Bubsy 4D has taken me by surprise. Though I grew up gaming through the '90s and playing a lot of platformers, this bobcat never grabbed me, his maligned jump into 3D doing him no favors. Which is why I'm shocked to discover while playing the Steam Next Fest demo that this legacy sequel revival hasn't only made me a Bubsy fan, but that it might be one of the best platformers ever.
It helps that Bubsy 4D comes from Fabraz, an indie developer that's made a name in the genre with the likes of Slime-san and Demon Turf. They're also developing Demon Tides, an open world platformer that's also already captivated me. Fabraz champions 'schmoovement' platforming, where players are encouraged to meet difficult platforming sequences with creative and expressive chains of movement. That's in full force in Bubsy 4D, which has me flinging the chatty mascot all over stages as I track down the missing golden fleece yarn balls. If you fancy giving it a go yourself, our Steam Next Fest guide can help you get started.
Spinning a yarn
I don't come to platformers for deft writing or storytelling (though Shadow the Hedgehog's plights do make me blow my nose), but it can be a bonus. So far, I'm really liking the light touch of Bubsy 4D that casts the bobcat as a washed up hero who has reached unc status – trying and failing to be someone his niece and nephew can look up to.
With an intro played out through home camera recordings, Bubsy puts off chasing down the return of his enemies, the woolies, until it's too late – thievery of yarn culminating in the rise of robotic sheep. Dragged along into a spaceship, he's pushed into adventuring once more, though this time, through space – each world offering its own biome to leap through. It's silly and fresh, and it goes a long way to ingratiating me towards Bubsy. If anything, his eye-rolling humor makes more sense as a slightly cringe elder member of the family.
The levels I play are set in a patchwork world of felt and other crafts, the perfect sandbox for getting claws on with how the mascot's new 3D controls work. Bubsy 4D isn't a reskin of Fabraz' other 3D platformers, but apply similar principles to a set of moves that makes the most of Bubsy's feline nature, from pounces to curtain-ruining-clambering and even becoming a puffed up furball to roll down tubes and bounce up high.
Chaining together movement options is Bubsy 4D's secret sauce. Rather than stiffly running around stages, with skill you're able to fling Bubsy around. It's close in concept to the likes of Super Mario Odyssey, where Mario can combo together jumps and cap bounces. Here, Bubsy can do a triple jump to gain major air, open up his arms wide to glide, and then do a pouncing long jump. Save pounces to hit pegs, meanwhile, and you can reset your chain to keep your gravity-defying moves going.
Save pounces to hit pegs and you can reset your chain to keep your gravity-defying moves going.
While it's early, plenty of sections in the stages have put me to the test guiding Bubsy around hazards, all while having plenty of room for me to push his movement to the limit. One sheer cliff has a network of climbing spots to use, but if I puff up into furball mode and wall bounce I can ascend most of the way completing ignoring them, after which I can pounce jump around another wall to scramble my way just far enough up another to make it to the top.
While scooping up collectibles (which include blueprint upgrades to learn new skills) can be tricky, the real test comes from replaying levels to reach time attack goals. Exploring a stage the first time may take several minutes, but after you're used to the controls the challenge to do it in, say, a minute and thirty seconds feels perfectly doable. With movement this good, I can't wait to play more – I'm really feline this one. Bubsy 4D is coming to PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch in 2026.
I dropped dogs onto other dogs to create even bigger dogs in Dogpile's hefty Steam Next Fest demo
