Bubsy 4D Goes Beyond the Memes

by
Evan Norris
, posted 16 hours ago / 932 Views

The Bubsy franchise has a difficult history. The first two games in the series, developed by Accolade for the SNES and Genesis, received mostly positive reviews. Bubsy didn’t make anyone forget about Mario or Sonic, but certainly earned a comfortable place for himself in the larger group of mascot platformers. Then came Bubsy 3D, an earnest but ultimately uncomfortable foray into 3D platforming that derailed the series and became, in the years that followed, something of a punchline. Slowly but surely, though, ardent fans began to take back the narrative. A Digital Foundry documentary from 2019 shined a new light on the wise-cracking bobcat, and a compilation just last year introduced the Bubsy canon, along with all the necessary historical context, to a new generation. And, on May 22, a brand new game, Bubsy 4D, which started several years ago as a passion project inside Atari, will arrive to redefine what Bubsy means in three dimensions.

At PAX East this past weekend, I had the chance to experience a slice of Bubsy 4D, by way of a brand new demo. Joining me on my journey was Jason Polanksy, Senior Producer at Atari and lead producer on the game, who talked me through the business decisions that led to the first 3D Bubsy title in 30 years.

According to Polansky, the game started as a dream inside Atari shortly after the company reacquired the Bubsy IP in April 2023. Sam Brown, now the creative producer on Bubsy 4D, approached Polansky and said, “we need to make Bubsy 4D.” Momentum for the title started building internally at Atari, but the company didn’t have the right development team for the job. Then, two years ago, Atari CEO Wade Rosen went on the MinnMax podcast and suggested that enterprising developers with 3D platforming backgrounds could reach out about making the next Bubsy game. Within a few days, Polansky and Brown reviewed several proposals, including a pitch from the international indie studio Fabraz, which ultimately won the job. Two years later, here we are.

When you pick up and play Bubsy 4D, you can immediately feel the presence of Fabraz. There’s a good chunk of Demon Tides DNA here, thanks to multiple expressive, high-energy platforming moves that can be chained together to cross what seem like impossibly-long gaps. If that reminds you of another, more famous 3D platformer, you’re not far off. There’s also a fair bit of Super Mario Odyssey DNA at play, in that a relatively simple platforming toolkit can be deployed in creative, unexpected, almost game-breaking ways.

Any comparison to Super Mario Odyssey, however tenuous, is high praise. And, frankly, Bubsy 4D deserves the praise, at least in terms of its moment-to-moment gameplay. The anti-heroic bobcat controls smoothly, pivots on a dime, and responds quickly and decisively to player inputs. You can double jump, pounce forward, and glide gently downward, and these moves reset if you “snap” to certain targets. As far as platforming fundamentals go, this game has you covered.

Whether it has you covered on level design and overall structure is less obvious. During my time with the game, I was only able to try out the tutorial (which was purposefully spartan) and the first stage, which I assume was designed to ease players gently into the action. Apart from a giant horizontal rotating log with protruding branches, I didn’t find many interesting set-pieces. As a result, I’m still unsure if the game satisfies when it comes to its miniature playgrounds.

I will say this, though: if you’re a fan of old-school collectathons from the fifth and sixth generations, as I am, you’ll find a lot to like in Bubsy 4D. Each stage contains a golden fleece, a blueprint, and 150 yarn balls. You only need the fleece to beat the level, but you’ll have to venture off the beaten path to hit 100%. Because of this, the game feels like something you might have played on PS2 or GameCube, despite its modern assets and slick move set.

Not only does the game track your collection rate; it also keeps tabs on your progress toward the par time on each level, which feeds into online leaderboards. “In a way, every level is a race,” said Polansky. “If you want to take it slow and play it like a precision platformer, you can, or you could do this speed demon stuff.”

No matter how you approach Bubsy 4D — as a methodical collector or a speed-running dynamo — you’ll find a game that’s remarkably sincere. Sure, the story, in which tech-savvy sheep called Baabots steal Bubsy’s golden fleece, is self-aware and self-deprecating, but the overall game is proud of its pedigree. “It’s not just about the memes,” continued Polansky. “We’re trying to make a legit good game, and I think that’s the first and foremost mission to make this all work.”

As long as Fabraz has sorted out level design and flow in the final product, I’m optimistic it will work. The fundamentals are solid after all; Bubsy is nimble and light, and benefits from amazing horizontal mobility. He just needs to be placed in platforming playgrounds worthy of those mechanics. That’s the big question mark heading into May 22, when the game lands on Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC.

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