Release Date: June 26, 2025
A third-person action adventure game with clearly outlined platforming bits. In Ruffy and the Riverside we play as the titular bear. He is capable of manipulating the game world by copying and pasting textures, changing the characteristics of objects and surfaces.
Ruffy and the Riverside is a production on the border of action adventure games and platformers, based on the unusual idea of manipulating textures. It was developed by the independent German studio Zockrates Laboratories.
In Ruffy and the Riverside we watch the action from a third-person perspective (TPP).
The game provides us with an open world divided into regions, which we explore in the skin of the titular little bear - Ruffy. While travelling through the land of Riverside, the protagonist meets its inhabitants and accepts various quests from them. Apart from missions pushing the story forward, there are various side tasks waiting to be completed.
Exploring the game world involves the need to jumping on platforms, avoiding traps and bypassing terrain obstacles, riding on hay bales and rolling boulders, as well as solving environmental puzzles. We must not only demonstrate agility and reflexes, but also rely on our brain cells.
Ruffy has the power of SWAP, which allows him to manipulate the environment. Thanks to it, the protagonist can copy selected textures and paste them in another place, thereby changing the specifics of a given object. For example, we can turn water into lava (to eliminate an enemy lurking in it or destroy a wooden box floating on it), a waterfall into vines (which we can climb), a stone into a log of wood (which can serve us as a makeshift raft) or a wall into rubble (thus opening a new passage).
The icing on the cake is another unusual ability of Ruffy's, which allows him to "jump into walls", turning them into additional 2D stages straight from classic platform games. The list of attractions is topped by collectibles waiting to be found, like butterflies, coins, or dream stones.
The main character of Ruffy and the Riverside is the titular bear Ruffy, whose task is to stop the villain Groll before he manages to unleash real chaos in the Riverside land. The protagonist can count on the help of his companions, led by the bee Pip, the mole Sir Eddler, and the turtle Silja.
The graphic design of Ruffy and the Riverside is maintained in a cartoon style. The characters are presented in the form of sprites that look like stickers.
Platforms:
PC Windows
Xbox One
Nintendo Switch
PlayStation 5
Xbox Series X/S
Developer: Zockrates Laboratories
Publisher: Phiphen Games
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System Requirements for Ruffy and the Riverside Video Game:
PC / Windows
Minimum System Requirements:
CPU SSE2, 4 GB RAM, graphic card DirectX 10, 6 GB HDD, Windows 7(SP1)/10/11 64-bit.
Game Ratings for Ruffy and the Riverside Video Game.
NoobFeed: 79 / 100 by Asura Kagawa
When it comes to Ruffy and the Riverside, Zockrates Laboratories has successfully developed something truly remarkable. There is no need for it to be flawless, but it is not perfect. Something that it provides is joy, joy that is unrestrained and infectious, and in a genre that tends to play it safe, it is something that should be celebrated. A texture-swapping adventure that rewrites the 3D platformer rulebook.
Checkpoint Gaming: 9 / 10 by David McNamara
A gorgeously presented modern twist on the classic 3D platformer, Ruffy and the Riverside is positively glowing with charm. Featuring a cavalcade of fun environmental puzzles that take advantage of its unique copy-and-paste "SWAP" mechanic, a delightful blend of hand-drawn spritework and rendered environments, and cheeky writing that makes you fall in love with its silly little characters, this is a perfectly lovely adventure with tonnes of heart.
Thumb Culture: 5 / 5
Getting to explore Ruffy’s entire world through so many wacky and yet charming eyes was honestly an amazing treat. Getting to explore different methods or finding out what works with swapping one another is both fun and aggravating. There are times I wish that my swap ability either lasted longer or we had a bit more freedom on swapping anything into anything. Although I feel the developers had that first thought and realize that it’s not a great idea to do. If you’re a big collectathon/platformer enjoyer or want to play another game that Banjo-Kazooie/Paper Mario inspired, then play Ruffy. Just know that the fights aren’t the grizzly and your biggest enemy is just yourself… but only “bear”ly . I give Ruffy and the Riverside the Thumb Culture Platinum Award.
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![[1:18] - Launch Trailer](https://cdn.gracza.pl/galeria/filmy/640x360/1371623156.jpg)
