Jazz Hands the Bear
I love when a game dares to be weird. Not “quirky for quirkiness’ sake” weird, but that special kind of creative madness that feels fresh the moment you pick up the controller. Ruffy and the Riverside isn’t just another throwback platformer but a visual and mechanical glow-up of the genre, backed by a gimmick so good it could carry a dozen lesser games on its fuzzy, jazz-handed back.
Let’s talk art first, because you can’t ignore it. Ruffy and the Riverside is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. Characters are hand-drawn, flat as pancakes, and always seem to be pivoting to face you, kind of like characters Paper Mario. Ruffy himself (a bear? a dog? a Muppet reject with unlimited energy?) is animated like a cartoon trying to break out of your screen and busts into jazz-hands anytime he can. It’s all crisp, clean, and confidently weird in a way that feels both nostalgic and brand-new. The environments are made of bold colors and chunky, low-poly geometry, but they’re painted with hand-drawn textures that give the illusion of depth without ever abandoning their 2D roots. Zockrates Laboratories didn’t just design a game—they built a visual identity. It’s eye candy without being busy, and unique without being disorienting. I legitimately haven’t seen anything quite like it.
MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, Switch, PC
Price I’d Pay: $19.99
Of course, visuals only get you so far. What seals the deal is Ruffy’s truly wild core mechanic: texture swapping.
Yeah, you read that right.
With a tap of RB on Xbox, you can absorb the texture of certain materials in the world; wood, ice, lava, vines, you name it. With a tap of RT, you slap that texture onto something else. The result? Instant, intuitive, chaotic genius. See a wall of cement blocks? Grab a wood texture from a nearby tree, paste it on the blocks, and now you can smash through them like a beaver with beef to settle. It’s tactile. It’s funny. It’s endlessly versatile. And more importantly, it works. The game keeps expanding on the concept in clever ways. Water becomes ice, then lava, then moss-covered climbable vines. You start to see the world not as static terrain but as a flexible toybox, and Ruffy becomes less a mascot and more a jazz-handing alchemist of weirdness.
Enemies show up occasionally, but they’re more like seasoning than main course. The real challenge lies in exploration and puzzle-solving. Platforming exists, but it’s not the star of the show. And honestly? That’s a good thing. Enemy variety is lacking and combat doesn’t bring anything new to the genre so “less is more” is great. One of the other things that I didn’t like was the voices that Ruffy makes. Maybe its my old age but the use of overly cutesy sound effects to demonstrate speech is probably the most annoying thing in gaming for me; aside for the constant price hikes that is. And sadly, Ruffy and his friends just annoy me each time I have a cutscene and even when just jumping around. This is 100% a “me” thing, but I felt I would be remise if I didn’t mention it, in case anyone else out there may be bothered.
If you go in expecting Donkey Kong Country, you might be surprised and maybe even a little thrown by just how puzzle-heavy Ruffy and the Riverside really is. This game doesn’t just want you to jump gaps. It wants you to look at a waterfall and ask, “What if that was a ladder instead?” It wants you to spin a gear, re-texture a wall, flip the physics, and solve a riddle all in the same room. It’s Super Mario Sunshine levels of environmental play, but with fewer squirts and more “aha!” moments. Most of the fun comes not from reflexes, but from curiosity. And sometimes, from good ol’ trial and error. A few puzzles left me scratching my head in silence. I’d walk away, eat something, stare into space and then suddenly realize, “Oh my god, the vines. The vines!” I’d dash back and feel like a genius. That’s the kind of feeling that sticks with you.
Pro tip: Facing new puzzles remember; when in doubt, look to re-texture. It’ll save you from an embarrassing 20-minute detour. (Not that I did that. I’m just saying. Hypothetically.)
Ruffy and the Riverside is one of the most creative games I’ve played all year. It’s a puzzle-platformer that puts puzzles first, throws platforming in for flavor, and somehow wraps it all in a technicolor cartoon aesthetic that shouldn’t work but totally does. Zockrates Laboratories didn’t just make a game; they made a vibe. It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay. But if you like your games clever, your worlds weird, and your protagonists one jazz hand away from a nervous breakdown, Ruffy is your guy.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
