Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair review thread

[Moz La Punk]

I was planning to post an English translation of the conclusion to my Dutch review of the new Yooka-Laylee here on ResetEra, but it appears there is no thread yet. So I made one. This game deserves it! I don't usually make review threads myself so hopefully its appreciated.

So first my review, as I was planning to post it here. The review appeared on Gamer.nl, is part of the Metacritic-score and I've played the game on a PlayStation 4 Pro. Keep in mind I was very lukewarm on the first Yooka-Laylee, I thought it was a below average 3D-platformer. For context: I'm a big fan of the platform genre, from the classic and modern Mario-games, Super Meat Boy, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong-games to Rayman, Crash Bandicoot and Spyro.

I gave The Impossible Lair an 8!

Translation of the conclusion:

"Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair sometimes feels like a shameless copy of other iconic platformers, but adds enough original ideas to get away with it. Playtonic's choice to transform it to a 2D-platformer is a good one: this sequel is much better than the original, both in gameplay and leveldesign."

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To explain some things from the above summary:

The shameless copy-part is because the game sometimes is almost exactly like DKC: Tropical Freeze. Of course, that is one of the best 2D-platformers ever so it's a good subject to take inspiration from. Some levels really look similar, and the 'feeling' of the characters movements is also very recognizable for people that played Tropical Freeze.

The great original ideas I am talking about are the fact that each level has two variations. By solving puzzles in the 3D-overworld (a fantastic aspect of the game!) you can create a new version of a level that is often so different to the original that it might as well be an entirely new level. For instance: freeze a level that is situated in water to get a snow/ice level. Believe me, playing it, it feels like a very nice touch and of course also doubles the content available here.

Like I explain in more detail in my review, in the end the game is simply very fun to play, which makes it a much better prospect than the first Yooka-Laylee. I've enjoyed myself a lot!

I'll be around to answer questions if there are any.

Have some screenshots I made myself!

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Reviews from sites:

IGN: 8.7

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair brings the dynamic duo down to a 2.5D perspective to deliver one of the best platformers we've seen in years.

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Nintendolife: 9

Donkey Kong Country fans rejoice: this is the spiritual successor you've been waiting for. The worst thing you could say about it is that the overworld exploration may prove to be too involved for those who are in it purely for the runny-jumpy stuff, but those who are happy to mix platforming with top-down adventuring and don't mind adapting to the constantly changing pace will find the best of both worlds here. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a fantastic sophomore effort that pays tribute to Rare's past and establishes Playtonic as one of the UK's most exciting studios.

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Vooks: 4/5

If you can either appreciate a masochistic final challenge or are happy to simply not worry about it, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is an excellent platformer from a team of veterans showing they can still produce nostalgic experiences that stand up to the best of the modern era. There's an undeniable charm present throughout thanks to the gorgeous art design and a stellar soundtrack, and the combination of an extensive 3D overworld and tight 2D platforming makes for a thoroughly enjoyable adventure reminiscent of the platforming golden age. It feels just like catching up with an old friend, but just be prepared for the friend to randomly punch you in the kidneys as you go to say goodbye.

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DualShockers: 7,5

Side-scrolling sequel Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair has creative ideas, assuming you have the patience to wrangle with its difficulty.

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Nintendo-Insider: 8

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is another enjoyable 2D platformer to add to the Switch's ever-growing line-up. Overly familiar in many ways but not without a splash or two of its own inventive ideas. Sure, some are more successful than others but in the end, you're left with a challenging and reliably entertaining platformer and a great extension of the Yooka-Laylee brand.

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God is a Geek: 9.5

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is one of the best 2D platformers available. If you're looking for something filled with refined gameplay and fun levels, this is it.

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PSU: 8.5

A much more inventive and thoughtful affair than the duo's previous outing, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is the closest you'll get to Donkey Kong Country on PS4 and you should embrace it with the accordant warmth.

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Push Square: 7

A clear improvement on the original, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a pleasant surprise. It struggles to balance difficulty, but the end result is a robust and compelling platformer. It feels much more cohesive than its older brother and, free from the need to play to nostalgia, gives the characters and the world a better identity. It isn't perfect, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for Playtonic Games.

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Destructoid: 7

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair neatly captures the essence of Yooka-Laylee and reimagines it as a new type of game. It's a distillation and a simplification, but it's effective. Then, as its grand finale -- a necessary conclusion that looms over the whole game -- it turns uncharacteristically punitive. It's rewarding, that much is undeniable. But it also leaves you feeling like all those hours spent beekeeping never really prepared you for the final challenge. Those bees just afford more leeway over the course of a very long struggle. It's kind of a buzzkill.

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Press Start Australia: 8

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair ironically does justice to the impossible task of living up to the name of great platforming games like Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong Country, and Rayman Legends. It's a joy to play, feeling simultaneously modern and yet nostalgic. The odd omission of boss battles and some issues with variety aside, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a game any self-respecting platformer fan should play.

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Polygon: no score

Ultimately though, it's a tribute act, knocking out the big hits with all the exuberance of true believers. I found myself playing the game in short bursts, enjoying its simple pleasures before drifting into mild boredom. This is the central problem with nostalgia. It offers so little that's new.

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Powerup Gaming: 5.8

As for the visuals. They too are incredible. Looking more and more like an animated film, Impossible Lair is stunning and running at 60fps makes it look even better. There's a lot of depth to the levels, lots of stuff going on in the background and some truly detailed art design to boot. For me, the audio, visuals and overworld are the standouts of this game. Sadly, the platforming is a bit of a letdown

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Saving Content: 5/5

Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair is such a surprise hit. Featuring challenging platforming, the pacing of it keeps up. It's allows players to consistently push against the challenge. The design of no traditional lives counter really keeps things flowing. Meanwhile the exploration aspect of the hub world offers a totally new experience all on its own, even if it's not the focus, it's an addition I ended up loving. While some spin off games from franchises come off feeling like an incompletely experience or lesser experience of the original, I find The Impossible Lair an excellent addition to the franchise. A platformer that clearly takes inspiration from one of the best side scrolling games ever, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, and molds it into its own. As a side scrolling fan, this is one I recommend folks not pass up. Charming, colorful, and runs extremely well on the Nintendo Switch, a perfect companion piece to the original game.

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[Savantcore]

This is out???

 

[Chivalry]

Decent scores. I enjoyed Yooka, so I'll play this one too.

 

[Berordn]

This is out???

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Comes out on Tuesday, apparently. I didn't realize they had a release date yet.

 

[Secretofmateria]

Nice! Glad they found a footing

 

[Madmackem]

This is out???

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Tuesday.

 

[Madison]

it comes out in october 8th right?

Not shocked that its scoring higher than Yooka-Laylee, really excited to play it.

 

[Conjo]

This is out???

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On October 8th

 

[Psychotron]

My wallet is starving. The fasting continues.

 

[chusetto]

Nice results, better than I expected

 

[Becks']

Better scores than last one.

 

[hydruxo]

Glad to see good reviews so far. I keep forgetting this is a thing that exists but I'll definitely check it out.

 

[Deleted member 3010]

This is out???

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My reaction. :lol

Sounds like it's a step above the OG game, and I liked it, warts and all.

Will check it out for sure.

 

[ghostcrew]

Awesome, nice scores! Looks like they've found their footing with this one.

 

[Duffking]

Seems better than the 3D game which I pretty much expected. Y-L was just such a lifeless game that would have been mediocre had it released at the time of games it was an homage to, let alone today. This actually looks pretty good.

 

[Moz La Punk]

Yeah its much better than the original. Fans of Tropical Freeze will love this.

 

[Comic Obsessed]

Way better scores than the first one. Most likely will buy it.

 

[Nemesis_]

This is out???

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It releases on the 8th October.

Destructoid - 7/10 - https://www.destructoid.com/review-yooka-laylee-and-the-impossible-lair-568279.phtml

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair neatly captures the essence of Yooka-Laylee and reimagines it as a new type of game. It's a distillation and a simplification, but it's effective. Then, as its grand finale -- a necessary conclusion that looms over the whole game -- it turns uncharacteristically punitive. It's rewarding, that much is undeniable. But it also leaves you feeling like all those hours spent beekeeping never really prepared you for the final challenge. Those bees just afford more leeway over the course of a very long struggle. It's kind of a buzzkill.

Click to shrink...

Press Start Australia - 8/10 - https://press-start.com.au/reviews/...mpossible-lair-review-chameleon-kong-country/

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair ironically does justice to the impossible task of living up to the name of great platforming games like Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong Country, and Rayman Legends. It's a joy to play, feeling simultaneously modern and yet nostalgic. The odd omission of boss battles and some issues with variety aside, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a game any self-respecting platformer fan should play.

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Polygon - https://www.polygon.com/reviews/201...impossible-lair-review-nintendo-switch-ps4-pc

On the whole, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a carefully designed platform game that rewards repeat play and trial-and-error.

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God is a Geek - 9.5/10 - https://www.godisageek.com/reviews/yooka-laylee-and-the-impossible-lair-review/

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is one of the best 2D platformers available. If you're looking for something filled with refined gameplay and fun levels, this is it.

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Saving Content - 5/5 - https://www.savingcontent.com/2019/10/03/yooka-laylee-and-the-impossible-lair-review/

Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair is such a surprise hit. Featuring challenging platforming, the pacing of it keeps up. It's allows players to consistently push against the challenge. The design of no traditional lives counter really keeps things flowing. Meanwhile the exploration aspect of the hub world offers a totally new experience all on its own, even if it's not the focus, it's an addition I ended up loving. While some spin off games from franchises come off feeling like an incompletely experience or lesser experience of the original, I find The Impossible Lair an excellent addition to the franchise. A platformer that clearly takes inspiration from one of the best side scrolling games ever, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, and molds it into its own. As a side scrolling fan, this is one I recommend folks not pass up. Charming, colorful, and runs extremely well on the Nintendo Switch, a perfect companion piece to the original game.

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[LabRat]

looks like they did the right thing going 2.5D

 

[Deleted member 19218]

I'm surprised by those scores. I hope this game generates enough interest to reward the hard work.

 

[Camjo-Z]

I had a good feeling that this was going to get a much better reception than the first game. Seems like the worst criticism being levied is that it's too difficult at times, but it's not like I remember the DKC games being a walk in the park either.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

I didn't even know this was close to coming out lol. Scores look pretty good though so I will check it out.

 

[Maximo]

Yooka Laylee was the most 5/10 game I have ever played, not quite the direction I thought they were going to take but nice to see the reviews say it's good I'm interested in giving the developers another shot,

 

[Flevance]

Nice, I always thought the 3d controller and camera were the one who hurted the original the most. Still, it was a fun game nonetheless

 

[Fireblend]

Great to see positive reviews for this. Super happy for the devs and actually tempted to grab this!

 

[Deleted member 37917]

I'll gladly buy this, since those traitors of Nintendo and Retro aren't able to give me some Donkey Kong goodness.

 

[Puggles]

Skipped the first one but this looks great!

 

[E_i]

I'm waiting for Jim to give a the game a two.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Replaying the original in preparation for this, I forgot how much some of the humour tickles me.

Add DKC style to that and yeah I'm actually pretty hyped, reviews seem solid

I'm waiting for Jim to give a the game a two.

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Laylee's cruel British snark is gonna hit too close to home for him again.

(But really though when the original was bad...it was pretty bad, those kartos bits, oof)

 

[Moz La Punk]

Replaying the original in preparation for this, I forgot how much some of the humour tickles me.

Add DKC style to that and yeah I'm actually pretty hyped, reviews seem solid

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Yeah the British humor is totally on the same level :)

 

[Lant_War]

Wow, much better scores than what I expected. Good to see the game's good.

 

[PepsimanVsJoe]

I completely forgot that this was coming out.

It's too exhausting keeping up with all the new games.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Oh yeah a lot of the environmental design looks so much like Tropical Freeze, it's kinda taking me aback.

Regardless, really happy this is turning out good!

 

[KtotheRoc]

Pretty decent scores. I've got my eye on this game.

 

[Mugman]

I was gonna get this regardless unless word of mouth was downright awful, but those are definitely higher scores than I expected. Pretty stoked.

 

[jorgejjvr]

didnt know this one was a sidescroller

 

[TheDinoman]

Wow, pretty good reviews so far.

I was disappointed by Yooka-Laylee but I'm glad Playtonic was able to find something that worked for them.

 

[Deleted member 59519]

It looks fun as heck

 

[blondkayvon]

It didn't occur to me until this moment that some of these devs are responsible for Donkey Kong Country. I may actually check this out!

 

[PowerUp]

Here's mine.
Looks like I'm an outlier - 5.8/10

https://powerup-gaming.com/2019/10/03/yooka-laylee-and-the-impossible-lair-review-aping-the-greats/

 

[ES76]

Thank you for this thread, I didn't realize this was released on the 8th.
Really looking forward to this one, graphics look great and if it's anything like tropical freeze, then whoa boy! Plus GK and DW doing the soundtrack!

 

[Camjo-Z]

By the way, if anyone has any punny title suggestions for the OT, please post them so I can steal them and claim them as my own brilliant idea properly credit you when I use one for the thread!

 

[Bohemian]

Looking forward to this! Very happy to see that one of the reviews mentions it runs really well on Switch. Hopefully some other reviews will confirm. Feels like I haven't played a good platformer in a while, so this will be a nice change of pace from other recent releases.

 

[Spinosaurus]

By the way, if anyone has any punny title suggestions for the OT, please post them so I can steal them and claim them as my own brilliant idea properly credit you when I use one for the thread!

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Yooka's Laylee Quest

 

[Mr_Antimatter]

I'll probably give this one a bite. Waiting to see what platforms it really shines on though.

 

[Spacejaws]

By the way, if anyone has any punny title suggestions for the OT, please post them so I can steal them and claim them as my own brilliant idea properly credit you when I use one for the thread!

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Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair - Topical Beez

 

[Brazil]

These scores make me so happy. I've been rooting so much for these guys.

 

[HardTimesFamilyPride]

This was not on my radar until these reviews. At first I read a bit and saw the screens and thought "omg this looks WAY too much like DKTF." Then I kept reading and I saw the praise it actually gets as a platformer. Guess I have a new game to pick up soon!

 

[Clov]

I was scared off by the so-so reviews from the original, but this one seems like it's much better. If I feel like I'm in the mood for a 2D platformer, maybe I'll pick this one up!

 

[AvernOffset]

Sounds like they managed to capture a lot of what made DKCTF good despite operating on a much smaller budget. I'm pretty excited for this. The gimmick with the Impossible Lair and collecting bees for it is brilliant. I can already feel the urge to beat the game without clearing a single regular level.