Bubsy 4D Review: A Surprisingly Enjoyable, Albeit Flawed, Platformer

It’s been thirty years since one of the most infamous flops in gaming history.

Bubsy 3D aimed to be among the very first 3D platforming games, marking a leap from older 2D games into a fully 3D world. With the buzz around the successful launch of Super Mario 64, expectations were high. Unfortunately, Bubsy 3D didn’t live up to the hype and was a disappointment.

After thirty years, Bubsy is back with Bubsy 4D, a 3D platformer aiming to redeem the series. This isn’t the first attempt at a comeback, though. Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, a 2D platformer from 2017, also wasn’t very successful.

Everyone loves a good underdog story, and it’s surprising to see Bubsy getting another chance. While many expected to see sequels to classic games like Banjo-Kazooie or Spyro first, Bubsy 4D is actually happening, and the game seems to be making the best of it.

Bubsy 4D isn’t flawless, and a little extra refinement would have been nice, but overall I had a good time playing it.

Wait, Bubsy 4D is Actually Fun to Play?

Everyone’s been wondering: after a long wait, has Bubsy finally made a good 3D platforming game? The answer is yes! It’s a tricky thing to design platformer controls that feel unique but still responsive, and Bubsy 4D mostly manages to strike that balance.

When I first played, Bubsy felt a bit light and airy, but it actually worked well. He moves like a cat – sometimes graceful and agile, other times clumsy and unpredictable. You can pull off amazing jumps and tricks, but then quickly find yourself falling to your doom. I get that cats are supposed to have nine lives, but Bubsy seems to be taking that a little too literally!

Okay, so playing this game is… interesting. It really explains why Bubsy acts so cocky but also kinda stressed! But honestly, the biggest problem is just dying constantly. I’d finally get into a good groove, and then BAM! Instant death, usually from something totally unexpected. It happened way too often, and it got really frustrating, really fast.

Even though I faced some challenges, I kept progressing and learning from what didn’t work. Soon, I started to feel more confident and playful, almost like a cat! This feeling really matched the game’s open design. You can definitely rush through levels and try to beat your best time, but you’ll miss out on hidden collectibles that let you unlock new skills and customize your character.

The Open-Ended Nature of Bubsy 4D is Its Best Part

Being able to experience Bubsy 4D as you see fit is undoubtedly my favorite part about it.

Let’s get straight to the point: this game is quite short. You’ll explore three planets, each with five levels – one of which is a boss battle. You can easily finish it in a single play session, and honestly, that’s fine with me. Considering it only cost $20, I enjoyed it more than many games that cost twice as much.

Everyone’s been wondering: after a long wait, has Bubsy finally made a good 3D platforming game? The answer is yes, definitely!

I’m definitely going to keep practicing to improve my speed run times. But finding all the collectibles? That’s a whole other challenge. I mentioned before that the controls felt a lot like controlling a cat – unpredictable, but sometimes good. While the platforming is impressive, I often felt incredibly frustrated trying to reach every hidden item. It was more annoying than fun at times.

Okay, so the camera isn’t the problem, which is a relief! But honestly, it takes a little while to get used to how Bubsy moves, especially when he’s curling up into a ball – and you do that a lot. It’s not as tight and precise as something like a Crash Bandicoot game, so be prepared to mess up way more than you think you are!

Unafraid to Make Fun of Itself

Bubsy has always been a character with a lot of attitude. The games were created during a time when it was popular for characters to deliver quick, funny lines. Think back to the 1990s – games like Gex were packed with pop culture references, and even Crash Bandicoot famously taunted Nintendo with a megaphone.

After the negative response to Bubsy 3D, the character now frequently makes fun of himself, a trait that started in The Woolies Strike Back and is now central to Bubsy 4D. It’s refreshing that the game acknowledges how people feel about the series and isn’t afraid to joke about it.

Okay, so this game is really self-aware, which is kinda funny, and honestly, it’s way more fun than I expected! It totally feels like a Bubsy game, right down to him constantly cracking jokes about everything. My biggest issue? He just repeats the same lines over and over, which gets old fast. Thankfully, the game lets you turn down how much he talks, and seriously, more games need that option! It makes a huge difference.

It’s disappointing because Bubsy 4D has several flaws that hold it back. The game is very short – most players will finish it in just a few hours, and even a completionist run won’t take much longer than ten. This makes the quickly repetitive jokes especially annoying, considering the campaign is about as long as a typical mixtape.

Bubsy 4D Would Have Greatly Benefited From More Polish

What held me back from fully enjoying Bubsy 4D was that it often felt unfinished, like a game still in development.

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Each level has plenty to discover, but the graphics aren’t particularly stunning. They have a pleasant, cartoonish style, though the backgrounds are often simple and can feel a little empty. Sometimes the game feels repetitive, as textures and objects are reused with only minor changes instead of being truly diverse.

While the platforming sections were sometimes amazing, they were also incredibly frustrating and made me want to give up.

It’s also really annoying when bugs appear, and I even had to completely restart the game once because of one. I often found Bubsy getting stuck inside objects, and falling from heights is frustrating because you have to watch him fall for a long 15 seconds before he actually dies. When the platforming is already tricky, this just makes me want to quit playing.

Even though it had flaws, I continued playing, determined to find every wool barn. I enjoyed challenging myself to master the controls and beat each level as quickly as possible. Bubsy 4D clearly had a lot of promise, but unfortunately, it never quite reached its full potential.

Closing Comments

I went into Bubsy 4D with high hopes, and I was pleasantly surprised. Platforming games are doing incredibly well right now, with hits like Super Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Astro Bot leading the way. Seeing Bubsy finally move past its reputation and offer a genuinely fun, though imperfect, experience gives me hope that Atari will improve on this solid base and create a sequel that could actually be great. Even with its flaws, Bubsy 4D is a good value, especially at its current price.

2026-05-21 18:58