Meet Ruffy, a Bear who has the special ability to use the Swap. A magical tool allowing textures and colours to be swapped. After helping his mentor for years, he is called up by the Mole Knights to fight Groll, a dark enemy who has returned from his banishment. After being recruited, Ruffy and his bee friend are chosen to save Riverside from the chaos that Groll has brought.
Ruffy And The Riverside starts with Ruffy accompanying Sir Eddler to retrieve a magical stone from one of the Riverside Islands. Retrieving the stone causes the release of Groll, marking the real start of the chaos and adventure. Groll is mad after years of banishment and flies around, smashing and contaminating the island of Riverside. It is now up to Ruffy and his Bee pal Pip to save the day.
Now that the tutorial part of the game was over, the gameplay opened. Travelling around the world and experimenting allowed me to discover a multitude of side quests to help the locals of Riverside. These quests included puzzles, races, skill battles, 2D platforming, and more. The game even consists of a heap of collectables, such as butterflies, coins, dream stones, and strange creatures called the Etoi. Each of these collectables contributes to the gameplay and customisation.
The game consists of several areas. Completing the main questline unlocks each area in turn, allowing our heroes’ story to continue. The areas include islands, graveyards, beaches, mountains and even tree-filled forests. The design choices are astonishing, with Ruffy and the inhabitants of the world all being hand-drawn in a Paper Mario style. At the same time, the 3D overworld reminds me of Nintendo 64-era games like Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.
The game’s movement is smooth, and the limited combat is easy to manage. Ruffy and Pip are great protagonists, with their antics playing a significant role in the story. Pip is also used as a game mechanic, allowing Ruffy to hover in addition to his jumping. Later in the game, there is hay bale riding that allows for faster travel and traversal over special elements. This results in a faster and more engaging gameplay experience.
The copy-and-paste element of the game is utilised in various creative ways, ranging from puzzle-solving to defeating enemies. It was enjoyable to experiment with the various textures and overcome the new and interesting challenges presented by the game. Through my seven or so hours of play, I found myself having a harder time putting the game down. I did, however, play much of the game on my Steam Deck, and I think that proves how great the game was. It was handy to play the game while sleeping and then continue my day, and pick it back up right where I left off when the opportunity arose. The game was extremely smooth to play on the Steam Deck, so playing on the Nintendo Switch would be equally rewarding, in my opinion.
Although I have finished the story, I plan to go back and collect as many collectables as I can, and enjoy the overworld in Ruffy and The Riverside.
(Review code provided to Explosion Network.
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