For those that haven’t watched our feed for long, I’ve been following the development of Ruffy and the Riverside for over a year now.

The “swaptacular” platformer has more than a few green flags and when the demo finally released for Steam Next Fest I had to check it out.

In Ruffy and the Riverside, you play as the titular Ruffy with his sidekick Pip. Pip is a bee who flutters around Ruffy and is always on hand to carry Ruffy’s fuzzy butt across chasms with some deft gliding.

As an adventurer with the power of swapping, Ruffy needs a mentor of course, and the eccentric mole Eddler fits the bill, acting as both a guide but also a silly old man who plays a foil to Ruffy’s youth and straight-forwardness.

The big gimmick here is the swapping, Ruffy has the power to swap colors and substance from one place to the next. Need to break some stone blocks? Turn them into wood and get smashing.

Need to burn a mean ol’ tree? Turn the water its sitting in into lava and watch the fireworks. The swap mechanic is the feature of Ruffy and the Riverside, adding substantial puzzle solving to the game’s straightforward platforming.

Stage design in the demo is great, since Ruffy is more about puzzle-solving, making backtracking and experimenting a must. Deaths aren’t too punishing and it’s relatively easy to run back or reset in case you mess something up.

The overworld also has a lot to offer players, containing secrets for curious players and a colorful world with whimsical NPCs that make Ruffy feel like he’s part of his world and not just some anomalous hero (though he is a special little guy).

There’s also some traditional platforming elements to keep some action in our puzzle platformer and all the tools for a smooth gaming experience are there. We have our indicator shadow, and we have some floatiness to our jumps. Any platformer aficionado will likely agree how important things like that are.

Ruffy might lack the kicks and flips of Mario 64, but he makes up for it in creativity and style. Exploring your surroundings, chasing timers, and solving puzzles is the name of the game.

As for style, the characters are mostly little paper figures with low framerates that flitter about their business, contrasting sharply with the nostalgic low-poly environments. Then there’s the music, and the music is absolutely to die for. Ruffy has a little hip-hop theme which you can hear in the trailer and I need it.

So far, Ruffy and the Riverside is one of the best platformers I’ve played in years. Zockrates Laboratories is offering fans an unapologetic love letter to the games we know and love (in fact, we even found a cute easter egg referencing Banjo-Kazooie, Paper Mario, and more).

We’re hopeful that the full release will keep up the same quality of gameplay we found in the demo, and after playing it, we’re optimistic that we’ll love the full game when it comes out.

You can check out the Ruffy and the Riverside demo for yourself now on Steam!

Ruffy and the Riverside is “coming soon” for Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, PS4, and PS5.