2.5D is a strange beast. Initially, it basically referred to games that were rendered in 3D but mostly took place on a single dimensional plane. Think of games like the first Crash Bandicoot or even Pandemonium, and you’ll get a good picture. Ruffy and the Riverside may not be a 2.5D game, but perhaps we can call it a 3.5D game? It takes place in a fully 3D world, but most of the characters in it are composed of simple, hand-drawn 2D images. It’s a visual style that stands out, not least of all because it makes me think of Tombi! (or Tomba! in the US) on the PSX as well. Now, let’s see if it can escape the nostalgia trap I’ve laid for it by actually being a decent 3D platformer.
What Is Ruffy and the Riverside?
Ruffy and the Riverside is a 3D platformer about a small, furry, bipedal bear (I think) named Ruffy who has the power to swap materials/colours between different objects. As you start the game, you’re mostly swapping colours, but it’s not long until you’re turning water into leaves, lava into sand, and metal into wood. This is the crux of the gameplay, outside of the more standard 3D-platformer stuff. You use your ability to ‘swap’ things to solve a variety of puzzles, using the properties of the different materials, such as weight, durability, and conductivity.
For example, early on, you need to weigh something down but not destroy the rope by which it’s hanging. So, you have to swap the original wood for something heavy, but if you choose something too heavy, then the rope will snap. It’s certainly trial-and-error gameplay in some cases, but generally, it’s a fun time running around the bright, colourful cartoon world, interacting with the wonderful characters, exploring the environments, and generally having an experience that wouldn’t feel out of place in an old-school 3D platformer of the PS1 and N64 era.
Respecting the Classics
In fact, it’s easy to see that love of those older platformers is truly baked into Ruffy and the Riverside. I was already well-into the idea that Tombi had been a big inspiration, so when I successfully completed a puzzle and opened a door to find a bunch of references to other games behind it, and one of those was ‘Tom B’, I was pretty vindicated. That’s not to say that the game is derivative. More than any other game that is a love-letter to the classics, Ruffy and the Riverside stands on its own as a classic in its own right.
While it mentions to pay homage to older games in its tone, style and gameplay, it also brings enough new gameplay features to the table that it feels unique. This isn’t just an exercise in pointless nostalgia; instead, this is a game that will become a focal point of nostalgia in a few years’ time. Kids playing this game today are sure to go all gooey when remembering this one, because frankly, for 3D platformer and adventure-game fans, this is a genuine miracle and a masterful piece of art.
So, What’s New?
It’s great that I feel so strongly about the game, but why do I like Ruffy and the Riverside so much? Well, mostly it’s a well-executed platformer chocked full of puzzles to solve and challenges to complete that feels long enough to be a satisfying adventure, but it’s not so long that you start to feel like it’s becoming a boring chore *cough* Crash 4 *couch*. More than that, the visual style adds a nice touch, with that whole “2D characters in a 3D world” aesthetic becoming ever more popular. Mostly, I think it’s great because it can be charming, funny, and wholesome all at the same time as it makes fun of specific game tropes and themes we’ve seen over the past 30 years.
It’s not all sunshine and daisies though. One pretty consistent bugbear throughout the experience was performance dipping on the original Switch in handheld mode. Most of the time, I’d mostly experience frame dips during pre-rendered cutscenes, but once or twice during more intense gameplay, I started to drop frames. It’s not a major issue from a gameplay perspective, but it’s more than a little annoying when you’re trying to enjoy some of the faster-paced sequences. You also have to contend with some gameplay moments being downright annoying, such as the overworld challenges where you have to race between hay bales and quickly swap the right materials, which requires you to leave the area and come back for another attempt.
The Last Word
Ruffy and the Riverside is a fantastic modern 3D platformer that manages to pay homage to classics without wallowing in their success. It’s certainly its own beast, comparisons to Tombi! aside, and offers a new world that can feel both familiar and unique at the same time. Minor performance issues aside, this is a classic-style game without being stuck in the past, and that’s something that we can all be thankful for, especially when it manages to inject some colour back into the drab and grey world.
Developer: Zockrates Laboratories
Publisher: Limited Run
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch
Release Date: 26th June 2025
Gaming Respawn’s copy of Ruffy and the Riverside was provided by the publisher.
