Topic: Yooka-Replaylee

@Mariotag to me it didn't but I also don't like having to unlock movement abilities in a platformer so maybe I'm not the best person to ask

@Sylamp I felt like it was part of the identity of the genre.

Well, to each their own.

Now that I've had a handful of play sessions with the game - including a solid five hours straight last night, here's a few thoughts ...

As a fan of Banjo-Kazooie since 1998 - and as someone who felt pretty cheated out of a proper, mainline third home console installment of the game - I feel like this is almost everything Banjo-Threeie should and would have been. It's the closest we're ever going to get to it - only now, it's a lot easier to cop given we have Replaylee.

The original left a bit of a sour taste - we wait nearly 20 years for something, and it missed the mark on so many levels. The worlds barren with so much free space, tedious expansion of worlds and backtracking (this isn't always a bad thing, but Laylee made it so) and moves that felt like a chore.

It all feels fantastic now and kudos to them for more or less remaking the game. To me, it's an instant classic and it's kept me hooked for hours on end.

My only criticisms are: I would've preferred at least one or two new worlds in addition to the existing five, and some of the Pagies feel pretty cheap and easy to get, similar to what we might see in Odyssey.

But overall, bravo Playtonic, and thank you!

@Tendo64
Speak on it.

This is looking like it'll end up one the most underrated games of the generation, as many refuse to pay it any attention after the mediocre reception of the original. But the few who do are discovering a masterful platformer.

@Tendo64 I'm curious, how does having all the moves from the start impact game progression?

It felt like part of the identity of the classics of the genre.

I finished the PS5 version yesterday and it was an absolute delight. It's drastically improved over the original which was a huge disappointment. I'm really hoping it can find more of an audience as it feels largely forgotten.

They've also just dropped a demo for anyone still on the fence about picking it up.

I played the demo. It felt weirdly nostalgic and made me want to play the original. Maybe I will try and then remember that it was scuffed 😆

I’ve had mine preordered on Amazon since August. Just got a shipping notification for December 22nd. I’m excited!

I liked the original to an extent, but some of the camera issues, graphics issues on Switch, and control wonkiness kept it from being truly enjoyable. Like, I could tell it really wanted to be a good game, but it had so many issues that made it frustrating to play.

Sounds worth trying then.