Banjo-Kazooie and Paper Mario mix together in this delightful puzzle platformer that has me swapping textures to solve puzzles by changing the world

As a massive platformer fan I've had my eye on Ruffy and the Riverside for a while, and I'm pleased to report that this colorful adventure is just as much fun as its wonderful hand-drawn art style looks, while also being a bit of a surprise. The demo I played last year made me think this was simply a clever take on Super Mario Odyssey-style levels, but this is actually a mostly open world with its own rhythm.

Speaking of rhythm, Ruffy and the Riverside really is at its best when you're just enjoying the vibes, whether that's the extremely boppy Demon Turf-esque vocal instrumentations, the frequent charming grunts from Ruffy, or just zipping around a sunny and friendly environment. Even enemies often have a big grin on their faces, reminding me of the Rareware housestyle – there's a childlike sense of wonder here that's also part of Banjo-Kazooie's lasting appeal.

Stop 'n' swap

The story kicks off when Ruffy, used to using texture swapping powers to help out with mundane tasks around the village, is tasked with helping to restore power to the world core – which means re-collecting the scattered letters of Riverside's Hollywood-like signage.

Doing so requires the use of the Swap, a power seemingly only Ruffy can use. In this world of paper cut-out style characters, Ruffy is able to select most textures in the environment and absorb them, able to then apply them to other textures either one by one or in bulk. In essence, pools of water can become molten lava with a few taps of a button, or unbreakable stone blocks can become bashably wooden.

It's the kind of ability description that – at least for me – had me itching to pick up the controller and try it out. I'm pleased to report that, in practice, it really is that slick to pull off – swapping textures feels great, and repositioning Ruffy to bounce between objects is really smooth.

Ruffy and the Riverside isn't quite Super Mario 64 when it comes to platforming mechanics, but with a bee pal along for the ride who enables things like float jumps, Ruffy is quite zippy – it's just that the game is more about puzzle platforming than expressive movement. Yet, that movement still feels pretty good. Just don't expect any deliberately game-breaking movement like Yellow Taxi Goes Vroom or a momentum palooza like Penny's Big Breakaway.

Each new area, accessed by exploring the large world of Riverside, has its own gimmicks that have Ruffy use swapping in new ways. I like them best when those objectives are weaved into the exploration itself – one that has you constantly moving along islands while collecting a variety of colors to deposit into a cube (it makes more sense in practice) is a highlight. Whereas another that has you decorating a gravestone to help a ghost win a competition (by eavesdropping on the judges' meeting) feels more basic, and a skateboard-style contest on haybales feels like it'd be better left as a side activity.

Still, Ruffy is certainly never boring, there's always something new, and no area overstays its welcome. Between main missions that often have you making your way to unique areas is a large world that sort of smashes together the biomes from each (for instance, there's a snowy corner of the map right by a big lava geyser, which is a stone's throw away from a thick forest). There's plenty of collectibles hidden away to nab by nosing around them all.

In theory I quite like these – solving tiny little puzzles, almost like a microcosm of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild earns you collectibles. Though here, at least, some repetitive puzzle types do stick out. Several simply revolve around you destroying stone blocks to replicate a shape, others have you replicate a pattern onto stone tiles, and others have you solve a number puzzle using different types of tiles. Admittedly, in that last case, you do then get sucked onto a wall like in Super Mario Odyssey for a brief bit of 2D platforming. Ostensibly, finding the pattern or shapes to replicate requires some work, but most of the time they're almost right next to the puzzle you're trying to solve.

Yet, again, these are so brief that even though some feel like they could be more in-depth, they're over before I can really get annoyed by them, and simply poking around the world and uncovering them is fun to do. Beyond that, there are some more built out puzzles that require a bit more thinking. I even think I broke a couple by doing some tricksy platforming, which is always a plus for me in a game like this.

I've almost finished Ruffy and the Riverside, and can't wait to play more. I'm really captivated by the positive vibes like the best of magic spells, and can't wait to get back in there and get swapping.

Ruffy and the Riverside is out now on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. For more recommendations, head on over to our Indie Spotlight series.