We've had no shortage of great 3D platformers these past few years, but I reckon that Ruffy and the Riverside might be one of this year's best already—if its new demo on Steam is any indication. It certainly has me convinced that its core gimmick—the ability to copy and paste the textures and physical properties of its environment—is one of the most intriguing puzzle mechanics I've seen in the genre for a while.
What you're getting here is a familiar, comfortable 3D platformer with satisfying but simple movement, paired with a very clever conceit. Playing as the eternally grinning bear Ruffy, you've got the wizardly power to pull materials from the world and apply them to other sources. Need to cross a lake? Ruffy can't swim, but a little patch of ice can turn the whole surface frozen. Copy the fire from candles to ignite others, or turn impassable stone blocks into crates by copying the wooden property from a tree onto them.
