Ruffy and the Riverside

Hand-drawn 2.5-D platformers are now a dime a dozen. However, it is more difficult to find real gems among those that remind you a little of Paper Mario. Ruffy and the Riverside is different. And very different. Very different. The game revolves around Ruffy - we don't know what exactly Ruffy is, but he is referred to as a bear several times in the game - who has completed his training as a painter. Or more precisely: He flips. He flips pictures. This means that Ruffy takes the contents of a picture with a magical movement and flips them onto the target. And enchants the target into exactly what he has captured.

Riddles, Puzzles, Action

And this also explains the game concept of Ruffy and the Riverside. Transferring one object from one material or content to another opens up completely new possibilities for creating puzzles and riddles, and these are great fun in Ruffy and the Riverside. A full, vibrant world, somewhat reminiscent of the Nintendo 64's Banjo and Kazooie, invites you to start a new experience at every turn.

Is that not too much?

With a huge, colorful map with lots of events, sub-levels and puzzles, you could almost think it was all a bit too much. Personally, I always complain about empty, loveless worlds in which not even the grass is varied. This is definitely different in Ruffy and the Riverside. Despite my initial overload and the feeling of being overwhelmed, you find your way around the game extremely quickly and intuitively. Although the map is full, it is still clearly laid out and a few quest overviews and collection screens make it easy to keep track of everything.

Just give it a try

Although the game is an indie title, it's easy to forget that this is a small team when you look at this completely crazy mix of genres, and luckily the game has a demo so that you can get an idea of this very image-heavy game for yourself. Steam dies have a demo available now.