Bubsy 4D Reviews
Bubsy 4D comes remarkably close to being a fantastic platformer. The foundation is excellent, and the game remains enjoyable from start to finish thanks to its outstanding movement and solid level design. Unfortunately, nearly everything beyond those fundamentals feels underdeveloped, while the constant self-deprecating humor often makes the game seem embarrassed by its own existence. If you're looking for great movement and satisfying platforming, Bubsy 4D delivers. I just wish it had a little more confidence and substance beyond that.
Bubsy 4D's skill-testing movement makes for sharp platformer with a ton of energy, but it’s also a brief one that ends up feeling a bit safe.
Bubsy 4D may be short, but it’s also one of the tightest controlling and most satisfying platformers out there.
If Bubsy 4D is an attempt to bring new players to this 33-year-old franchise, though, its poor level design, characterization, and platforming will ensure it won’t.
What should a Bubsy game be in 2026? I thought the answer to that question was obvious to everyone: It shouldn’t. But here I am reviewing Bubsy 4D, the new take on the sarcastic cat from Atari and developer Fabraz. And I’m glad that I am because this is the best Bubsy ever. Now, that’s not saying a lot.
Bubsy 4D is exactly what a new Bubsy game should be: a full 3D level-based platformer featuring the wise-cracking (but no longer insufferable) bobcat.
At $20, Bubsy 4D is a solid budget platformer with levels that are consistently fun, if somewhat underbaked. Admittedly a low bar, it is comfortably the best Bubsy game ever made, with genuinely great controls and speedrunning depth that will reward players who relish climbing leaderboards and shaving seconds off their runtimes.It's an easy recommendation for anyone with a soft spot for '90s mascot platformers or morbid curiosity in the Bubsy franchise. For a series that spent decades as a byword for bad game design, Bubsy 4D is a long-overdue course correction for one of gaming's most persistently maligned characters and a strong foundation for future titles.
To see Bubsy finally overcome its infamous legacy and deliver a fun, albeit flawed, experience has me hopeful that Atari will build on what's a solid foundation in place and give a possible Bubsy sequel the polish and investment that could truly (I can't believe I'm saying this), make it great.
A solid platformer with a clear focus on speedrunning, Bubsy 4D is an enjoyable enough experience. Sure, the levels might be bland and repetitive, but it is hard to dislike a game that is as genuinely funny as this. Also, it must be noted that Bubsy 4D doesn't outstay its welcome, landing distinctly in "short, but sweet". Although it knows its audience and they will come away pleased, this isn't going to sell many new folks to the bobcat. Bubsy is back, but their return is a mixed bag.
Bubsy 4D is, straight up, a bad time. It’s fun to jump around a little bit and play with the tools you get, but in a fleeting, shallow way that isn’t enough to sustain a multi-hour platforming video game.
Bubsy may be a cursed franchise, as despite the developer’s previous work this is a frustrating and frequently cringe-worthy 3D platformer, with some truly clunky gameplay.
Even so, after the 3D platforming genre has had recent exponents like Sonic x Shadow Generations or Donkey Kong Bananza , this Bubsy 4D is left, once again, like a kitten with very few claws.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Bubsy 4D had my attention and when it hits, it is fun to play. Sadly, most of the time it just isn’t.
Despite its short length and the general unwieldiness of some of Bubsy’s new traversal abilities, Bubsy 4D excels in being the first truly solid entry in the franchise - and it has an incredible time poking fun of itself while doing so.
Although the bar is comically low, this game absolutely clears it. Bubsy 4D is easily the best game in the franchise.
In some ways, Bubsy 4D is the best the series has ever been; the bobcat's wide range of abilities affords him a huge amount of freedom to move through levels with style. However, a fairly narrow focus on movement means other aspects suffer; enemies may as well not be there, and stages are static and sparsely furnished. The result is a good 3D platforming character stuck in a pretty bland 3D platformer.
Bubsy 4D has the makings of a modern classic, helmed by a team that has a clear ambition and design philosophy. It's issues are more fundamental, and in the fabric of Bubsy himself. I can take self-deprecation, but there comes a point where it stops being funny and becomes borderline pathetic. A mismatched level approach to level design means that both feel weak in spots, and I think you could have done more to bring those together. This is the best Bubsy game, but I can't say it isn't without fault.
ubsy 4D is not the glorious return the franchise was expected to make after being ridiculed for years in the industry. It's disappointing due to its lack of personality and original concept.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Is it the fate of platforming mascots that their signature moves tell the arc of their decline? Sonic: too fast, burnt out. Spyro: early sparks, longi...
Bubsy 4D isn't the best 3D platformer out this year, and probably doesn't even rank in the top ten, but it is a solid return for the character, if you can stomach the various issues.