“Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection” Review for PlayStation 5
A word I haven’t heard in the cultural zeitgeist in quite some time is “Bubsy.” A chapter in video game history that I thought was long forgotten, or at least dead and buried. Sure enough, for reasons unknown, I guess it’s time for this character to make a comeback. When I booted up “Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection,” I found myself questioning whether I was about to revisit a misunderstood relic or endure the gaming equivalent of a bad joke stretched too far. Bubsy has always been one of those mascots that people either half-remember fondly or ridicule mercilessly, and this new collection from Limited Run Games and Atari makes no attempt to hide that fact. Instead, it embraces the duality, offering both a chance to relive, or survive, the bobcat’s adventures while also contextualizing his bizarre place in gaming history.
Limited Run Games has positioned this package as a playable museum, and that’s exactly what it feels like. It doesn’t just slap the old games together on modern hardware and call it a day. Instead, the collection is infused with context, curation, and preservation. The team used their proprietary Carbon Engine to carefully update every included game for today’s consoles, ensuring smooth resolution, enhanced frame rates, and useful accessibility features like save states and rewind. These upgrades don’t make the games better per se, but they at least make them easier to endure when Bubsy’s quirks or flaws inevitably push your patience.
The selection itself includes four mainline entries: “Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind,” “Bubsy II,” “Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales,” and the notorious “Bubsy 3D.” For better or worse, this lineup captures the essence of Bubsy’s entire trajectory across the 1990s. The early 16-bit outings on Super Nintendo and SEGA Genesis represent a mascot platformer that was ambitious but derivative, with floaty physics and level design that often bordered on frustrating. The Atari Jaguar exclusive “Fractured Furry Tales” is perhaps the most obscure of the bunch, offering more of the same but with a slightly stranger presentation. And then there’s “Bubsy 3D,” a game so infamous that its name alone conjures memories of clunky controls, hideous visuals, and a general sense of unfinished design. It’s the kind of game that gets studied in retrospectives about what not to do when bringing a character into 3D. What I found most fascinating, though, is how the collection never tries to convince me that these are great games. It’s upfront about the flaws, even going so far as to include warnings about what I was in for. That kind of brutal honesty is refreshing and plays into the charm of the package. Rather than sugarcoating, “Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection” positions itself as an unvarnished time capsule, showing exactly what these games were, warts and all.
That commitment to preservation extends far beyond the games themselves. The extras are surprisingly robust and help flesh out the historical importance of Bubsy, however dubious it may be. Scans of box art, manuals, and advertisements give a glimpse into how hard Bubsy was marketed during the height of the mascot wars. The video interviews add an extra layer, diving into the behind-the-scenes struggles and ambitions of the developers who tried to make Bubsy a household name. These videos do not offer a pausing feature, which often became an inconvenience when I was checking these out. The inclusion of a music player also caught me off guard, reminding me that even if the games weren’t beloved, the soundtracks had their own quirky energy that stands the test of time better than the gameplay. As for the actual games, I won’t pretend they’ve aged well. At their best, the original “Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind” and its sequel are playable but often frustrating 2D platformers, plagued by awkward physics and questionable design choices. “Fractured Furry Tales” is a curiosity for Atari Jaguar fans, but it doesn’t do much to elevate the formula. And “Bubsy 3D” remains the disasterpiece it has always been, a game that’s more interesting as a cultural talking point than as something you’d actually want to play. I’d personally rate each of them in the five-out-of-ten range or lower.
But the presentation here elevates the entire package. What could have been just a lazy compilation instead feels like a carefully curated exhibit. It knows exactly what it is, leans into that identity, and respects the audience enough to let them form their own judgments. For that reason alone, I had a better time exploring this collection than I expected. Ultimately, “Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection” is not about delivering high-quality platformers. It’s about preserving a strange, flawed, yet enduring part of gaming’s history. If you’re looking for genuinely great games, you won’t find them here. But if you’re fascinated by the ups and downs of mascot design, or you simply want to see why Bubsy remains a cultural touchpoint even after decades of ridicule, then this is an invaluable package. It’s honest, it’s thorough, and it left me oddly curious about whether Bubsy’s upcoming return could finally redeem him, or simply add another chapter to his long, strange story. For me, the games themselves may not rise above mediocrity, but the presentation is strong enough to make the whole thing worthwhile.
6/10
Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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