
Playtonic has just released the E3 2016 trailer for its forthcoming 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee, and the footage illustrates quite keenly just how far the game has come since we first laid eyes on it last year.
The title - which is now being released in Q1 2017 - is shaping up very nicely indeed, and it appears that the trademark Rare humour is present and correct (make sure you watch it right up to the end).
Gavin Price, Creative Director and MD of Playtonic, had this to say about the trailer and the delay to 2017:
We are really excited to release today the E3 trailer for Yooka-Laylee and confirm our presence in Los Angeles where we will showcase the game for the first time to the media and influencers.
After a lot of soul searching and knowing through dialogue with our fans that they value quality and polish above all, we've made the difficult decision to lock the release of Yooka-Laylee to Q1 2017. While we felt confident we could ship the game in October as originally planned, the team has decided that it would like to add a few extra months' polish to our schedule. Ultimately, this will allow us to release a better game to the thousands of fans who've supported us throughout development.
We're sure some will be disappointed by the prospect of a few extra months' wait, however the Playtonic team is confident that we've made the right decision for the game and that you'll be pleased with the results when the game arrives early next year.
We got chance to sit down with Playtonic to talk about the eagerly-awaited platformer - don't forget to check that out, after you've gazed longingly at the trailer below.
Comments 92
Minecart <3
Is this going to be a Mighty no. 9 V2? I hope not...
I'm glad it's somewhat an official release date. Didn't really think it would hit this year.
Epic ending too!
@MrCafecito Does it really matter? This game looks fantastic, and 2017 isn't that far away.
Hahaha. Very nice. Don't mind the wait.
The last 30 seconds of that trailer were brilliant! Finally a true sequel to the Banjo Kazooie games
Looks pretty nice! But Yooka's voice... I'm may just be nick picking here, but his voice unbelievably annoying.
So it is a combo of Banjo Kazooie, DK and Conker..........it looks pretty good so far.
I hate to say it, but this game is looking a little too good to be running smoothly on a Wii U. I know Mario Kart 8 is gorgeous, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the Wii U version is as good as we see here.
I'm tearing up by this trailer. I can't wait!
Awesome!
I want this game for sure!
Works for me, that "Oct 2016" always seemed like a guesstimate.
And on the bright side for them, do they really want to release in Oct alongside all the heavy hitters in the world. I don't follow all the big games too much, but Destiny, COD, Battlefield 2, even if they arne't similar games, will be drowning us in advertising as they try to outspend each other.
And Skylanders Imaginators is due out Oct 18th, and that is a similar game.
Feb, March, April seems the way to go. Not even sure if this is a $30 DL or $60 disc, but they probably don't have the marketing budget to compete with Activision and EA over the holidays.
If Playtonic releases a Wii U version in March alongside the NX launch that will be awkward though. Might give me pause.
Any polish is welcome
Don't mind them delaying it at all. They only really got going a year ago and 18 months is an incredibly short development period.
Great trailer. Watched it twice just to see how many different game vibes I got in there. Skylanders 1, Jak & Daxter, Ratchet & Clank, Mario, Zelda, DK, Luigi's Mansion.
So can anybody tell me how such a small team made a PS4, Wii U, Xbox One and Steam game look that good in such a short amount of time? All I read is that Wii U can't keep up.
Oh well, guess that's a better question for the Dev interview article.
Aw man. My most wanted game of 2016 for Wii U! Now there is nothing for me that has been announced at least, unless Paper Mario really doesn't turn out to be Sticker Star 2. Well, I do understand though. I'm glad to be a backer, and I know the wait will be worth it.
On another note, that trailer is wonderful. Period.
Some rather worrying graphical madness around the 0:20 mark.
Sounds like an nx launch title.
Honestly, I don't mind the delay. They want to give us a better game and that's awesome!
@rjejr My thoughts exactly. It truly is a showcase of the capabilities of the original Rare dev team and their new-found friends.
Loved the kick in the teeth directed at Nuts & Bolts at the end too...
I've learned to be patient with these Kickstarter games. Heck, I'm still waiting for SpaceVenture and that was funded 3 years before Yookah Laylee.
Hmm here's hoping they've delayed the game to coincide with the launch of a certain new console and at the same time give it extra spit and polish. NX version confirmed (TBC)
That is a sweet looking trailer. Definitely a game to keep an eye on, this one.
This was supposed to come out in 2016? Honestly never expected that soon, always seemed like a 2017 release to me along with Bloodstained.
I learned with Wind Waker that it's best to have a delayed game, than an earlier one with obviously missing content.
Looks gorgeous.
Really love that snarky little Nuts and Bolts jab at the end there, too!
@rjejr The new release schedule does seem to hint at a possible release for the NX as well. Here's hoping it's not going to be pulled from the Wii U altogether...
@Evenmoresteven
I don't know about it looking too good for Wii U. The environments look pretty simplistic, without too much going on or anything. They're clearly going for that classic N64 look.
game looks amazing
Well, time to plan an NX port then... XD
@ThanosReXXX "Nuts & Bolts"
I haven't played any of their old games, but I'll assume N&B was one of those after Rare games when MS screwed up their legacy. If Wii U or NX got Rare Replay I'd play whatever I could.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but...wow. While this is obviously a true successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series (No buildable cars! Yay!), this is also the only console game that I'm actually hyped for this year (despite being released next year, but no biggie). The only other kickstarter game I want is Bloodstained, but I can also wait.
@G0dlike Banko-Kazooie? lol
I never expected them to release it in 2016 anyway XD I was certain is was 2017 from the start so I'm not bummed n_n
Can't wait to play this game! I love 3D platformers.
@ThanosReXXX It's seems like such a small team to be making 4 versions of the game as it is, I really doubt they have time to make an NX version. And let's face it, no way no how Nitnod gave Playtonic a dev kit. It does boggle the mind that Alex interviewed 2 guys there and didn't ask them about either Gamepad support or the NX.
Edit- Oops, I spoke like 2 minutes too soon.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/06/playtonic_games_is_handling_the_wii_u_version_of_yooka-laylee_with_team17_porting_to_ps4_and_xbox_one
Now I think I owe somebody an apology. I hate when that happens.
@StephenYap3 silly iPhone!!!
@G0dlike Whoops. Sorry.
Aah, this looks really good! And bashing Nuts & Bolts makes my heart skip a beat as I fall in love with the true successor to Rareware.
Needs more grenade eggs.
@StephenYap3 no, thank you sir! Edited.
That was a thing of beauty. It will be worth the wait.
@brandonbwii You must have been watching a completely different trailer, then. And saying that they are going for N64 aesthetics is REALLY stretching it, maybe we can call it stylized but there are very few simple textures and shapes in there.
So @Evenmoresteven definitely has a point since if you take a good look then there actually is a lot more going on than you seem to think, and a lot of little graphical things that show that the finished game could indeed be a lot to process for the Wii U. If you compare this trailer to the old one and then take into account the new release window, then it may very well be that the final game is going to take yet another big step in the graphics department or at the very least in final tweaks here and there, more than likely making it a VERY polished product.
And I wouldn't expect anything less from the company consisting of around 85% of the original Rare employees...
@rjejr Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts nearly destroyed the essence of what a BK game was supposed to be: a 3D platform/puzzle game. Nuts & Bolts "bolted" vehicle, tool and weapon making on top of that. Don't know if this rings a bell:

They even used Meccano aesthetics to draw the world and vehicles, and in general, the game is hated, with only a few moderately positive reviews, rating the game on its own merits instead of as a part of the Banjo Kazooie universe, which it only tarnished according to many.
This JonTron review hits the nail on the head perfectly, albeit quite loudly, but in this case, I definitely agree:
I wonder if the Wii U version is released on the same day NX arrives. Doesn't matter, I´ll get it anyway! On the other hand, if there's going to be an NX version...
@ThanosReXXX Thanks for the video, now I know why PBG turned from a really boring talker to a really sarcastic talker, he's just a slimmer JonTron.
It's a shame that it's delayed, but I'd much prefer this then for them to rush and release something mediocre.
Let's see... company logo? Check. Grant Kirkhope music? Check. Banjo-Kazooie font for the golden feather counter? Check. Same kind of face icon to display the characters' health? Check. Everything has eyes? Check. Iris-out shaped like the characters' head-silhouettes? Check. Dialogue boxes working exactly as they did in Banjo-Kazooie? Check. A jab aimed right at Nuts & Bolts? Check.
Ladies and gentlemen, Rare is back.
@ThomasReXXX
You're a fellow JonTron fan? Didn't think I could love you more than I already did!
@Thegentleman Well, here you go:
"Polska, Rzeczpospolita Polska (RP) – państwo unitarne w Europie Środkowej położone między Morzem Bałtyckim na północy a Sudetami i Karpatami na południu, w przeważającej części w dorzeczu Wisły i Odry. Powierzchnia administracyjna Polski wynosi 312 679 km², co daje jej 70. miejsce na świecie i 9. w Europie."
@AllexSora89 ThomasReXXX? Trying to make some kind of Transformer out of ThomasBW84 and me?
@rjejr PBG?
That jab at microsoft was amazing!! pure gold right there.
@ThanosReXXX
"and in general, the game is hated, with only a few moderately positive reviews"
http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/banjo-kazooie-nuts-bolts
"79/100"
That's a whole lot more than "a few" moderately positive reviews. It got nearly 8/10's across the board. And shouldn't a game always be judged on it's own merits? I like Xenoblade X much more than it's predecessor, precisely because I'm not nitpicking differences or lionizing what came before it.
@Evenmoresteven Three bets on this footage being from a PC and not reflective of what the game will look like on any console.
@CrazedCavalier Let me guess: you're one of the kids that actually liked the game. It has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the directions and foundations that the original N64 games have established. People a lot older than you that have played the first two games in the actual time period they came out know what I mean.
Maybe I should have made a clearer distinction between gamer opinions and website opinions, because most gamers that bought this, thinking that it was going to be a full-blown sequel to Banjo Tooie, were thoroughly disappointed, with pretty much the same criticisms overall that are shown in the JonTron video that I posted.
In conclusion: it is an okay game, but it's not a Banjo Kazooie game.
@AlexSora89 Well, I like a couple of his videos, because they hit the nail on the head, like the Nuts & Bolts one, but I wouldn't say that I'm a fan of his, so I haven't subscribed to his channel or anything.
@rjejr "So can anybody tell me how such a small team made a PS4, Wii U, Xbox One and Steam game look that good in such a short amount of time? All I read is that Wii U can't keep up."
Because they're a team with almost 30 years of game design and programming under their belts and actually know what they're doing? :3
@FinnTheWhovian If you watch carefully (I was also concerned so I rewatched several times) you see its's intentional. Going through that ring seems to make land appear in one spot and disappear in another (becoming an outline). My guess is that it'll play into a specific gimmick for a level.
@FinnTheWhovian Nothing worrying at all, that's completely intentional. You can "clearly" see that it is a transparent platform, that materializes only when activated. It is a mechanic that a lot of older platformers used. Either that or timed platforms (tiles/boards falling away if you stand on them for too long), such as in a lot of Mario games.
So, it's more of a nod to the good old days, so to speak.
@rjejr So first Horizon gets delayed to 2017, and now Yooka-Laylee. Which game do you think gets delayed to 2017 next?
My money is on Dragon Quest VIII. Though some Xbox exclusive or one of Ubisoft's games will have their delay announced first I imagine.
@ThanosReXXX Watch the first 2 minutes - or just 1 minute if you're in a rush - and you'll see ThinJonTron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4fnBpVamPw
@Uzuki Yeah, sorry about that, old question, that coincidentally got answered about 5 minutes after I posted it - Playtonic is making the Wii U and PC versions, Team 17 is porting to PS4 and X1. I'm still impressed though.
@rjejr I'm 46, I haven't been in a rush for over a decade, and I'm not about to start now...
Oh, and you just could have told me what PBG stood for. I don't like him. For some reason his videos seem forced, and not naturally funny. I can only stomach some of JonTron's videos because he actually IS funny at times and because he is right on the money on several occasions, but in general, both are a bit to "shouty" for me.
And as you know, I'm more partial to the "conspiratory" kind of voice...
@IceClimbers Wouldn't it just be easier to guess which game won't be delayed until 2017?
You know, outside of the usual "annuals" as I call them, I can't think of too many other games due out in 2016. I think FFXV still has a shot to be delayed, but probably only until mid Nov. Paper Mario Color Splash may make the 2016 holiday in the US but be January 2nd in the EU. Wii U doesn't have anything else in 2016 - though I still think it may get either NES Remix 3 or AC; Happy home Designer 2, something for us to complain about, but those lame games never get delayed. Mario Tennis Ultra Smash should have been delayed for more content. Almost every PS4 game has already been delayed until 2017 except The Last Guardian, but I think that one may finally release this year, 7 years late is enough.
Gen 8 is the delay generation. I don't follow X1 but Scalebound, by PlatinumGames, is taking forever as well, shown at E3 2014, already talking 2017.
http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/xbox-one-exclusive-scalebound-delayed-to-2017/#:aVYBP5s6B5mXnA
@ThanosReXXX "you just could have told me what PBG stood for"
But a pictures worth a 1,000 words. And I don't like too many people on Youtube myself, though MattPat has GT and FT, and "Everything Wrong With ..." guy is really funny, even if his sins are usually the movie highlights for me.
I think that Q1 2017 hints at NX launch title or an early port, like everyone else. They probably just don't have the dev kit yet so they can't say so just now. But I expect they will have one soon. Anyway I don't think it will hurt Wii U sales of the game if it is. Not everyone is an early adopter. But having Yooka-Laylee at launch would be a definite system seller, I think.
@rjejr Yeah, he's okay, but he's a lot more relaxed than either JonTron or PeanutButterGamer. And he arguably makes interesting theory videos...
This bad news was cleverly and respectfully delivered - giving us a beautiful gameplay trailer certainly softens the blow. Plus NX is released in Q1...
@rjejr Funny thing is that PBG is actually a subscriber of JonTron's channel, or as he calls it: "My E-Crushes"...
Ah yeah, this looks amazing. I've been missing these exploration based 3D platformers.
@rjejr When it comes to multiplats, Ubisoft is probably the main culprit here. They have 4 games scheduled for this year, 5 counting Just Dance; those 4 games being Watch Dogs 2, For Honor, Ghost Recon Wildlands, and South Park The Fractured But Whole. At least one of those is getting delayed to 2017, probably two.
Only other multiplat I can think of that'll probably be delayed to 2017 is that Telltale Batman game.
Xbox: I think one of Microsoft's exclusives will be delayed on top of the already mentioned Scalebound. Sea of Thieves or Crackdown 3 seem like the big contenders.
Nintendo: There's not really anything that can be delayed on Wii U - nothing to delay. On 3DS, Dragon Quest VIII.
Sony: Now this is where it gets interesting. I think The Last Guardian is safe. Gran Turismo Sport comes in November. Gravity Rush 2 is scheduled for this year; it could go either way. Nioh is an exclusive from Koei-Tecmo; it'll probably hit this year, though could get a delay to avoid the crowded holiday season. World of Final Fantasy could go either way. Dragon Quest Builders comes in October. Ni no Kuni II... can't remember if that's scheduled for this year or next year. There's probably more that I missed.
Would be kinda funny if a number of games get delayed into early 2017 to avoid the crowded holiday season, and then the holiday season ends up not being very crowded.
Like the Microsoft RARE dig.
@Evenmoresteven Games like this are the Wii U's bread and butter. If the developer puts in the effort to learn how the system works, it should run perfectly. The only reason people think the Wii U has issues is because too many of the big name dev's today are too lazy to learn different platforms so if a console isn't mostly like the other consoles, they complain that the console is underpowered or any other excuse you can think of.
Crap, now there's literally nothing to buy for Wii U in 2016. Zelda and Yooka-Laylee already make 2017 a better year for Wii U.
Awesome! Can't wait
@Tiredman It's not so much lazy developers, it's much more likely to be business-minded publishers. The Wii U market share is simply too small for most publishers to see a return on investment. Regardless of what the Wii U is truly capable of (one thing I absolutely agree on with you) it just isn't worth the time and money anymore, unless you can generate a specific budget for the Wii U, just like Playtonic did with Yooka-Laylee.
If you don't do or have that, then it is a risk that little companies dare to take, especially in this stage of the Wii U's life.
So yes, it sucks big time, but from a business point of view it is completely logical.
Too bad it's not till 2017, very little coming out for me this year. But I'm not playing as much lately anymore anyway (please don't tell me I'm growing up, please no), so I can wait.
@MrCafecito No, it's not. Since this is a big 3D game while Mighty No. 9 is a little side-scroller, delays are more understandable. Also the game looks awesome whole Mighty No. 9 looks like trash.
@ThanosReXXX I may be multi lingual but i cannot read that(I don't understand it!)
@MrCafecito No.
It's easily going to be the best game of 2017!
@IceClimbers "and then the holiday season ends up not being very crowded."
Well I can't see that happening w/ CoD et al, the holidays are a busy time for FPS, and Lego Dimensions will have something, they're the last holdout for E3, every other game seems to have put out trailers today. And with that currently empty Wii U calendar nobody will ever convince me NX wasn't due out for holiday 2016 alongside "Zelda for NX" (b/c "SSB for Wii U" was just stupid enough). I wonder if they can make a quick "Mario Golf U" w/ only 1 course between now and November?
Did you happen to notice how Wii had:
Wii Sports and Sports Resort
Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus
Wii Play and Wii Play Motion
Super Mario Galaxy and SMG2
Endless Ocean and Endless Ocean: Blue World
Wii U has had:
Wii Sports Club and ...
Wii Fit U and ...
Nintendo Land and ...
SM3DW and ...
It's as if Wii U is missing an entire back end series of games.
Love the snake in shorts... hilarious!
@Thegentleman you asked for more Polish, well: that's what that language looks like...
Obviously I was just pulling your leg.
@DoctorWily And the name is even more hilarious: Trowzer, as in .... Well, I suppose you get the picture....
@Pluto14 I think that's reaching a bit. The colors are more or less the same, and yes, there is also a golden border around the logo, but other than that, it is entirely different.
I like it even better though because instead of just the first letter of the company name, it is actually a pictogram that contains the entire name: a bottle of tonic with "play" symbols instead of bubbles coming out of it: Playtonic!
I don't recall there being other mention of delays prior to now, so I'm not concerned. I'm actually releived that they're taking the time to do it right rather then patch it later.
See Deep Silver? THIS is how you do a trailer.
@Pluto14 Playtonic's logo is based on Klungo's potion bottles.
The new footage looks much better than the last one I saw.
Man, this game looks beautiful! I grew up watching my brother play through all of the 3D platforming classics on the Nintendo 64, so this has been one of my most anticipated releases for the past year or so. The delay sucks, but honestly, I don't really mind. It's only been about a year since they started production of the game, and it's quite clear they've been putting a lot of time and care into it!
Just wow. That was the best trailer I have seen in a LONG time. DAY ONE.
At least with Playtonic's pedigree of staff I can trust that the game will be worth the wait, unlike a bunch of other Indies out there. The game looks marvelous and is sure to be a day one buy for me.
Rare's developers, Rare's delays. Makes sense, really.
@ThanosReXXX tee hee ok!
Was really expecting a delay of some kind (even more so as Playtonic has pulled together additional Rare staffers) but I don't mind it at all.
Probably my only nitpick on the trailer would be that some of the particle effects look a little bland, but it is quite minor, and I'm certain they'll iron it out and make the game look even more beautiful before they're done.
Looking forward to this game more and more with each bit of additional news.
Nice trailer. Not mindblowing, but nice.
The delay is understandable: Even after all the hype they fear it gets canibalized during the Holidays. They think Q1 is better for them. Hopefully it sells, we'll see!
@ThanosReXXX That wasn't the case when the Wii U started, but all the dev's jumped ship because they didn't want to get creative and learn how to make games, and instead just want power and more power. This has been the problem for a decade now.
@Tiredman No, that is simply not true, regardless of how we wish it to be. I'm just as much a fan of Nintendo as the next guy, but we do have to be realistic here.
Especially with the larger third parties, you can't go and blame the developers. They're just doing what they're told within the constrictions that the publisher has given them, and that is not always to their own liking, hence a lot of developers leaving large companies over the last couple of years to go and make their own, smaller team.
So developers seemingly jumped ship because their publishers saw the time it took to optimize the games for Wii U, which was more than average, and weighed that against the market share of the Wii U, which was already plummeting from the beginning, after a relatively okay start in sales, so there was never enough money to be made in it for them. Time is money, after all.
That is probably also the main reason for all the half-hearted attempts that third parties did, with all the missing features (also in part Nintendo's fault for not having a good enough online structure once again) and if I remember correctly, there are even some stories about developers being frustrated because their publisher forced them to rush the Wii U version of their game, resulting in all kinds of programming issues and glitches. Don't remember for which game that was, though.
But I can think of a number of glitchy third party efforts, so it's not that far-fetched to think that this is actually true.
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