News Articles
Tuesday13th Dec 2016
News Yooka-Laylee's Wii U Cancellation is Only Due to Technical Challenges, Not the System's Woes
"We can assure you this was a hard decision for everyone"
Earlier today there was the disappointing news that Yooka-Laylee is no longer coming to Wii U. When the game was first revealed Playtonic Games emphasized the importance of Nintendo hardware to the game, with a number of backers opting for the Wii U iteration in the Kickstarter campaign. The...
News Yooka-Laylee Rattles Away From Wii U Release
Are you happy with the switch to Switch?
In a move which isn't necessarily surprising, it has now been confirmed that the much anticipated Yooka-Laylee will not longer be getting a Wii U release. In a recent blog post on the Playtonic Games site, the reasoning for this is explained. The Playtonic team is sad to confirm that despite our best...
Rumour Yooka-Laylee Might Be Released in April
Not long now
Playtonic's highly anticipated collectathon, Yooka-Laylee, is expected to launch sometime early next year, though the exact time has not been specified. Considering that we're rapidly closing in on the launch window, one would expect a release date to be forthcoming, but it seems that a few online storefronts may have accidentally let...
Tuesday4th Oct 2016
News Yooka-Laylee Will Be Getting a Boxed Release
Yesssss…
In just a few short months, Yooka-Laylee will be available on all the major console platforms, but the wait couldn't feel any longer. The highly anticipated 3D platformer aims to scratch an itch that's been mostly left untouched since the days of the Nintendo 64, and it looks like it'll be quite the adventure. Recently, it was announced...
Tuesday27th Sep 2016
Video Fresh Yooka-Laylee Footage Emerges From EGX 2016
We also speak to Chris Sutherland about the Wii U version
Those of you in the UK will know that EGX 2016 - the UK's biggest gaming show - took place last weekend and there were plenty of lovely games to gawk at. Sadly Nintendo sat it out this year, so there wasn't a lot for us to report on specifically, but we did get some hands-on time with...
Sunday25th Sep 2016
News Shovel Knight Confirmed for Surprise Role in Yooka-Laylee
We dig it
Shovel Knight is a stand-out game on Wii U and 3DS, and the hero sure gets around. The character's had a handful of fun cameos confirmed to date, and has now secured what may be his most high-profile gig yet. It's been confirmed that Shovel Knight will appear in Yooka-Laylee, showing off some some chunky armour in the 3D world. You can...
Tuesday30th Aug 2016
News Yooka-Laylee To Make Playable Debut At EGX 2016
Hands-on with the dynamic duo
Highly anticipated 3D adventure Yooka-Laylee will be playable by the public at this year's EGX event in the UK, it has been revealed. Created by a team of former Rare staffers and published by veteran firm Team 17, Yooka-Laylee is a 3D platformer which takes inspiration from the likes of Banjo-Kazooie and the Donkey...
Thursday18th Aug 2016
Video Check Out Six Minutes of Yooka-Laylee Footage
Like the 90's platformer never vanished
Playtonic has opted to use the Gamescom conference as a means to show off all the work that it's done on Yooka-Laylee so far, and it looks like things are coming along quite well. We already got a new trailer, showcasing some polished environments and new transformations, and the game appears set to hit its...
Wednesday17th Aug 2016
Video Yooka-Laylee's Gamescom 2016 Trailer Contains Transformations, New Enemies And Farting
A Rare combination?
Yooka-Laylee's Q1 2017 launch seems like so far away, and the latest trailer for the game - shown off at Gamescom 2016 today - makes the wait even more difficult. Not only does it showcase some gorgeous level designs and new enemies, it gives us a look at one of the duo's transformations - a massive truck with a snowplough on...
Thursday4th Aug 2016
Video Playing Yooka-Laylee Properly With a Nintendo 64 Controller, Sort Of
Because we can
A little while ago Playtonic Games released the Yooka-Laylee pre-alpha 'Toybox' build to Kickstarter backers - it's a large area in which you can run around, do a bit of jumping and generally mess about with the game's mechanics. Naturally it has a handful of secrets to discover too. Our video man Alex happens to have a copy, and...
Friday8th Jul 2016
News Playtonic On Yooka-Laylee's Non-Linear Structure And Retaining That Trademark Rare Humour
"It's almost like Banjo-Tooie was yesterday and Yooka-Laylee was today"
Yooka-Laylee may have been cruelly pushed in 2017, but the game remains one of the most eagerly-anticipated titles of recent memory - and with good reason. It's being made by Playtonic Games, a studio formed almost entirely from ex-Rare staff, and it raised a massive amoun
Tuesday7th Jun 2016
Video Watch the Secrets of Yooka-Laylee Get Unearthed in our Trailer Analysis
Breegulls become bats
As E3 rapidly approaches the hype surrounding Playtonic's debut title is palpable. We were lucky enough to get a first-hand preview of a pre-alpha build of Yooka-Laylee before the new trailer dropped earlier this week. We decided to take a close look at the trailer using what we discovered during
Monday6th Jun 2016
News Playtonic Handling Wii U Version of Yooka-Laylee, Team17 Porting To PS4 And Xbox One
"We wanted to make sure that Wii U gets the right attention"
It's tempting, in light of the system's declining role in the market and modest userbase, to be rather fearful around third-party Wii U projects. With Yooka-Laylee moving into 2017 it'd be understandable to feel twitchy; yet thankfully this is a Playtonic Games title, with the studio being...
Friday27th May 2016
"We want to surprise the player all the time"
Just recently Playtonic Games raised the curtain on Yooka-Laylee, a title that's got a lot of 3D platforming and Rare fans excited. The studio is a mix of veterans from the venerable developer along with some younger talent, and after a period of silence it's emergeed to share more of its project.
Friday20th May 2016
News Playtonic Raises the Curtain to Show Off A Lot of Yooka-Laylee Details
"Today is just the preliminary act"
Yooka-Laylee caused a big stir when it was crowdfunded through Kickstarter, with developer Playtonic Games being formed by a group of experienced former Rare employees. When we went hands on and visited the studio we couldn't help but be excited about its potential. Playtonic Games has been relatively quiet in...
Tuesday19th Apr 2016
News Another Former Rare Staffer Joins the Yooka-Laylee Project
Many hands make light work
Ever since the initial announcement and hype of Yooka-Laylee, it seems that new information on the upcoming title has been difficult to come by. No doubt this means that Playtonic is hard at work, polishing up what will hopefully be a glorious homage to the great N64 platformers of old. Of course, this project is being...
Wednesday10th Feb 2016
News Playtonic Games Reveals New Character and David Wise Track for Yooka-Laylee
Three new staff also join up
Yooka-Laylee made quite an impact when it was revealed in Spring 2015, with the newly formed Playtonic Studios gaining a lot of attention by virtue of a promising Kickstarter pitch video and the fact that the team was largely comprised of former Rare staff. Already positioned as a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie,...
Tuesday12th Jan 2016
News Legendary Former Rare Character Artist, Kev Bayliss, Joins Playtonic to Work on Yooka-Laylee
Credited with DK's Country design, Killer Instinct work and much more
The words 'Rare' and 'Legend' go together very often, and we try not to use them unless they're necessary. In the case of former company Character Artist / Graphics Director Kev Bayliss it's a fair description, however, and the pleasing news is that he's now joined Playtonic...
Thursday12th Nov 2015
News A New Yooka-Laylee Support Character Has Been Revealed
Remember the good old days with Rextro Sixtyfourus
When you get right down to it, there's still not a whole lot known about Yooka-Laylee, an upcoming 3D platformer made from ex-Rare staff that worked on games such as Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. After the initial buzz around the game from its successful Kickstarter debut died down, new...
Wednesday2nd Sep 2015
News Nintendo UK and Playtonic Games to Host a Special Super Mario Maker Live Broadcast
Yooka-Laylee studio to show off its creations
With Super Mario Maker approaching we can expect a variety of promotional activities from the big N, and Nintendo UK has an upcoming live stream that could be one to watch for retro and eShop fans. It's announced on Instagram that it'll be hosting a live broadcast with Playtonic Games, the team of...
Friday7th Aug 2015
News Nintendo Won't Rule Out Giving Yooka-Laylee Additional Support On The eShop
"Never say never"
Nintendo's relationship with indie developers has undergone a truly dramatic transformation since the days of WiiWare, and both the 3DS and Wii U eShops are brimming with amazing games as a result. Nintendo has done a lot to support and highlight indie games on its platforms, with the most recent example being the successful...
Thursday30th Jul 2015
News Team17 Is Publishing Yooka-Laylee And Wants To Produce A Physical Version
“There is a large demand for a physical game”
UK veteran Team17 is publishing Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee, it has been announced. The 3D platformer raised more than £2M via Kickstarter earlier this year, and is coming to the Wii U. Team17 will assist with localisation, certification, QA, marketing and other business concerns. Here's what...
Monday20th Jul 2015
News Playtonic Happy to Move Away From "Box-Ticking" Culture At Microsoft-Owned Rare
Creative lead Gavin Price talks about fresh beginnings
Yooka-Laylee has been hailed as a platforming rebirth created by some of the UK's most talented developers, and has recently become one of Kickstarter's most acclaimed success stories. Developer Playtonic - which is made up of former Rare staffers and, in recent months, has added more in the...
Friday17th Jul 2015
Video This Fan-Made Yooka-Laylee Animation is Pretty Neat
Give 'em a call, Playtonic!
Yooka-Laylee has clearly won over plenty of gamers, from Rare fans to those with fond memories of collect-a-thon 3D adventure platformers on Nintendo 64, and others who simply like exciting projects. It raised over £2 million before its Kickstarter campaign reached a close. The game itself is naturally some way off, but...
Tuesday16th Jun 2015
News Yooka-Laylee Reaches Final Stretch Goal On The Last Day Of Its Kickstarter Campaign
Now the real work begins
Playtonic's Banjo-Kazooie successor Yooka-Laylee has hit its final Kickstarter stretch goal, unlocking free-of-charge DLC for those who backed the project. Yooka-Laylee's original target was a modest £175,000, but it quickly
Thursday4th Jun 2015
News Playtonic Wants Yooka-Laylee To Eclipse Banjo-Kazooie When It Comes To Sheer Size
Putting those fears to bed
Yooka-Layee's amazing Kickstarter campaign has ensured that Rare fans will be getting the next best thing to a Banjo-Kazooie sequel, but some supporters have expressed doubts about the size of the adventure, given that the game will retail for a low price and - comparatively-speaking, at least - its budget remains modest...
Monday18th May 2015
News Yooka-Laylee’s Game Worlds Will Be Contained Within "Magical Books”
A novel idea
Playtonic's spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie and popular Kickstarter project, Yooka-Laylee, aims to recreate the magic of the 3D platform titles of yesteryear with charming characters and classic level design. With development well underway, creative lead Gavin Price has recently discussed the team's approach to level creation in...
Tuesday12th May 2015
News Introducing The Very First Support Character In Yooka-Laylee, Trowzer The Serpent Salesman
A snake wearing trousers
Support characters were very much a staple of 3D platform games during their prime, and it looks like Playtonic Games will continue this tradition with the recent reveal of the first support character in Yooka-Laylee: Trowzer, the serpent salesman. A business-snake whose career never took off, the smug salesman is...
News Playtonic Confirms Post-Release DLC as the Next Stretch Goal for Yooka-Laylee
"When – and only when – we've finished and shipped the full version"
It's pretty safe to say that Yooka-Laylee is shaping up to be a massive success. After meeting its initial funding goal in less than forty minutes, Yooka-Laylee went on to become the fastest Kickstarter game to pass the $1 million mark. Evidently, gamers around the world really
Thursday7th May 2015
News Yooka-Laylee Hit The $1 Million Point Faster Than Any Other Game In The History Of Kickstarter
On course to be the UK's biggest gaming Kickstarter campaign, too
Playtonic's Yooka-Laylee reached the $1 million marker faster than any other game on Kickstarter, it has been revealed. The campaign smashed its initial funding goal of £175,000 in less than 40 minutes, and by the end of its first full day had
