I normally do some kind of witty intro here to lead into the review. Not today, I’m just gonna tell you to watch the trailer and already tell you that you’re going to be intrigued. From developer: Zockrates Laboratories and publisher Phiphen Games comes Ruffy and the Riverside. Seriously, just watch the trailer…

“In Ruffy and the Riverside, you wield the magic SWAP to Copy & Paste textures – turn ice into lava or waterfalls into vines! Explore, fight, skate on straw bales, and unleash your imagination in this quirky open-world action game. Dive into an adventure that lets you literally change the world!”

Have you ever used the copy & paste tool? Of course you have, everyone has. Well, that’s a major gameplay mechanic of Ruffy and the Riverside. Taking inspiration from classic ’90s platformers and action-adventure titles like Banjo-Kazooie, Crash Bandicoot and yes, maybe just a little bit of The Legend of Zelda. Ruffy and the Riverside is very much the type of game that you’d find on the Nintendo 64 or PlayStation around that mid to late 1990 era.

Anyway, about that copy & paste tool mechanic. Playing as the titular Ruffy, you have a rather unique power. You can change the textures in the game. Called “swap”, you “copy” a texture and then just “paste” it where needed. See a waterfall and wonder what’s at the top of it? Copy a vine texture and paste it to the waterfall. Hey-presto, you can now climb the ex-waterfall. See some heavy stone blocks in the water but can’t jump on them? Swap the texture from stone to wood so they float. You are free to play around and experiment with the swap magic all you like, Sometimes, it will be integral to progressing in the game or for solving a tricky puzzle. But, you can also just mess around and have some pointless nonsense fun with it too. Why not turn a palm tree into water? Change the colour of someone’s house just for a bit of a laugh.

This swap feature is a major element of the game, but there is so much more crammed into Ruffy and the Riverside that is one of the most generous action-adventure, platformers around. There is a main story to follow. The basic gist is that a big bad turns up and destroys the Hollywood-like Riverside sign that overlooks the town. This sign didn’t just look nice, it helped to protect the world’s core from evil. With a big bad causing all sorts of mischief, you (as Ruffy) have to fix the sign and stop the naughty entity from starting a ruckus.

As well as the main story, Ruffy and the Riverside packs in a lot to see and do. Multiple side-quests, a nice open-world map to explore, dozens and dozens of characters to meet, collectables… lots of collectables, hay bale riding and some really interesting perspective-shifting shenanigans. If you have watched the trailer or looked at any of the screenshots, you may have noticed an interesting art style. The world is in 3D with full camera movement and everything. However, you and all of the NPCs are 2D. It’s a nice Paper Mario-like thing, but with full 3D movement. There are also hidden bonus areas where things go full 2D. Ruffy and the Riverside is a 3D, 2.5D and 2D action-platformer all in one, that throws several buckets charm and personality at you.

There’s always something new to do and even when you follow the main plot, the game keeps things fresh and switches things up all the time. You can even draw your own textures that will be used in the game’s world. Ruffy and the Riverside does rely on nostalgia a lot, and the influences from other popular IPs is obvious (there’s plenty of Easter eggs to find). However, it doesn’t just copy what was so enjoyable about those past classics, it refines, updates and even creates something new and unique. The controls are smooth and the open-world is rich, vibrant and teeming with life. Just going of the beaten track and playing around while taking a break form the main story will open up a plethora of things for you to do. The music is toe-tappingly awesome too.

I do have a couple of niggles. The font used for the everything (and I do mean everything, the dialogue the menus, etc) is too stylised and can be difficult to read at times. Then there is the ladder climbing… oh, this really annoyed me. You have to be dead bang in the centre of the ladder. Just a little to the left or right of the ladder as you climb, and Ruffy will fall off at the top and all the way back down. It ‘s just a bit too cruel for something as simple as ladder climbing.

Ruffy and the Riverside is available now on everything and you definitely want to add this to your ever increasing list of games to play, because it’s amazing. A real throwback to that mid/late ’90s age of the 3D platformer, but with some modern and pretty unique ideas of its own. As I played through the game, I was thinking this must be a £30 title, it would be worth it too because there is so much gameplay packed into it. Nope, a copy of Ruffy and the Riverside will set you back just £15. Honestly, this is a steal at that price and this one definitely goes on my recommendation list. Ruffy and the Riverside is a great game to play during this sunny, summer season.