Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair

While in the original adventure the long-lost brilliant spark of the classic Rare games shared a lot of space with instances when lack of polish came to the forefront, in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair that creative light is much more consistent. Consequently, even if it is completely understandable that the sequel may initially be seen with some disappointment due to how it does not tackle the overlooked format fans expect out of the franchise, it ends up being extremely satisfying. After all, not only is it a joy to see Playtonic rebelliously reclaim with style the Donkey Kong Country gameplay that a huge part of its staff was responsible for creating, but it is also a delight to watch it come to fruition via a structure that is highly original, sprinkling – quite creatively – a bit of the freedom of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and a lot of the exploration component of most adventure games into a genre whose presentation tends to stick to very strict patterns. Hopefully, other developers are paying attention and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair will mark the beginning of a new trend in overworld design.

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October 23, 2019 by Matt

Yooka-Laylee

The just act of rebellion executed by Yooka-Laylee is, then, partially successful. When its cylinders are clicking in place, it shows the world of gaming that collectathons still have their place in a contemporary scenario and it loudly states the talent that made Rare’s historic run of excellence possible is now sitting outside its walls, far from the conniving environment of a company that has to bend to the will of its owner; and it does so by surfing on a wave of blatant influences coming straight from the Banjo-Kazooie saga. When it falls, though, it shows a smoother development cycle and the backing of a publisher or studio with deeper pockets and that could afford to delay the product in search for more polish would have done wonders to the game. As a whole, then, it is a title that must be played by those craving for a true successor to Banjo-Kazooie and that should be approached with caution by anyone that is new to the genre. Hopefully, the support attained by the brave folks of Playtonic will be enough to give Yooka and Laylee another shot at pure greatness. The chameleon and the bat sure have the potential, and they – alongside their gameplay style – are, after all this time, in the right hands; the ones that created them, albeit covered by a different layer of paint.

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January 11, 2018July 11, 2019 by Matt

Return Of The Kings

Yooka-Laylee’s ever growing budget, which now guarantees the game will have a fully orchestrated soundtrack, and people’s willingness to cooperate go to show how much the gaming community still trusts anyone with the Rare logo stamped on their résumés. More than that, however, it proves that – on the shoulders of the project – lies the hope to not only finally get to play the long-awaited true successor to Banjo-Tooie, but to also revive a gaming era that is still greatly admired and a gaming genre that has been sadly left behind.

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May 20, 2015May 15, 2018 by Matt