90s kids will remember just how formative the 3D mascotplatformerwas in our gamer upbringings. Sadly, as we’ve grown up, this genre has largely been left behind in the modern gaming landscape, despite the fact that IknowI’m not alone in still wanting to experience and fall in love with the next charming addition to the scene.
That’s why I can distinctly remember being excited aboutYooka-Layleeway back when I saw its Kickstarter page a decade ago. A new take on theBanjo-Kazooieformula created by a team that spun-off from Rare itself?Yeah, count me in.
Yooka-Replaylee Console Announcement Trailer
Yooka-Replaylee is headed to PS5, Xbox Series X}S, and Nintendo platforms with visual enhancements, improved gameplay and more.
A bit unfortunately, the game ultimately came out to a bit of a mixed reception when it released in 2017, and I personally never got incredibly far in the game myself before getting distracted by another title that eventually pulled me away entirely.
The 2D entry in the series,Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair, came later in 2019 and was a marked improvement in overall game quality, but I still yearned for the 3D experience to be just as compelling.
Rather incredibly, the Yooka-Laylee team atPlaytonicis now aiming in 2025 to appease millions of players just like me by rebooting the game with the forthcoming Yooka-Replaylee. This is a total rework of the 2017 version of the game,designed to address every shortcoming, complaint, and feedback point the team receivedway back when. I can’t lie, this is an exciting proposition.
Last month, I got to go hands-on with a demo of Yooka-Replaylee at the LVL UP Expo in Las Vegas as I toured thePM Studiosbooth. After spending some quality time with the game and speaking with the dev team,I walked away incredibly excited and optimistic.
Yooka-Replaylee seems primed to be one of thebest 3D platformerofferings in recent years. Let me tell you a little more about why.
Truly Gorgeous Presentation Modernization
Immediately, it was easy to tell that atonof work had been done to make Yooka-Replaylee shine asone of the most beautiful 3D platformers I’ve seen. In direct contrast to the 2017 version, Yooka-Replaylee feels alive with a visual fidelity on par with its best contemporaries in the genre.
Hands-On Preview: ChromaGun 2 Is Portal With More Colors
If you’re a fan of the Portal series, keep an eye on this one.
Yooka and Laylee both look adorable and like they’ve been ripped straight from a Pixar or Dreamworks film. The world is colorful and vibrant. Backgrounds are gorgeous and really add an incredible sense of scale to the game as a whole.
It’s one of those games that I think I’ll more than likely just stop and look at from time to time. Of course, it’s not somehyper-realstic powerhouse, butthe style here is just lovely, and the overall level of shine on top of everything is beautiful, period.
The soundtrack of the original game was already a nearly unanimous bright spot, and it’s even been reworked in Replaylee. It’s now a full orchestral score that’s just as grand, sweeping, and fun as anyone could possibly want.
Really, the entire game has been polished to the Nth degree. It’s still recognizable, obviously, but it’s truly impressive just how much better Replaylee looks at the end of the day. It also ran perfectly smoothly in my demo as well.
Ground-Up Gameplay Additions and Refinements
One thing I noticed quickly in the gameplay department is just how muchmore expansive and openYooka-Replaylee feels. Levels are vast, filled with brand-new collectibles, activities, routes, platforms, and enemy encounters. If Yooka-Laylee ever felt a little basic and linear for the genre, Replaylee will absolutely correct that for you.
…if there was an extra mile or an extra inch that Playtonic could have gone with Replaylee, it seems like they have.
Combat feels much better, and you’ll have more abilities unlocked from the very beginning to spice things up instead of having them slowly doled out across the course of a playthrough.
Plenty of in-game challenges have been completely reworked, tweaked, or straight up added in. There’s now an in-game map to best navigate and track your collectibles. The camera controls have been massively overhauled. Tonics and cosmetics let you customize the game in many more ways.
Really, if there was an extra mile or an extra inch that Playtonic could have gone with Replaylee, it seems like they have.
Things even go so far as added games within the game. The dev team was eager to show off arcade cabinets spread throughout the world which actually house a retro-inspired puzzle-platformer game for players to check out—just because.
In this added arcade game, a dinosaur with an extendable neck works its way through isometric puzzles filled with obstacles, enemies, and switches/buttons to keep unlocking paths towards each stage exit.
Does this need to be here? No, absolutely not. But gosh dangit, was it actuallyfun, and such a neat thing to bring into the game just to enhance the total value of the offered package.
A Tale Of Developer Passion And Promise
Say what you want about the modern gaming landscape, but something I truly love about it is the ability for developers to constantly improve and iterate on their games to bring them to the quality that their fans crave. Look no further than a story likeNo Man’s Sky’s to see a great example of this.
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This 2D side-scrolling roguelite has a ton of promise.
In a way, Playtonic’s approach with Yooka-Replayleealmost feels like the result of an 8-year-long Early Access periodin order to ultimately end up with a product built entirely for their fans. During my demo, the team told me that they addressed absolutely every point of feedback and desire from players that they possibly could. I respect that a lot.
This truly seems to have resulted in a game that’s built with a ton of love, care, and pride while also doing everything it possibly can to win over anyone that may have felt like the 2017 title just wasn’t what they wanted or expected from the experience.
I could imagine someone having the argument that all of these improvements could’ve just been patched into OG Yooka-Laylee if this wastrulya consumer-friendly-focused endeavor, but I’d disagree in this case. Yes, Yooka-Replaylee is technically a reconfiguration of the 2017 title, but I really believe thatplayers will ultimately see it as entirely its own thing, too.
…a new 3D platformer that has the potential to be one of my favorites in recent memory.
Truth be told, there are probably people out there that also consider the 2017 release one of their favorite games of all-time. It would be a shame from a game preservation standpoint to just patch over Yooka-Laylee with Yooka-Replaylee considering howvastlydifferent the two titles are in actuality.
I’m feeling confident that Yooka-Replaylee will justify its existence and then some once it releases on PC and console platforms sometime later in 2025. I knowI’ve been won over to check it out on its impending release, and I’m truly excited about the possibility of a new,awesome 3D platformerthat has the potential to be one of my favorites in recent memory.
There’s no concrete release date for Yooka-Replayee beyond its 2025 label, but interested PC players canwishlist the game on Steamright now. I will absolutely be eager for more news about this one.
