Bubsy 4D
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Bubsy 4D
Bubsy 4D's skill-testing movement makes for sharp platformer with a ton of energy, but it’s also a brief one that ends up feeling a bit safe.
Bubsy 4D may be short, but it’s also one of the tightest controlling and most satisfying platformers out there.
If Bubsy 4D is an attempt to bring new players to this 33-year-old franchise, though, its poor level design, characterization, and platforming will ensure it won’t.
What should a Bubsy game be in 2026? I thought the answer to that question was obvious to everyone: It shouldn’t. But here I am reviewing Bubsy 4D, the new take on the sarcastic cat from Atari and developer Fabraz. And I’m glad that I am because this is the best Bubsy ever. Now, that’s not saying a lot.
Bubsy 4D is exactly what a new Bubsy game should be: a full 3D level-based platformer featuring the wise-cracking (but no longer insufferable) bobcat.
At $20, Bubsy 4D is a solid budget platformer with levels that are consistently fun, if somewhat underbaked. Admittedly a low bar, it is comfortably the best Bubsy game ever made, with genuinely great controls and speedrunning depth that will reward players who relish climbing leaderboards and shaving seconds off their runtimes.It's an easy recommendation for anyone with a soft spot for '90s mascot platformers or morbid curiosity in the Bubsy franchise. For a series that spent decades as a byword for bad game design, Bubsy 4D is a long-overdue course correction for one of gaming's most persistently maligned characters and a strong foundation for future titles.
To see Bubsy finally overcome its infamous legacy and deliver a fun, albeit flawed, experience has me hopeful that Atari will build on what's a solid foundation in place and give a possible Bubsy sequel the polish and investment that could truly (I can't believe I'm saying this), make it great.
Bubsy may be a cursed franchise, as despite the developer’s previous work this is a frustrating and frequently cringe-worthy 3D platformer, with some truly clunky gameplay.
