HELL FREEZES OVER.
I can’t believe I’m saying it… there is a good Bubsy game.
Bubsy was a notoriously bad game series. The 16 bit games were terrible, but popular enough for a sequel and for Accolade to try to get a cartoon off the ground. Only a pilot was ever made.
Bubsy was one of the first 2D game series to attempt to move into the third dimension with Bubsy 3D. A quick search of YouTube will show that Bubsy 3D is hated by many. It is important to note that Bubsy 3D was in development before Super Mario 64 released and revolutionized 3D gaming, however it isn’t just its controls that is the issue with Bubsy 3D.
PLATFORMS: PC, PS4, SWITCH (SOON)
MSRP: $24.99
PRICE I’D PAY: $24.99
Bubsy became a sort of meme on the internet in the time since Bubsy 3D’s release. Upon his return in 2017, Bubsy embraced his meme status to hype up his new game Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back. The Woolies Strike Back had talent behind it, being developed by Black Forest Games who were responsible for the well received return of the Giana Sisters. Unfortunately the game received mediocre reviews. I suggest watching Laser Time’s playthrough, which took them around 40 minutes to complete on their first try.
I wanted to cover Bubsy’s past because it is important to establish how much of a running joke this series is so that when I say Paws on Fire is good, I mean it. Paws on Fire is not just good for a Bubsy title, but for a game in general.
In the most simplified description of Paws on Fire, it is a reskinned version of Choice Provisions’ main BIT.TRIP Runner series, and that’s not a bad thing. The Runner games are really fun platformer/rhythm games where the character automatically runs and the player has to jump, duck, and maneuver around obstacles. Bubsy is mostly the same, however unlike Runner 2 and 3 the different characters are actually different courses. Bubsy has a glide and pounce mechanic, while Virgil has a shorter hop and a double jump and relies on ducking a lot. These two characters are two different takes on the Runner formula while neither are exact copies of Commander Video’s controls. The big differences come from the final two characters. Woolie (the main enemies of the Bubsy series) is a simple side scrolling shooter where the player can move the ship around an autoscrolling screen shooting enemies. Arnold Armadillo is a bonus level that is unlocked after getting all the pieces of his medallion by the three other characters in the respective stage and plays like a straight version of Sonic 2’s special stage.
Stemage handles the music rather than BIT.TRIP’s regular composer Matthew Harwood,which was a concern to me at first but as soon as I heard the music I really enjoyed it. The music is a big part of the Runner series as rhythm is a large portion of those titles, and while that aspect isn’t as strong here in Paws on Fire, it still works. The stages aren’t as interesting as the worlds in the Runner games but it is a Bubsy title and those aren’t really known for their unique environments (outside of the geometric hellscapes in Bubsy 3D).
What I did find interesting was that all the characters in Paws on Fire are actually pre-established characters from that awful pilot cartoon I mentioned earlier. What they do with the characters are a bit self deprecating and actually kind of funny (although Bubsy is mostly quiet throughout the game and thank heavens for that). Even the loading screens have a decent amount of humor to them even if they do repeat quite a bit.
For being handed what I would consider a horribly tainted license, Choice Provisions did well combining their expertise with it to make something pretty good. I would still recommend their own Runner series before recommending Bubsy: Paws on Fire, but any fan of those titles looking for can’t go wrong with this game. Bubsy: Paws on Fire is hands down the best Bubsy game. Anyone with any nostalgia for this despicable bobcat should find enjoyment here, even if in only short bursts.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
