Bubsy: Paws on Fire!

Beneath the bland mascot lurks a decent arcade game.

Ultimately, however, the repetitive gameplay, bland presentation and hollow world prevents players from immersing themselves in its optimistic spirit. The Bubsy experiment has ended. It's time to let the bobcat go.

Bubsy: Paws on Fire is a combination of elements that range from merely adequate to frustrating beyond belief. In fact, the best part of the game is often being able to break the rules and cheese your way to victory. With almost zero redeeming qualities to speak of, the only way this game could possibly offer anything of benefit is to Trophy hunters, as there are a fair number of easily unlocked gold trinkets. If that's not something you care about, then steer well clear - it's just not worth it. Despite the shockingly long legacy as a series, surely this time must be the last, right?

It'd be easy to look at the bobcat's resumé, look at this and dismiss it out of hand. Unfortunately, although Bubsy: Paws On Fire has the foundation of a decent runner and developer Choice Provisions knows what it's doing in terms of creating levels with an engaging flow, less than stellar performance, bland and repetitive stages, superfluous gameplay additions and long loads combine to drag the experience down. It's not awful, it's just nowhere near as good as the Runner series and ultimately we'd recommend ditching the bobcat and spending time in the company of Commander Video instead.

In some ways, the progression problems caused me to prefer The Woolies Strike Back, while in others, I truly felt that Choice Provisions did a great effort in making the most polished Bubsy game to date. I just wish it was up the same outstanding qualities as Woah Dave and Runner 2, and wasn’t afraid to let the player go through the game the way they wanted to despite the short length, rather than being in fear of it.

However, there's far more memorable and interesting endless runners out there, a lot of them by the same developer no less. If you miss the 'tude mascot characters of the early 90s and want something that's at least decent, this may be fun for a while. Otherwise, nothing of note would be lost if you didn't play the latest in Bubsy's exploits.

Bubsy: Paws On Fire! is a simple, but fun game. If you’re a completionist, this one will probably keep you busy for quite some time. You can beat the game in under 10 hours, but it’ll take you much longer if you go for 100%. In most levels, getting the majority of collectibles is fairly easy, but getting them all can be pretty tricky in many cases. This is especially true since you have to get them all in a single run for it to count. Bubsy: Paws On Fire! is available on Steam for $24.99. It is also available on PlayStation 4, and will be launching on the Nintendo Switch on August 29th. Do you have the skills needed to stop Oinker P. Hamm and nab all the shiny collectibles?

All of the variation feels pretty hollow, for sure, but the design of the game compliments what that variation lacks. All in all, it's a pretty standard auto-runner that also just happens to have Bubsy in it

Bubsy: Paws on Fire's biggest problem is its branding. The game is a perfectly fun and competent runner tied to a mascot who (as near as I can tell) only exists for irony value. The game is straitlaced about Bubsy, so it doesn't feel like a joke, but it also seems like the mascot does more to drive away people than to pique their interest. If you enjoyed the Runner3 style of gameplay, then you'll enjoy Bubsy: Paws on Fire. If you didn't, then the addition of a cartoon cat probably isn't going to change your mind. It's still the best Bubsy game to date, though.

Anyone with any nostalgia for this despicable bobcat should find enjoyment here, even if in only short bursts.