There was a time, not long ago, where pretty much the only gaming related merchandise you could buy was Mario or Sonic themed - and 99% of it was tat. But as publishers start to get a bit happier at letting companies license their games out, those days are thankfully long behind us, with a huge range of interesting, cool, and incredibly appealing bits and bobs out there for the discerning player to pick up. And these "Stubbins" really caught our eye.
Available now from Merchandise Monkey, Stubbins are a range of officially licensed (and officially cute) plush characters based around your favourite Playstation heroes. With a pretty wide selection, ranging from kawaii takes on "realistic" characters, like gruff dude raider Nathan Drake and even God of War's Kratos, to more niche protagonists, like Fat Princess and Bloodborne's Hunter, our favourites are far and away the plushes based on characters who were already cartoony to begin with - like PaRappa, Ratchet and Clank, and everyone's favourite ball of hessian come to life, Sackboy.
How can you say no to a face like that?
In terms of quality, these plushes are all really well put together. Ratchet and Clank have embroidered eyes, Sackboy has a zip that opens, and each is filled with a slightly heavier bean-bag style material in their junk, letting them easily sit up on their own, despite their massive heads (no worrying about having to try and prop these ones up). Actually, they all seem to balance really well - which is nice, as that's usually one of the more awkward things about plush toys.
Measuring in at roughly 17cm (~6.5in) tall when seated, they're small enough to fit anywhere, but large enough to be noticeable when you tuck them away on shelves, or perch them on your desk. With all Stubbins having a similar cute/chubby style, with big, wide eyes, and a really cute face, they really do look great when you get groups of them together too.
Sackboy's just happy to be there.
The first wave of 12 Stubbins are as follows:
- Aloy (Horizon Zero Dawn)
- Kratos (God of War)
- Arteus (God of War)
- Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
- Ratchet (Classic) (Ratchet and Clank)
- Clank (Classic) (Ratchet and Clank)
- Pink Princess (Fat Princess)
- Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)
- Sly Racoon (Sly Cooper)
- PaRappa (PaRappa the Rapper)
- Hunter (Bloodborne)
With all 12 Stubbins mentioned above on sale now, and with more set to come later this year, we're really big fans of the look and feel of these characters. With any of the Stubbins sure to make a fantastic little surprise for a special someone in your life - or, when Christmas rolls around, as the perfect present for a gamer who has everything, be sure to check the full series out for yourself.
