| Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Black Forest Games |
| Publisher | UFO Interactive Games[a] |
| Director | Jean-Marc Haessig |
| Producers |
|
| Designers |
|
| Artist | Stefan Schmitz |
| Composers |
|
| Series | Bubsy |
| Engine | Havok |
| Platforms | |
| Release | 31 October 2017 |
| Genre | Platform |
| Mode | Single-player |
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back is aplatform game developed byBlack Forest Games and published byUFO Interactive Games under theAccolade label.[1] It was released forPlayStation 4 andWindows on 31 October 2017. The game is the fifth installment in theBubsy series, and the first new entry in 21 years sinceBubsy 3D.[2][3]
The game received negative reviews from critics upon release.
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back returns to the2Dside-scrollingplatformer gameplay found in the firstBubsy games:Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind,Bubsy II andBubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales;[4] albeit now with3D charactermodels, a first for the side-scrolling entries in the series.[5]
The game sees Bubsy going against the Woolies, the antagonistic race of creatures from the firstBubsy game andBubsy 3D, who have stolen Bubsy's prized GoldenFleece. Bubsy must get through 10 levels and three boss fights to get his yarn back.[6]
The game was first announced in June 2017, as a brand-new game in theBubsy series of video games.[7] The entry is the first one in the series in 21 years, following 1996'sBubsy 3D.[8] The game was announced as the first of many game franchise revivals ofAccolade games (which, along withBubsy, is a brand name now operated byHong Kong company Billionsoft[9]), including potential revivals ofHardBall!,Slave Zero,Deadlock: Planetary Conquest,Eradicator, andRedline.[3] The game was published byTommo's subsidiaryUFO Interactive Games, and developed byBlack Forest Games, who previously worked on reviving the dormantGiana Sisters series withGiana Sisters: Twisted Dreams.[10] LikeTwisted Dreams, the game was developed using theHavok physics engine.[10] To makeBubsy: The Woolies Strike Back an improvement over previous games in the series, Black Forest Games reduced Bubsy's acceleration time, and applied better traction, thus giving the player better control of the character.[11]
A limited edition, called thePurrfect Edition, contains a physical copy of the game, a soundtrack CD, a copy of Bubsy's official "business card", and a "Mystery Bubsy Movie Poster postcard".[12]
The game announcement was generally not well-received by video game journalists, whose reactions ranged from indifference to irritation.[13][14][15] Accolade seemed to expect this, taking an approach similar toSega with promotingSonic the Hedgehog onsocial media; a dedicatedTwitter account for the character that makesself-deprecating and aware comments about the franchise's negative reception of some past titles was created.[13]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PC) 44/100[16] (PS4) 45/100[17] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Destructoid | 3/10[18] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 1/5[19] |
| Game Informer | 5.5/10[20] |
| Hardcore Gamer | 3.5/5[21] |
| IGN | 4.5/10[22] |
| Push Square | 4/10[23] |
Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back received "generally unfavorable" reviews from critics, according toreview aggregatorMetacritic[16][17] Brian Shea ofGame Informer panned the game, calling it "an unnecessary resuscitation".[20] Patrick Hancock ofDestructoid questioned why the character of Bubsy was brought back and made note of its retail price of $30 and its release in the same year as other more well-received platformers.[18] Heidi Kemps ofIGN dismissed the game as "an extremely short and completely forgettable platformer based on nothing but irony and nostalgic notoriety".[22] Christian Donlan ofEurogamer wrote "Bubsy's return is more than a little underwhelming".[24] Conversely, Jeremy Peeples ofHardcore Gamer said it "may not be perfect, but it’s easily the best Bubsy game ever made." He found the controls and voice clips in particular a dramatic improvement over previous side-scrollers in the series, though he was disappointed that Bubsy's personality was not brought out in animation and facial expressions as well as it was in the earlier games. He also praised the new pounce move and the retention of the glide move.[21]
The game was a runner-up for the "Worst Game (That We Played)" award atGiant Bomb's Game of the Year 2017 Awards.[25]
A sixthBubsy title,Bubsy: Paws on Fire!, was released in 2019 forPlayStation 4,Windows andNintendo Switch. The game was developed byChoice Provisions, which previously worked on theBit.Trip series.[26]