Update (Thu 30th Jan, 2020): As promised, a free demo for Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair is available to download on Switch as of today. If you haven't tried this one out yet, what are you waiting for?
Original Article (Mon 20th Jan, 2020 14:45 GMT): When we reviewed Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair back in October 2019, we said it was "a fantastic sophomore effort that pays tribute to Rare's past and establishes Playtonic as one of the UK's most exciting studios." If that wasn't enough encouragement for you to buy it, then perhaps the ability to sample a portion of the game before you take the plunge will suffice?
That's precisely what Playtonic is doing at the end of this month. A free demo will hit the eShop on January 30th (a week after Steam). The demo will include "an assortment of vibrant and exciting 2D levels", a 'Pagie Challenge', a state change for one of the stages, some tonics to sample (one of which gives Yooka a massive head), and access to titular Impossible Lair itself (gasp!). Furthermore, your progress from the demo can be carried over to the full game.
But why now, and why not at the time of release, you may ask? Well, according to Playtonic's Twitter, demos aren't just something you pop out with minimal effort – they have to be certified just like a full release, and there simply wasn't the time or resource to produce a demo at launch. We'll let them off, because they're good people.
Will you be downloading this demo on the 30th? Let us know by voting in the poll below.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 65
Does this mean there’s a new update coming to the game as well?
This appeals to me more than the original game, oddly.
Demoes are a good thing
I miss them really, these days a game is a risk with nothing to go on other then reviews and youtube vids
Good move Playtonic!!
This can only help sales. It's a great game which deserves to be played.
I'd be interested, have been tempted to buy the game a few times so this could seal the deal for me.
The only reason I haven't bought the game is because I own DKTF and haven't completed that as of yet
This game is awesome. I haven't played the original, but this one is really good, one of the best platfomers on Switch. Anyway, it's good that they release a demo, so everyone can see what they did here, as it came out along with many other big titles.
This game doesn't need a demo. It's the best video game released in years.
@Kalmaro Bought this in the recent sale and am absolutely loving it. It is far superior to the first game in every way. Controls are far better (not quite as tight as Mario though), the visuals are great and there's loads of variety. The mechanic where every level is altered for the second playthrough is genius and the hub world is fun too. This is a far more polished effort overall and pretty challenging as well.
A demo is a great idea cos I reckon anyone who plays it will instantly download the full game.
I won't be downloading the demo, because I've already got the game!
I think it's great but I've only had enough time to play the first level, my backlog is still huge but this game is high on the list.
I will definitely give it a try!
@Ooccoo_Jr Good to hear, I'll be keeping an eye out then. I didn't like the original game at all but this one seems more like my style of play.
@Kalmaro Yeah they are completely different. Sounds obvious but if you liked the recent Donkey Kong Country Returns games then you'll love this.
Shame this didn't happen BEFORE the game came out. Instead I spent money on the full game only to kinda hate it lol.
A demo sounds great. I've been really curious about the game.
This is great for people still on the fence
I only have 4 TWIT coins to get and then 100%, been playing for about 15 hours or more (over 3 weeks or so)
Not a bad game, still prefer the original, but i grew up with 3D platformers
This game sucks..I want Donkey Kong
I preordered it and I love it
I own both physically and this is the better of the two.
This is one of my favorite 2D platformers of this generation. It's right up there with DK Tropical Freeze. If you enjoyed that, don't hesitate.
I enjoyed my time with the game. Didn't quite reach the highs of the DKC games for me, but the fact that I even considered it in the same breath is encouraging. That impossible lair though? Blech. Honestly my least favorite part of the game. I eventually cleared it, but I didn't have fun doing it. The actual levels were much more fun and satisfying.
@T7Hokage017 ur loss on a awesome game
If the demo is good I will buy physical.
Really enjoyed this game, and beat all the levels, both variations. But as for the titular lair. That was just too... impossible.
Anyone want my copy? The games meh
Gotta say,Switch has been fantastic with the amount of demos available and this is another game I've been curious about so looking forward to trying it.
Had an amazing time with this game. I bought the switch version and got the pc version for free on epic game store. So I'll play it again on there soon.
My ballbags is to big at the moment so a demo would be great! 👍
So the demo is also for Xbox? I ask because you only mention Switch and Steam.
One of the best games of the decade! Great to see a demo for it. This is a game everyone should have in their collection.
The impossible lair was really hard... couldn’t get myself to finish it even after getting all the 🐝
Excellent, it’s on my wish list, a demo might help me get it on to my purchased list!
I already got it free for pc on that one store everyone hates.
Cool. I am intrigued by it but never bought it. Maybe the demo will change my mind? It looks better than the boring Banjo-kazooie rip-off from 2017
@harrystein Agreed. If you're wondering where our Switch DKC game is, here it is.
Great! I've been on the fence about this game.
@ryobi85 your... ballbag is too big?!
@T7Hokage017 Then I guess you don’t like quality platformers?
Does the first Yooka-Laylee have a demo as well?
Also, I know there were some issues at launch for Yooka-Laylee, like weird camera angles, among other things.
Were those issues fixed in an updates? I believe they were, but I might be wrong, though.
Thanks to the review from nintendolife, I wasted my money on this. And sold it later for less. For the first levels, I enjoyed it a bit. But later on, the game turned me really off, I didn't really like the first game and I didn't like this as well. They are trying to copy the feeling of old Rare games, but they don't achieve that.
I already have the game, so no need to get the demo for me.
@SNWislit It's free on gamepass if you have an xbox one. They did fix a lot of issues when it came to Switch.
I’m a huge advocate for game demos even if developers and publishers claim they only hurt sales.
For example, I had absolutely zero interest in Blasphemous on Switch. Then I noticed it had a demo the other day so I downloaded it to see what all the talk was about.
Yeah, I really enjoyed it, and now they got another sale.
@BlueOcean
According to an article on Destructoid, which I read prior to this one, it mentioned it is coming to Xbox, but didn’t have a release date for whatever reason.
@Kang81 Thank you!
@Kang81 I agree. I bought Cave Story on Wii only because I liked the demo. I didn't like the second half of the game as much though. Too much shooting.
@SquareOneMJ backlog! Hahahaha 😂👍oh my gosh
@ryobi85 😉 gave me a giggle
Made me laugh to be honest😂
@antonio2244 Kong kong Kong! I want another Kong! They should to one!
@BlueOcean
I didn’t know Cave Story had a demo, unless it wasn’t on Switch anyway. I just picked it up the other day for Switch since it was on a good sale, I just wasn’t getting a good enough vibe to spend $30 on it.
For all the praise that the game has gotten over the years, I’m finding it kinda boring and not very fun. Eh, I’ll slug through it some more to see if it gets better.
@ryobi85 Was that the autocorrect?
@Kang81 The first part is nice with the open area and the different characters and dialogues but after a little while it becomes a buttons mashing 2D shooting game with projectiles upgrades.
Can you claim "First." for an update? 🤣
Didn't realize today was the 30th already. Feb is a Leap Year and it's already messing me up.
That's right folks, anything thing that goes wrong this year blame it on the calendar, ready made excuse.
Demo, sure, why not. Though honestly there have been a ton of demos on Switch I haven't tried, so much shovelware, but this is legit.
And it is on discount too...
Eh, why not? A demo’s a demo.
As always, demos can be downloaded through the official Nintendo website.
Log in with your Nintendo account, head to the game's page, and click the Download Demo button. If your Nintendo Switch is in sleep mode and in a connected wifi hotspot, it'll download automatically.
Finally beat the final boss, but then died GAH!! 84% complete (Love the way it tells you the last death in the Impossible Lair)
If you like Donkey Kong Country (all iterations except 64) you will love this
The original Yooka was absolutely incompetent in many ways. I am looking forward to this being the first good Yooka game
@PBandSmelly Impossible Lair is a drastic improvement over the original. It's a real shame they didn't release this first as I feel a lot of people aren't willing to give it a try as a result.
I played this on Xbox One X but I’ll double dip on this because it’s a great game.
Oh cool and I am in need of a Switch game.
I been on the fence on this one.
If only there were a demo at launch.
Now that I have almost finished it: Its not as good as the first Yooka laylee nor is it as good the Donkey kong country games. But that still makes it a entertaining game. However, play it slower then the dk games. Otherwise you constantly bump in enemies and hazards. When you take it slower (and have activated the twi-twirl and twit-coin tonic) the game starts to click and is entertaining and challenging. And the overworld is just pure fun with its simple puzzles. Probably better then the actual levels, but overall I liked it. I still have to do the impossible lair though. I have all the bee's so it should be possible.
Saw the demo & downloaded it last night.
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