Bubsy 4D
Choice Provisions · Atari
“Bubsy is back. He is in 4D this time. The fourth dimension is, apparently, time, which is the dimension that has not been kind to Bubsy and is not about to start.”
Sally's not done with you yet.
Drop a URL, screenshot, or file and Sally will give you the honest truth.
The Review
Bubsy 4D exists. That is the first thing to understand. Atari greenlit it. Choice Provisions built it. Marketing has been straight faced about the entire thing. The fourth dimension referenced in the title is time, which the game uses as a mechanic to let you rewind death and redo platforming sections. This is a perfectly fine mechanic. It has also been used by basically every platformer since Braid in 2008, including six other games released this quarter alone.
The actual gameplay is a 3D platformer with light puzzle elements and the rewind mechanic. Bubsy controls slightly better than he ever has, which is a low bar. Level design is competent. Music is forgettable in a way that takes real effort. The dialogue is committed to the bit of Bubsy being a self aware mascot who knows nobody asked for him. That joke is the load bearing structure of the entire game. It works for about two hours. The game is eight hours long.
The most damning thing about Bubsy 4D is that it is not bad. It is fine. A fine Bubsy game is a deeply confusing object. Bubsy's entire cultural identity is being the bad mascot who haunts retro gaming compilations. A competent Bubsy game has no audience. The nostalgia crowd wanted it to be a disaster. The general gaming audience does not know who Bubsy is. The only people happy here are the developers, who clearly cared, and Atari's accountants, who will not look at the numbers.
What It Nails
- +Bubsy genuinely controls better than in any previous game in the series
- +Level design is competent and occasionally inventive
- +Rewind mechanic is integrated thoughtfully into puzzle sections
- +Self aware dialogue lands in the first two hours
What It Botches
- -Eight hour runtime is roughly six hours longer than the joke can sustain
- -Music is the audio equivalent of beige carpet
- -Boss design borrows liberally from games that did the same thing better
- -The branding cannot decide whether this is nostalgia or sincere reinvention
- -Marketing budget appears to be the difference between a bug fix and a launch
Think your work can survive this?
Drop a URL, screenshot, or file and Sally will give you the honest truth.
Who It's For
Bubsy completists, who are technically a real demographic. Retro mascot game historians. People who enjoy ironic purchases.
Who Should Skip
Anyone who has never thought about Bubsy. Audiences who only have time for the genre's best work. People who do not find self awareness inherently funny.
Your turn. Drop something.
Drop a URL, screenshot, or file and Sally will give you the honest truth.