with modern game design in mind.
Down by the Riverside
Ruffy and the Riverside is a new game from German studio Zockrates Laboratories. This 3D Collect-a-Thon game aims to capture the magic of legendary ’90s games such as Mario 64 and Spyro. The art style is a blend of the aforementioned games and Paper Mario, with characters that look as though they have been cut out of a sheet of paper and feature hand-drawn designs.
As the name suggests, the star of the game is Ruffy, a bear-like character born as the chosen one. He possesses the power of Swap. This lets him copy and paste textures from his surroundings. Want to scale a waterfall? Just turn the water into vines! Want to open a door? Just copy an arrow pointing in the opposite direction and paste it. The possibilities are truly endless. From colours to textures, almost every object in the game has a property to scan.
But how did Ruffy use this power? He works in an art shop, pasting images that clients want onto their paintings. That is, until Sir Eddler, a giant mole, appears and declares that the chosen one must leave home and fulfil his destiny. Within the first hour of the game, Eddler and Ruffy accidentally unleash the mischievous villain Groll upon the world. Groll breaks the world core and the Riverside Sign, which stands over the village like the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles. Now the time has truly come for Ruffy to stop Groll and bring peace back to Riverside. Collecting the letters of the broken sign and so restoring power to the world core.
Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V
Like its protagonist, Ruffy and the Riverside takes things from the games it is inspired by and puts them to new uses. There are plenty of collectibles, such as butterflies, dreamstones, Etoi creatures and coins. Each one contributes to the gameplay and customisation. They are all scattered about in the main Riverside and the seven outer worlds. Each of these types of collectibles is mostly locked after a distinct type of puzzle. So are butterflies hidden in hard-to-reach places and shrines with patterns lock dreamstones. But there are exceptions to this rule. For one of these rare stones, I had to turn a wooden object that looked like a horseshoe into metal. This made it a magnet that lifted another plate that laid on top of the dreamstone. And this is just one of these puzzles. There are even more original and cryptic ones. Let me present to you: the wall puzzles. After solving a riddle next to certain walls in the game, Ruffy can enter a 2D world inside it, like in certain parts of Mario Odyssey or A Link Between Worlds. Here, Ruffy needs to copy textures from the outside world to solve puzzles inside the wall. This allows you to interact with the overworld even more. As in true Collect-a-Thon fashion, there is something interesting or shiny to collect around every corner.
And what a joy collecting turns out to be. Ruffy’s movements feel fluid, and he is a pleasure to control. His moveset is well thought out and perfected. I had the feeling that I would be able to perform game-breaking stunts like a Mario pro (if only I were a better gamer…). My only criticism would be that you can’t grab onto a ladder mid-jump or after letting go. However, if this is the only dislike I can find with the gameplay, I’m happy to let it slide. It is important to mention that while I was playing the game for this review, the game already had an update, and the issue happened less frequently.
Ruffy Hawk, Bear skater?!
And I haven’t even touched an important mechanic of the game yet. After finding the first Riverside letter, the devs give you yet another mechanic to play with: the hay bale. After unlocking this item, you can skate around the overworld like it is your own backyard skatepark. Let me add that Ruffy isn’t Tony Hawk. There are flips and grinds done while riding, but this is mostly with platforming challenges in mind. Like a grind rail being your only way over a cliff, for example. There are challenge races to be had, and prizes to be won in them, but they are mostly done by “cheating”. You need to scout the racetrack beforehand and find out where you can manipulate the environment in a way that is a benefit for you, but a detriment for your opponent(s). It isn’t just a gimmick that is tacked on to the game as an afterthought. It is as fleshed out as all the other components and a truly welcome addition to an already packed finished product.
Before playing this game, I had the feeling that the Collect-a-Thon was a thing of the past. A distant relic from a time when mascots were sometimes more important for brands like PlayStation and Nintendo than the game they starred in. Ruffy and the Riverside showed that when you put love and care into a game, you can make it as thrilling and charming as you want. Even putting console war antics aside in a way, because this game will come out for every platform. The developers dared to think out of the box, and their efforts to add something truly original to this game paid off in full. They managed to capture the charm of the 90s using modern game design.
Conclusion
Ruffy and the Riverside is a tribute to the golden years of the 3D Collect-a-Thon. The combination of the copy-paste mechanic, fluent gameplay, and a familiar yet original art style results in a final product that is both fun to play and wonderful to look at. Furthermore, the hay bale skating adds extra depth to a game that is already full of features. If you want to immerse yourself in a colourful open world full of exploration and collectibles, then Ruffy and the Riverside is the game for you. I hope this indie title gets the recognition it deserves so it can take its place alongside all its inspirations.
If you want to play the game after reading this review, it is released on June 26 for the Switch (2), Xbox, and PlayStation 5, as well as on PC via the Epic Store and Steam.
9.5/10
Reviewed on Steam Deck
For more Ruffy and the Riverside, be sure to check out Nick’s preview of the game:
