Ruffy and the Riverside caught my attention as soon as it was announced. The Paper Mario-esque character design, along with the classic Collect-a-thon style gameplay, stood out from other Indie games that have attempted the same idea. Ruffy and the Riverside has a few issues, but overall is situated to become an Indie classic.

Before I get too deep into things, I should mention that Ruffy and the Riverside immediately suffers from a problem. The options menu is very limited, including a lack of resolution options or changing the game from fullscreen to windowed or even borderless. It starts as full screen by default, and you can do the Alt+Enter trick, but the screen will cut off a bit at the bottom.

There are a few camera options available, and a few other things to adjust controls, but overall, there is a lack of adjustments that is strange for a modern Indie game. There are multiple control schemes, though, which softens the blow a little bit.

To get into the game itself, you play as Ruffy, a young creature who has the ability to swap things in the environment. He can swap water to sand to create quicksand, swap water to lava, and more. This key mechanic constitutes a majority of your puzzle-solving in Ruffy and the Riverside, at least in the early game. You’ll turn waterfalls into climbable vines, burn things with lava, power things with water, and more.

Not only will you explore both 2D and 3D levels, solving puzzles and taking down baddies, but you’ll also have a variety of customization options. From custom capes for Ruffy to customizing textures in the world with dreamstones, the game lets you choose how you play the game and experience Ruffy’s world.

Speaking of Dreamstones, Ruffy and the Riverside has a variety of things to collect. Not only will you collect coins, you’ll also gather Butterflies, which are hidden in each area and are usually locked behind puzzles. Dreamstones allow you to unlock new customization textures, and coins are used to purchase cosmetics and other things.

Solving various puzzles and quests will also let you uncover mysterious Etoi creatures. All of these collectibles are important and give Ruffy and the Riverside the same sort of feeling as Donkey Kong 64, Spyro the Dragon, Croc, and other collect-a-thon games of the 90s and 2000s.

The characters are cute and interesting, the music is catchy and fun to listen to, and the controls are smooth and easy to use once you learn them. I will admit that, in addition to the lack of options in the options menu for obvious things like resolution and other accessibility features, something else is missing: A tutorial.

The tutorial given to you in Ruffy and the Riverside is very brief and only gives you the barest explanation of the SWAP system. However, it doesn’t give you any indication on how certain quests work, how materials can only be swapped with certain other materials, or other small details that are important.

On top of that, you can only hold a swappable material for a short period of time, so certain things require a bit of speed and finesse to manage. I even soft-locked an optional puzzle by accidentally swapping something incorrectly at the wrong time.

This was a pre-release build, so I’m sure that bug will be ironed out, but the lack of a proper tutorial or quality-of-life options does feel a little strange. I imagine that the developers will also fix other issues over time, such as the limited options menu.

With that in mind, I still think Ruffy and the Riverside is wonderful. I think with a little bit of polish and attention from the developers, the issues I have with it could be snuffed out too. I think if people give Ruffy and the Riverside the right level of attention, it could become an Indie classic along the lines of Shovel Knight and A Hat in Time.

Give Ruffy and the Riverside a try. Whether you are looking for a classic collect-a-thon platformer, or you have a friend who needs a cute platformer to play, this is perfect for any age. This is also a great game to play alongside a kid in your life, as the puzzles can really help with problem-solving and other critical thinking skills.

A PC Review Copy of Ruffy and the Riverside was provided by Phiphen Games for the purposes of this review.

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Ruffy and the Riverside

$19.99 USD

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Colorful, Interesting World
• Imaginative Puzzles
• Fun characters
• Lots of things to collect

Cons

• Limited Tutorial
• Limited Options Menu