Bubsy's Purrfect Collection Couldn't Be in Better Hands - Preview
by Evan Norris , posted on 17 May 2025 / 5,346 Views
Audi Sorlie isn't a household name, but in the corner of the video game market dedicated to the mascot platformer Bubsy he's kind of a big deal. Indeed, it would be hard to find a more dedicated, knowledgeable Bubsy expert working in the industry today. Last week at PAX East in Boston, I was fortunate to spend some time with Sorlie, chatting about his history with the IP, exploring his career in video games, and digging into the upcoming compilation Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection, in which he played a pivotal part.
A reserved kid growing up in Oslo, Sorlie instantly gravitated toward Bubsy, the talkative, self-confident bobcat, when he first encountered him in the early 90s. "I was a shy, very quiet Norwegian kid, and this was a very outgoing, extroverted, exciting Saturday morning cartoon character," he explained. "So for me, he was someone that I looked a bit up to...I felt like I wanted to be more like him."
Sorlie joined the video game industry in 2001, taking with him his affinity for Bubsy. Many years later, in 2019, during an especially difficult period in his life, he seriously considered quitting video games for good. That's when Digital Foundry's John Linneman approached him and suggested a collaboration to lift his spirits. That collaboration became DF's Bubsy documentary, which introduced the bobcat braggart to a brand new audience (Sorlie went on to become an official member of Digital Foundry). "I went to GDC, I remember, a week after that video came out," said Sorlie. "And people would come up to me and be like, 'You know, that game meant a lot to me. And that documentary really made me think about things, and I really appreciated it.'"
"Because of that positivity and through that acknowledgement from the fans," Sorlie continued, "I decided to stay in the video game industry. So, in a strange way, Bubsy saved my life."
Now, six years later, Sorlie is returning the favor with Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection, a compilation that includes several Bubsy titles (and variants) from the SNES, Genesis, Game Boy, Jaguar, and PlayStation eras. Developed by Limited Run Games, in partnership with Atari, which now owns the IP, the collection promises to reflect Sorlie's sincerity when it comes to the platforming franchise. "We do not want to meme this up," said Sorlie. "We don't want to mock this. This is a character that means something to video game history. What it means to different people, we can't say. But we would like to find out."
Not only does The Purrfect Collection pledge to be sincere; it also insists on telling a comprehensive, transparent history of the series, including all its ups and downs. "The way I look at it," Sorlie noted, "these [collections] are basically interactive museum pieces. They're not just software, but they're also very much a way to preserve gaming history and give full context." That means video interviews, design documents, and other items yet to be revealed. The idea is to place the character of Bubsy in the proper historical context, in terms of game development, marketing, and the reactions from fans.
The most important thing about a collection is the games, however. During my time at PAX East, Sorlie walked me through two titles: the original Bubsy on SNES (his personal favorite) and the now infamous Bubsy 3D, the franchise's first foray into three dimensions. Each game in the anthology will feature the quality-of-life features common to Limited Run's Carbon Engine, including rewind, save states, screen & filter options, and even an optional "boost mode" that overclocks the system slightly to remove slowdown.
The premier Bubsy game was certainly a highlight. I got the sense that some of the later franchise entries would be more interesting for long-time fans or from a detached, historical perspective, but that the original game would be the most likely to win over some converts. The graphics are bright and bombastic, the animations are detailed, and the level designs are refreshingly open-ended for a fourth-gen platformer. It seems to operate in a middle ground, in terms of momentum and verticality, between Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog.
As for Bubsy 3D, which has become something of a punchline over the last few years, it's a very interesting experiment, albeit one that can be clumsy, confusing, and punishing. Sorlie, a self-described defender of the game, insisted it's not all negative: "I do think this is another game that, if you play it in this collection and get it in the proper world, you at least come away with the impression that this is not as bad as people made it out to be."
Even Sorlie, though, would probably agree that Bubsy 3D was something of a low point for the series. The Purrfect Collection, conversely, might just be its high point, thanks to several titles and game variants, a host of bonus archival materials, and lots of quality-of-life adjustments. After changing hands multiple times over the preceding decades, the IP now rests with Atari, which has placed its trust in Limited Run's Carbon Engine and its faith in Audi Sorlie's genuine, unironic love for the property. "It's been one of the greatest pleasures I've had in my 20-year history to work with [Atari], because they understand the sincerity," he said. "They came back with that same sincerity while working on this. And it's been one of the best collaborations I've ever had."
He concluded, "Bubsy is still bringing people together, inside and outside of the industry."
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Hee, I remember Bubsy! I remember renting the original when I was 11 because the TV commercial made it look comparable to Sonic, which was all the rage at the time. And I also remember having mixed feelings about it once I actually played it for a while. My favorite things about it were the sheer verticality of the stages (which made for a lot of exploration by the standards of the time) and some of the fun, area-specific gimmicks like the roller coasters in the carnival levels. I would've liked Bubsy's speed too (especially the gliding ability that he beat Knuckles to), but the developers kinda ruined a lot of that for me by making it often punishing to really take advantage of.
When I'm talking about the game often punishing you for taking advantage of its protagonist's speed, I mean that Bubsy's slide when he tries to skid to a stop or change directions is really long and often led to running into enemies even though I responded to their sight as soon as I could. That and the fact that Bubsy dies if he falls from too great a height imbue a bit TOO much realism to be a good match for this Saturday morning cartoon type action platformer, as those aspects just don't mesh well with game play at high speeds. Although those elements frustrated me, I did rent it again later after learning of the built-in cheat codes (namely invincibility) and what its level passwords were and eventually bought it and Bubsy II close to a decade later when they went on sale for next to nothing at FuncoLand.
Reading this article gives me some mild nostalgia for the stock animal mascot "with attitude". While it can't be said that I share Sorlie's cherished memories, I am glad that this retro collection is in the hands of a true fan and can see options like the ability to rewind game play coming in very handy with Bubsy. Much for me will depend on the price tag.
To be fair, I felt like Sonic games often punished you for utilizing Sonic's speed as well. The water levels didn't exactly lend themselves to going full speed ahead.
I think that was most true in the original Sonic the Hedgehog because that one derived a good deal of its design influence from the Super Mario Bros. games (the biggest platformers up to that point), but not really true of Sonic 2, which was the newest of the Sonic games at the time when the original Bubsy first came out and the one where I think you could say the franchise really found its identity. Sonic 2 really leaned into ensuring that were a good number of wide open sections in most every act where you could build up a lot of speed without serious peril, sometimes to the point where the blue blur could outpace the camera's ability to pan. :D Even Sonic 2's water stages, the Aquatic Ruin Zone, allowed skilled players the ability to avoid being sent underwater (and thus drastically slowed down) by providing a totally dry route at the top of the zone, effectively rendering the underwater section a punishment for screwing up. It's actually one of my favorite zones in the whole franchise!
It may also be worth pointing out that Sonic also wasn't as fragile as Bubsy. Bubsy dies in one hit in addition to dying for stuff Sonic doesn't like simply falling from a great height. Sonic could at least acquire rings and shields to avoid that predicament.
In fact I'll go a bit further even and say that if the aim behind Bubsy was to find a good way of marrying the speed and colorful palette of Sonic with the greater exploratory options of the original Super Mario Bros. games, then Sonic CD, which was released later that same year, provides a much stronger example than Bubsy does of how to achieve that vision, effectively incentivizing players pretty equally toward either a speed-focused or exploration-focused approach by giving you two ways to acquire Time Stones.
The real trick to Bubsy is learning to use the gliding ability a LOT, like with a frequency that may not be instinctive.
I've great memories of the first one. Never played any of the others. This collection is definitely in my wishlist.
