Ruffy and the Riverside Review – An Analysis

Okay, so there’s this game—Ruffy and the Riverside. Ever heard of it? It’s like a walk in the park, but the path is a jigsaw puzzle. You’re this bear, Ruffy—kinda like if an Ewok had a makeover—and you’re solving puzzles in a big, open space. Collecting stuff left and right. It’s got this playful vibe, you know, but sometimes it feels like you’re wading through molasses. Frustration alert, for real.

There’s this whole thing with a cube trying to trash everything, but Ruffy’s the chosen one, I guess. You’re on a letter hunt to save his, I don’t know, bear stomping grounds? Like Super Mario 64’s setup with the castle and paintings or whatever. You meet these quirky folks along the way. And those ladders? What a pain—like, seriously, can’t we just climb without falling off?

Ruffy absorbs stuff like a sponge—one thing’s here, and poof, it’s there. Sometimes it’s obvious, sometimes you’re just hitting your head against… nothing. When the light bulb finally flickers on, it’s kinda magic. But man, other times, you’re just poking around in the dark, hitting everything hoping it works. It’s like when you’re really jamming with the game design, it feels good. If not, well, buckle up.

Oh, and controlling Ruffy? Picture you’re on roller skates for the first time but need surgical precision. It’s fast, but unwieldy. And if you screw up, sometimes you’re sent back, like, way too far. You collect coins—buy hearts go longer or costumes for a fashion remix. Or cheat a bit and buy puzzle solutions. Because who doesn’t want shortcuts sometimes?

The puzzles. You might find yourself swapping between waterfalls and leaves, stone and wood, sneaky stuff like that. And letters! You’re crossing areas like you’re on a scavenger hunt. But repeating the same puzzle bits? Yikes. It’s like someone hit copy-paste without a second thought.

Soundtrack and effects? Silly, in a charming way—matches Ruffy’s dance moves. Visually, it’s all hand-drawn, bright colors, edgy shapes, kind of like a child’s craft project but in a good way. There’s humor tucked in the dialogue, but man, they could’ve trimmed the intro down. Echo chamber, anyone?

Ruffy and the Riverside, despite its quirks, is all about the charming experience over its messiness. Played it on Switch 2—smooth sailing mostly. Completionists, oh boy, have a buffet. Puzzles, yeah, some are head-scratchers, but swapping things gives it a cool twist on the usual 3D action-adventure gig. Might be a bit rough around the edges, pun intended, but dipping my toes in was a whirlwind of fun.