“One of the games that brings back the good ol’ times of childhood; will be this one. An upcoming release that I am going to buy with much excitement.” -Cutieroo
While at my opportunity to be at Twitch Con (2016) I had many chances to play many open demos of up-coming games. Notably, there was one game that stood out for me while playing a little game called Yooka-Laylee. The reason why I am anticipating this game because of Banjo Kazooie (a series I have played in my youth that I loved and adored). The creators from Banjo Kazooie came together and made this 3D platformer game a delightful piece to play. It’s refreshing to see that 3D Platforms still exist; even possibly bringing back the genre itself.
Granted, I was only able to play for fifteen minutes. It was during those fifteen minutes I learned quite a lot I mean no way was I going to waste this chance. Firstly, the gameplay was smooth and easy to grasp in this brand new open world. Also, with a new game you get new characters and see how the new ideas that make Yooka-Laylee fun to play and able to keep up with modern day games.
The new characters that are obvious to mention is Yooka (the green looking lizard/chameleon) and Laylee (the bat that is the comic factor) and they came with a bunch of special-shiny-new moves along with them. Those new moves that the characters have in their arsenal are sonar blasting, tongue whipping, sky soaring, etc. Being able to explore this in the first few minutes of the game, you can feel that nostalgia pumping back into your body colors are so vibrant and eye catching too.
Additionally, what I found to be super important was the fact that the whole character transforms! There was a point where you could transform into a flower and complete the task at hand. Even being in the flower form you were given new abilities specifically designed for the use of what the transformation was capable of. I have an inkling of a feeling these transformations will be vital throughout the game. It was hard to contain my excitement because when I saw this game, flash backs of gameplay from Banjo Kazooie were coming back to me. This motivated me to play and continue to see more of what Yooka-Laylee had to offer.
Of course, the secrets and collectibles come into play. What kind of game would it be if it didn’t have secrets and collectibles? The thing that I find to be odd is how you do have to collect in this game, yet it doesn’t feel like you are doing it. It’s very effortless and not chore consuming. In fact, it adds onto the game rather than distracts it. Specifically, the collecting is completed whenever you are done with missions you get to earn pages, etc. Indubitably, different items you collect are meant for different usage of the game. Being able to make the collectibles a part of the game rather than mandatory, makes me want to explore all over and collect everything I really like to do that in gaming.
Lastly, what is refreshing to see once again is that the humor and characters that you love are similarly the same. They haven’t changed that formula and I am happy that they didn’t. In all honesty, the music, the visuals, the everything of Yooka-Laylee is very much like how 90’s 3D games were and this is the perfect time to release this game.
I admit, fifteen minutes was not enough time to explore the massive map that is in the game and they did leave me wanting more. I am super excited for this game to come out and can’t wait to play it and finish this PlayNReview and show you all on my stream.
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**Disclaimer Notice**
I provide my opinion of experience with the video games I review by being a consumer and share my voice in the gaming industry.
Proofed by: R. Arias
Device used for game-play: Twitch Con Ps4
Review on: Yooka-Laylee