Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back

Lore & Background

The game returns to the 2D side-scrolling platformer gameplay found in the first Bubsy games: Bubsy in: Claws Encounters of the Furred Kind, Bubsy II and Bubsy in: Fractured Furry Tales, albeit now with 3D character models, a first for the side-scrolling entries in the series. The story sees Bubsy going against the Woolies, the antagonistic race of creatures from the first Bubsy game and Bubsy 3D, who have stolen Bubsy's prized Golden Fleece. Bubsy must get through 10 levels and three boss fights to get his yarn back.

The game was first announced in June 2017, as a brand-new game in the Bubsy series. It was developed by Black Forest Games, who previously worked on reviving the dormant Giana Sisters series with Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. Like Twisted Dreams, the game was developed using the Havok physics engine. To make the game an improvement over previous series entries, Black Forest Games reduced Bubsy's acceleration time and applied better traction, giving the player better control. A limited edition, called the Purrfect 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'.

Reader's Guide

Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back received 'generally unfavorable' reviews from critics, according to review aggregator platform Metacritic. Brian Shea of Game Informer panned the game, calling it 'an unnecessary resuscitation'. Patrick Hancock of Destructoid questioned why the character of Bubsy was brought back and noted its retail price of $30 and its release in the same year as other more well-received platformers. Heidi Kemps of IGN dismissed the game as 'an extremely short and completely forgettable platformer based on nothing but irony and nostalgic notoriety'. Christian Donlan of Eurogamer wrote 'Bubsy's return is more than a little underwhelming'. Conversely, Jeremy Peeples of Hardcore Gamer said it 'may not be perfect, but it's easily the best Bubsy game ever made', praising the controls and voice clips as a dramatic improvement over previous side-scrollers, though disappointed that Bubsy's personality was not brought out in animation and facial expressions as well as in earlier games. He also praised the new pounce move and the retention of the glide move. The game was a runner-up for the 'Worst Game (That We Played)' award at Giant Bomb's Game of the Year 2017 Awards. The game announcement was generally not well-received by video game journalists, whose reactions ranged from indifference to irritation. Accolade seemed to expect this, taking an approach similar to Sega with promoting Sonic the Hedgehog on social media; a dedicated Twitter account for the character that makes self-deprecating and aware comments about the franchise's negative reception of some past titles was created.

Did You Know?

• The game is the first side-scrolling entry in the Bubsy series to use 3D character models.
• A limited Purrfect Edition included a soundtrack CD, a business card, and a mystery movie poster postcard.
• The game was a runner-up for Giant Bomb's 'Worst Game (That We Played)' award in 2017.

The Franchise's Long Hiatus and Comeback

After the poorly received Bubsy 3D in 1996, the series was shelved, and for over two decades the bobcat's adventures went silent. During that stretch, ownership of the franchise bounced between multiple companies — Infogrames (now Atari SA), Tommo, and eventually Billionsoft — each holding the rights while no new title materialized. The situation was further complicated by the fact that Bubsy's creator, Michael Berlyn, had been on hiatus from Accolade since the early days. When Billionsoft finally released Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back in October 2017, developed by Black Forest Games for PlayStation 4 and Windows, it marked the first brand-new entry in the series in more than twenty years. The game's arrival signaled that the franchise, despite its turbulent corporate history, still held enough cultural weight to justify a fresh installment, setting the stage for the subsequent Paws on Fire! and the eventual re-acquisition of the IP by Atari SA in April 2023.

The Golden Fleece and the Woolies

At the heart of Bubsy: The Woolies Strike Back lies a conflict that has defined the series since its inception: Bubsy's battle to protect his yarn. The orange bobcat is the proud owner of what the games describe as the world's largest yarn collection, and among its treasures sits the rare Golden Fleece. This makes him a perpetual target of the Woolies, a race of wool-obsessed aliens hailing from the planet Rayon, who are led by queens named Poly and Ester. In this 2017 entry, the Woolies strike back against Bubsy, and he must pursue them to reclaim his prized Golden Fleece. The premise echoes the original 1993 game, in which Bubsy set out to retrieve Earth's entire yarn supply from the invading aliens, creating a satisfying circular narrative for longtime fans while remaining accessible to newcomers encountering the character for the first time.

Bubsy's Personality and Gameplay Identity

Bubsy is far from a silent hero. The orange bobcat, typically clad in a white shirt bearing a red exclamation point, is defined by his loud, wisecracking personality and his signature catchphrase, "What could possibly go wrong?" His obnoxiousness is so central to his identity that certain games in the series include an in-game setting allowing players to adjust how frequently his voice lines fire, essentially letting players dial down the chaos. On the gameplay side, Bubsy can leap and glide across short distances, and in later entries he gained the ability to pounce at enemies and curl himself into a rolling "hairball" for added mobility. These moves, combined with his irreverent attitude, create a platforming experience that feels distinctly different from the more stoic heroes of the era. The character draws clear inspiration from both Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, yet his constant quips and self-aware humor give him a personality that stands apart from either influence.

The Supporting Cast and Cross-Media Origins

Bubsy's world is populated by a colorful supporting cast whose origins stretch beyond the games. Terri and Terry, his overeager twin niece and nephew; Arnold, his perpetually cowardly armadillo sidekick; Virgil Reality, a vole inventor and mad scientist; and Oblivia, Virgil's assistant and Bubsy's potential love interest, who is hard of hearing — none of these characters were designed by Michael Berlyn. They first appeared in the 1993 television pilot, "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?", produced by Calico Entertainment and Imagination Factory and sponsored by Taco Bell. The pilot aired on Bohbot Communications' Kid's Day Off syndication package for Thanksgiving 1993, with Rob Paulsen voicing Bubsy and a cast including Tress MacNeille, Jim Cummings, Pat Fraley, B. J. Ward, and Neil Ross. Though the animated series was never picked up by a network, these characters were subsequently folded into the video games, with titles like Bubsy II and Paws on Fire! offering playable appearances for several of them.

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