Ruffy and the Riverside blends elements of Paper Mario, Banjo-Kazooie, and puzzle-solving into a charming platformer. The game encourages exploration by having me search for stars and collect butterflies throughout the demo. With its cute art style and humorous writing, my time with the demo was fun—I can’t wait to play more!
The demo opens with a short tutorial introducing swapping, the game’s core mechanic. As Ruffy, I can copy colors or materials from the environment and apply them to other objects—usually to solve puzzles. The humor shines right from the start as my friends and I tumble down a waterfall. In the tutorial, I meet Ruffy, the protagonist; his companion Pip, a bee that lets me double jump and hover; and Eddler, the group’s leader.
After landing, Eddler tasks me with collecting stars to unlock doors leading to different levels—similar to Super Mario 64. It’s not entirely clear why I need to collect stars, but the objective is straightforward enough: gather ten to open a secret door. Stars can be found behind locked doors or by exploring Riverside and solving puzzles.
The puzzle-solving is the highlight of the demo. Some require me to decipher riddles, while others involve arranging specific patterns—all accomplished through the swapping mechanic. I especially appreciate the ability to paint multiple objects at once with the same pattern, which is handy since copied patterns have a cool down timer.
Though the demo is short, it effectively showcases the game’s mechanics. Check out my stream of the demo below—I didn’t complete it on stream because I think you should experience it for yourself.
Check out the game's Steam page where you can play the demo and wishlist the game: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1002260/Ruffy_and_the_Riverside/
Demo code provided by Pirate PR