When's water not water? When it's lava, of course. Or whatever it is you want it to be. Playing Ruffy and the Riverside from Zockrates Laboroatories, at its core I'm reminded of my favorite collectathon retro 3D platformers – Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot and the like. But, thanks to a clever and charming texture-swapping twist it's also not quite like any of the above – a distinctly modern twist on a classic format. This is already shaping up to be one of the best platformers of 2025.
With boppy music and colorful visuals, I knew I was on board from the moment I saw Ruffy and the Riverside, but I had some questions about just how the 'copy-and-paste' ability to absorb materials and then apply them to objects would work. The best platformers are often about the joy in keeping up momentum. Would this be too stop-start? Thankfully not.
River Side Up
After going hands-on with the Steam Next Fest demo, I'm pleased to confirm it's incredibly slick. Holding down a bumper has you scan for and suck in a texture, then pressing the trigger on a different target has you hurl it like an energy ball until it transforms. These can help you navigate the world, for instance turning hazardous surfaces into safe ones, or non-descript areas into ones you can navigate. A waterfall, for instance, can become a ladder of climbing vines.
- This adorable 3D platformer draws from genre greats like Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot, and Super Mario Odyssey - and there's a dash of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in there too
- Super Mario Odyssey and Wind Waker collide in this expressive Steam Next Fest 3D platformer that's already an early GOTY contender for me
But Ruffy's texture manipulating power can also help you solve puzzles to track down each level's stars – used to unlock more levels from the hub world, just like Super Mario 64's castle. Stone boxes can be turned into wooden ones to make them breakable – which may need to be smashed to create a certain configuration. Or, perhaps turning some of them to wood on a surface that can also be turned to lava could burn down a series of pillars into stepping stones to jump across?
So far it's given me just the right amount of possibilities to think about when poking around these tightly designed little levels. I'm curious how this will expand into the larger and more ambitious world Ruffy and the Riverside teases in the full game.
But it seems like there are plenty of ways to combine the copy and pasting mechanic with great feeling running and jumping already. Other puzzles off the beaten path in the hub world add some fun color, having Ruffy for instance help out an art merchant by pleasing his customers – taking the images from his painting and applying it instantly to the frames they hold. (Just don't ask about the economic ramifications this must bring to Ruffy's home). Another has Ruffy doing sick 1080-degree spins on a haybale wheel to earn points. At other points, Ruffy can flatten down to enter a texture directly as well, embracing two-dimensions just like Super Mario Odyssey. If there's one thing to be sure of with Ruffy and the Riverside, it's that there's plenty more to see just across the water.
Ruffy and the Riverside is coming to PC, Nintedo Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One soon.
What else is upcoming? Load up our new games 2025 list to find your next favorite!
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