Ruffy and the Riverside Review: Swapping Style for Substance

Ruffy and the Riverside immediately presents itself as a loving homage to the 3D platformers of the late 1990s and early 2000s. It channels the spirit of titles like Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64, but filters it through a distinct and memorable visual lens. The game’s most striking quality is its art style, which places flat, 2D characters into a fully realized 3D world.

These characters look as though they were drawn and colored with markers, complete with visible strokes, giving the entire experience the feel of a child’s sketchbook springing to life. This aesthetic choice, similar in concept to the Paper Mario series, gives the game an undeniable charm from the moment it begins.

We are introduced to Ruffy, a perpetually grinning bear-like hero, and his helpful bee companion, Pip. The setup is straightforward: a villainous entity named Groll has destroyed the massive “RIVERSIDE” sign that protects the land, and Ruffy is declared the “Chosen One” tasked with finding the scattered letters to restore order.

This simple quest provides the framework for the adventure, but the true foundation of the gameplay rests on Ruffy’s unique ability to copy and paste the properties of objects within his environment.

The Swap-and-Play Mechanic

At the heart of Ruffy and the Riverside is the “Swap” ability, an inventive mechanic that drives most of the game’s platforming and puzzle-solving. By targeting a surface, Ruffy can copy its texture and physical properties—be it the clinginess of vines, the weight of stone, or the fluidity of water—and apply them to another object.

This system leads to some clever environmental puzzles. For instance, an impassable waterfall can be transformed into a wall of climbable vines. A heavy stone block barring your path can be turned into lightweight wood and smashed to pieces.

The mechanic also allows for more complex interactions, such as turning the water in a pool to solid iron to make a resident shark sink, or pasting the essence of fire onto unlit candles to activate a locked door.

In its best moments, this mechanic feels inspired and provides a satisfying sense of discovery. However, its implementation has noticeable limitations. The game strictly dictates which textures can be copied and which surfaces can be altered, which reins in the potential for true creative problem-solving.

While the concept is strong, its application can become formulaic. Puzzles often have their solutions located conveniently nearby, reducing the challenge to simple observation rather than genuine experimentation. The initial novelty wears off as you realize you’ll be pasting the same vine texture onto a dozen different walls throughout the adventure.

Exploring Riverside and Its Secrets

The world of Ruffy and the Riverside is structured much like the classic collect-a-thons it emulates. A semi-open hub town serves as a central point, branching off into numerous themed zones that range from lush forests and harsh deserts to spooky graveyards and worlds made of lava.

The level design offers a decent contrast between sprawling, open-ended areas that encourage off-the-path exploration and more linear, focused levels that push the main story forward. This structure provides a good balance between freedom and guided progression.

The world is densely packed with collectibles and side activities, ensuring there is always a distraction around the corner. You might find yourself hunting for butterflies for a friendly fox, tracking down hidden creatures called Etoi, or finding gems for a mole named Sir Eddler.

Some of the most interesting diversions are the riddles posed by crow characters; solving them unlocks 2D platforming sections directly inspired by Super Mario Odyssey, where Ruffy becomes a flat drawing on a wall.

There are also “puzzle potatoes,” which test your memory by asking you to replicate a pattern on a grid using the swap mechanic. This, combined with mini-games like haybale racing and river rapids sequences, adds a layer of variety that prevents the core gameplay loop from becoming too monotonous.

Presentation and Narrative

The game’s aesthetic is its strongest asset. The choice to blend 2D characters with 3D environments is executed with a charming, handcrafted feel. This retro presentation is clearly intentional, leaning into the technical quirks of its N64-era inspirations with elements like visible polygon seams and a fog effect that mimics the limited draw distance of older hardware.

The soundtrack complements this style with cheerful and energetic tunes that fit the game’s lighthearted atmosphere. The primary drawback is the repetitive nature of the music; the tracks are often on short loops, which can become grating during extended play sessions in a single area.

The narrative that ties everything together is serviceable but ultimately forgettable. The “chosen one” plot is a well-worn trope in the genre and is used here as a basic vehicle to propel Ruffy from one world to the next.

While the dialogue contains moments of witty humor that will likely be appreciated by older players, the story itself lacks substance and is delivered through cutscenes that sometimes feel needlessly long. The various animal characters you meet are endearing, from a school of party-loving fish to a dedicated butterfly collector, but they exist as charming window dressing for a very simple tale.

Combat and Technical Polish

Where Ruffy and the Riverside truly falters is in its combat and overall technical refinement. The combat system is exceptionally shallow and feels like an afterthought. The enemy roster is incredibly sparse, primarily featuring a bizarre kiwi-headed grunt, a sentient pile of rocks, and a shark.

These foes pose almost no threat and can be dispatched with one or two simple attacks. The game’s three boss fights are equally underwhelming, offering little challenge and relying on basic, predictable patterns that lack the creativity seen in the puzzle design.

Technically, the game shows the seams of its indie development. Performance on the Nintendo Switch is inconsistent, with noticeable framerate stutters occurring when the game streams in new, large sections of its seamless world. Beyond performance, the experience is peppered with minor but persistent issues often described as “jank.”

The camera can be uncooperative in tight spaces, aiming the swap reticle at smaller objects is often finicky, and you may occasionally run into invisible walls. These rough edges don’t break the game, but they do detract from the experience and betray a lack of the final polish needed to elevate it to the level of its inspirations.