Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back Reviews
I wasn't expecting this game to maintain its 21-year-old gaming philosophy of rinse and repeat.
Then there’s Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back, a game that breathes fresh life into the series in the same sense that characters being ripped to shreds in a zombie movie before returning as members of the undead technically have fresh life breathed into them. This is an abomination, and that’s coming from someone who could be considered a bit of a Bubsy apologist.
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is an extremely short and completely forgettable platformer based on nothing but irony and nostalgic notoriety. I'd honestly rather replay the original Bubsy than this - for all of its serious flaws, at least that game was memorable. The Woolies Strike Back isn't even that.
I really wanted Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back to be good, or at least entertainingly bad, but I was just left with a tepid, overpriced, and somewhat generic 2D platformer that wasn't funny or fulfilling enough to justify a $30 purchase. If you are really dedicated to the character, I would wait until it drops to around $5 or $10. Once you beat the game, Accolade promises that “Bubsy will return,” so let's just hope his next outing is funnier, lengthier, and more memorable than Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back. Bubsy 3D 2 anyone?
Bubsy: The Woolies Strikes Back is thankfully only about an hour long so we can go back to forgetting Bubsy exists.
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is a wholly unremarkable experience. The presentation, controls, and level design are all lacking, and the handful of stages offer little variety. It's not the worst platformer ever – it's not even the worst Bubsy game – it's simply inconsequential, forgettable, and bland in every aspect. Fans of the original games may get a kick out of this, but even they may feel disappointed by the bobcat's latest, and probably last, adventure.
Bubsy's return is more than a little underwhelming.
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back may not be perfect, but it's easily the best Bubsy game ever made.
When Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is at its best, the words I would use to describe it include "soulless", "mediocre", and "annoying". Somehow the game is rarely at its best, leading to a total disaster.
I do admire the effort, but in a year where Sonic Mania outdid its franchise's reputation and Mario stands tall, Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is a mere afterthought. Its length is pathetically short and, surprisingly for Bubsy at least, the game is really easy. Not everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong, yet if this is the pinnacle of Bubsy games, then the poor Bobcat should be laid to rest in peace.
It's easy to crack jokes about the return of Bubsy not turning out great, but I don't feel that The Woolies Strike Back is a pure misfire. After all, the boss fights are filled with smart and satisfying design. If that type of level design was seen in the main game (and there was simply more to do in general), then we'd be looking at a very different game. There's potential for Bubsy to be a relevant 2D platformer in the future, and I'd like to see Accolade take another shot at bringing the furball back to prominence.
In a year that has brought us a bevvy of amazing platformers, some even revitalizing long-dormant series, Bubsy is easily left behind.
Bland levels, basic platforming, and tedious boss battles render Bubsy's return unnecessary and unfortunate