2025's Best-Looking Retro Platform Game Finally Gets Release Date

Forbes

18-05-2025

'Ruffy and the Riverside' has all the hallmarks of an indie GOTY, and it lands next month.
One of the most charming indie games of the year finally has a release date. Ruffy and the Riverside, which draws on classics like Banjo-Kazooie and Super Paper Mario, will officially arrive on June 26 for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and both Nintendo Switches.
When I checked it out earlier this year during a surge of indie demo showcases, Ruffy and the Riverside immediately stood out for its inventive but nostalgic gameplay and gorgeous presentation, blending colorful, hand-painted visuals with core mechanics unlike anything you've ever seen in a platformer, either modern or retro.
At the heart of the game is the SWAP system, a clever feature that allows players to copy and paste environmental textures and alter terrain in real time. It's an ingenious mechanic for puzzle-solving and exploration, letting you transform waterfalls into climbable vines, ice into lava, or steel into wood.
Players take on the role of the titular Ruffy, a wide-eyed and perpetually positive protagonist dubbed the 'Chosen One,' who starts his journey to save the World Core from the sinister Groll. Ruffy and the Riverside is set across seven distinct regions, with quests and areas alternating seamlessly between expansive 3D sections and side-scrolling 2D sequences.
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Naturally, its missions are heavily influenced by your god-given ability, while countless collectibles push you to think in a whole new way and experiment with your surroundings. All the while, you're surrounded by a cast of funny, quirky NPCs, daft side quests, and a bunch of mini games, including one that draws on fellow summer release Tony Hawk's Pro Skater.
'Ruffy and the Riverside' purportedly clocks in at 25 hours, making it a great summer investment (if ... More it's as good as the demo, of course).
Ruffy and the Riverside has been developed by Zockrates Laboratories, a team of artists in Nuremberg. It's a labor of love they've been quietly polishing since 2017, and the long development time has translated into the wider experience, which boasts a 25-hour playtime. It also marks the first release for publisher Phiphen Games, a new interactive media division of indie film and TV house Phiphen.
If the demo's anything to go by, Ruffy and the Riverside will smash it this summer — and despite a year that's already given us the likes of Blue Prince and Despelote, it could be a sleeper selection for indie game of the year.