Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair Is Playtonic's Next Game, And It's Coming To Switch

Oh.... Well hopefully they improve on what the old game had.

The 2.5 D sounds more interesting to me right now.

I am on board with this, color me very interested. I really enjoyed the first game. Also, glad they're skipping Kickstarter this time. I hope they have a proper physical release for Switch this time and keep Limited Run's grubby paws off of it.

Hmm. There was a lot to like about the first one, but unfortunately, there was also enough frustrating/annoying/boring stuff to keep me from finishing it. This one sounds like it might be cool, I'll keep an eye on it.

Spin off game not sequel, hmmm.
Bet it's download only

Edit: The video shows actual gameplay ah it's like Donkey Kong Country Returns with a 3Dish overworld.
Ok will get this

Edit2: Physical!! YEY!!!

Giddy up. If there it's Xbox One X supported, I'm all over this one

@Krambo42 Agreed. I really wanted to like it, but the platforming just came off as really annoying and imprecise after Odyssey!

2D platformes with some sort of dungeon system. Might be cool. I didn't really like the original game, I think it was really bland as a 3D platformer/collectathon.

I'm going to sound a little mean here, but...

...couldn't they have waited for E3 to announce this? :/

...okay.

That could work out.

There's also a video out there, by the way. Definitely looks promising!

Yooka Laylee gone Donkey Kong Country... Not what I was expecting, but this a good effort.

Can't wait until they announce a release date to tell us the Switch can't handle it and we'll have to wait for the Switch Pro or Switch 2. 😝

The trailer looks fantastic. It reminds me of donkey Kong country! Cannot wait for this

Uou this looks awesome!!! I liked but did not love the original (have finish it but have not complete it) but the gameplay mechanics look to go 2d extremely well.

Here's the video trailer BTW. https://youtu.be/2OuHmGfihfw

It looks decent, but I won't lie: I'm incredibly disappointed that this is yet another mostly 2D platformer.

The first game might have had some level design issues, but it did a pretty good job capturing the N64-era 3D collectathon vibe.

@SepticLemon Have an upvote. No idea why NL didn't link it in the article.

I can't see how this could possibly be bad. This has me pretty excited, especially considering the work experience of some of the employees of Playtonic, and the fact that they now have an established franchise to base their game off of. That way, they can just focus on making us a quality game, with hopefully a slightly better soundtrack, and some varied/interesting levels for us to play. I am eager to see a video of this in action!

Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWm-QlX2sY

Looking at the trailer, the 2D sections look like a mix of DKC, Sonic, and Monster Land. It might work, but I'll admit that I want a better 3D collectionathon rather than a 2D platformer. But, I'm going to stay mildly optimistic of this game.

I'm down for this. Checked out the video on Playtonic's twitter and it looks great. My main issue with the first one was with how poorly it controlled and switching to a side scroller and top-down should really help. As long as they tighten up the movement this should easily surpass the original. The world design looks so much nicer too, not being held back by the need to copy the N64 feel this time has really helped.

David Wise music. I'm innnnn.

@Ralizah I was disappointed at first, but on the other hand, it almost sounds a bit Zelda II or Castlevania II -ish, without the RPG elements. That could be kind of cool.

@SepticLemon You are a godsend.

On topic, that trailer has some pretty darn catchy music! Dave Wise has done it again! The gameplay looks pretty polished, and it still has that Yooka-Laylee feel to it. I love the colorful backgrounds too. This is looking to be well worth my money. Now, if only they would announce a physical edition.

@NEStalgia I could definitely see myself having fun with this. I just wish they hadn't opted for a game in this style over another 3D platformer.

@TreonsRealm Already confirmed: https://www.playtonicgames.com/new-game-yooka-laylee-and-the-impossible-lair/

@SepticLemon I probably don't have to tell you this, but a lot of smaller game companies like to announce stuff in the week before E3 so their announcements don't get buried underneath all the newly announced AAA games

@ALinkttPresent Makes sense I guess, but surely Nintendo can promote this in the E3 direct. Right?

You know what would make this game better though, just as an added touch?

Klonoa style bending platforms!

As in, platforms that bend in and out to foreground and background. It would be way more interesting than just a linear plane that's seen in the trailer.

Omg yes!
That art looks a lot like an N64 box art as well... red in the upper right, rectangle... I see what they did there, intentional or not.
I’m excited - this news makes me very happy as someone who loved the first game but knew it could’ve greatly benefited from a mini-map.

Yeash yeashhh pleassseeeeee

@SepticLemon Thanks for the video link.

To embed the video in your comment — have it show inline — use square brackets around:
youtube:2OuHmGfihfw
The alphanumeric code comes from the share link. (I just copy the whole youtube share link and then delete everything but the last bit of code.)

Sometimes it doesn't show up right away. Refresh to check. Sometimes it shows up after I edit the comment, too.

@RupeeClock Note that the action part is 2.5D side scrolling action platforming.

I gave the original a good try but just did not find it fun. This looks a lot better to me but I’ll wait for reviews..

@SepticLemon I don't know, Nintendo rarely features 3rd party games in their E3 Direct if I'm remembering correctly. Last year was an exception

@Rafke I was excited for YL when I heard about it. But it's not a great collectathon though...

This game is a little different, and makes it more inspired by DKC for the levels, and Conker's Pocket Tails for the overworld sections.

Personally, I would rather have a better 3D collectathon game, but I'm mildly optimistic of this game.

Looks kinda boring to be honest.

@JTTSantos This game will have to be approved by Nintendo in order to launch on Switch. They wouldn't approve it if they felt it was plagiarizing their work

The good:

• Looks better than the first game.
• Inspired by Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the best 2D platformer of this generation.
• No Kickstarter.

The bad:

• Goodbye 3D Platforming inspired by Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie.

@ALinkttPresent Nintendo Typically has a showreel of third party and independent made games. I'll admit they can be quite short. For they're typically for smaller budget games.

@SepticLemon Ah, that's right. But I think that little showreel wouldn't have really been an appropriate time to show this game for the very first time. We'll see if they do that showreel again this year

@ALinkttPresent There's a trailer for this game on Nintendo's Youtube account, so it's VERY likely that the game got approved.

@Ralizah Well, it's a spin-off so it's a fair bet there's a Yooka Twolee that's a proper 3D collect-a-thon in the cards in the future. This is a lot faster to make and get revenues up, and is an undeserved genre with 2D platforming with an isometric overworld. Really a missing genre since NES. Blaster Master Zero being similar but inverse and not exactly a modern looking game.

If this were Y-L2 I'd be disappointed. But as extra content in another lost genre, I can get behind it.

I like it. Looks and sounds great.

@JTTSantos @SepticLemon Well, there it is. If Nintendo doesn't think it's plagiarism, it isn't.

Really like Playtonic.

Will definitely buy the physical switch edition.

@NEStalgia I don't know I'd call it a spin-off just because it's 2D. Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 are both main Super Mario games

@ALinkttPresent Oh...

@JTTSantos Well, Playtonic, the company behind the Yooka Laylee games used to work for Rare back in the SNES and N64 days. If anything, they were the ones that made the way that DKC worked. So calling plagiarism is a little harsh.

I’m a big fan of the original Yooka-Laylee. My only real complaint remains the camera, which had no reason to be less than perfect, given how much polish they gave every other aspect of the game. There were too many precision platforming moments frustrated by shoddy camera placement. This sequel looks to have solved that problem neatly. It looks great, frankly, and brimming with the sort of character and whimsy I’d expect of the franchise. Day 1 for me.

You had me at David Wise.

@RupeeClock Just what I was thinking in regards with the scope of the game. Changing it to 2.5D should help them. Yooka Laylee while it had that nostalgia charm it seem just to much of an undertaking for them. At least with this a game of lesser scope the issues with the first should be easier to address and remove.

@NEStalgia There's no guarantee that's the case. Unless I missed something?

This is why Bethesda announced Fallout Shelter ALONGSIDE Fallout 4. I won't often praise anything about that game, but Bethesda nailed the reveal.

Consider the public reaction to the Diablo phone game as well. These companies need to not announce spinoffs instead of main game sequels, because, otherwise, everyone just assumes that the spinoff is the only thing actively in development.

@SepticLemon After a critically Meh game? Coming from an indie studio, that'd come off as pretentious, I think. I realize that it's a lot of the folks behind Rare but "you're only as good as your most recent gig," as the saying goes.

While I think the game looks cute and will most likely be better than the first one, I'm really disappointed that the developers have seemingly dropped making 3D platformers and instead decided to go the safe and (imo) boring route of 2.5D platformers. While the first Yooka-Laylee was far from a great game and suffered immensly for feeling very outdated, I at least liked the fact that it was trying to revive the long-dormant 3D collectathon genre and if Playtonic were to ever make a sequel, i'd hope they would iron out the flaws of the first one and build upon the template and create a much more polished 3D platforming experience instead of entirely giving up on trying to improve on it.

I haven't played the first one - it's on my backlog -, but it looks good in the trailer. I hope it runs well on Switch, though.
At the very least, the game's soundtrack will be godly with both David Wise and Grant Kirkhope composing.

@ALinkttPresent True....an "alternate series", but 3D mario was originally presented as the next in succession of progress for the always evolving mario series. It only became parallel series when it became clear they were both different games with different audiences and there's space for both of them. But origianlly it really was presented that the 3D collect-a-thon was a replacement/improvement upon 2D platformers, rather than an alternate genre.

@Tarolusa You make it sound like they made 5 3D games and haven't made a new one in over 10 years. They've literally made one game so far, and this is the second. I'm sure they have another 3D game in their future, they just didn't want to restrict themselves to one specific genre

@NEStalgia Yeah I get that. But Mario is hardly the only series with 2D and 3D installments in parallel. Zelda and Metroid both do as well

My first thought was, "Oh I wonder if they fixed the camera issue for the sequel." Then they show a fixed camera position haha, classic. It looks fun though. Like Donkey Kong with some puzzles

@Ralizah Metroid Prime Federation Force is bae!

I think it's a safe bet Y-L2 is a thing, but it's years away. Y-L1 needed more time in the oven. They fixed the game like a year after launch. They need to spend a lot more time on a proper sequel. This will plug some of the gap.

(Still better than FO76 though...)

@ALinkttPresent Sorry if my comment sounded very over- exaggerated that wasn't my attention. I was just hoping that if they were to make another Yooka-Laylee game it would retain the same gameplay style of the first game instead of completely altering it and making it a more traditional 2D platformer (which I'm personally sick to death of). But there is a high chance that they have another 3D platformer in store for the future so I won't complain too much.

I may buy it now. It depends if it has a lot of variety and many stages like DKC Tropical Freeze. I didn't bought the first Yooka Laylee..

@TreonsRealm Never mind, just found out they are working with "Sold Out" for their retail release. I don't know anything about that company, but judging from their name they probably aren't that much different from Limited Run Games

@Tarolusa Yeah, I just meant: Don't worry, I'm sure they haven't given up. They're just taking a break

Like the look of it. But can I seriously justify buying it when I haven't finished DK Tropical Freeze yet?

Of course I can.

Looks really sluggish and unimpressive. After being burnt so badly on the first game as well I'll pass.

@ALinkttPresent True, though I think that was all influenced by Nintendo's need for handheld versions of games at the time, and after doing it by necessity discovered there's actually a whole other market for the "old" genre.

I am excited that this game seems to be getting a decent reception from these comments.

But man I just don’t see any appeal. The only thing the first game had going for it was that there weren’t very many 3D platformers these days. All they had to do was tighten up there last game. This just looks... so average

Game seems fine to me, sure it's not the next Banjo-Kazooie or rival the mighty Donkey Kong Country but at least Playtonic is doing something good with its IP unlike Microsoft with Rare.

@ALinkttPresent I think that's just their UK publisher as Sold Out is a UK company. I'm guessing Team 17 will handle stateside like they did with PS4/XB1 versions of the original. I was just irritated that Team 17 didn't handle the Switch version. I've gotten 2 games from Limited Run and both were horrid experiences. The games were great but Limited Run as a company is pretty crap. Endless delays, poor customer service, they will even lie and change their story about a games release. There's a reason they have an F rating with the Better Business Bureau. Thanks for the head's up though as it at least sounds like they will do a general physical release for the new game.

Totally agree with @Tarolusa, wasn’t reviving 3D platformers the whole point of this series?
This game seems to kinda defeat the purpose.

Ok, the first game's levels were unwieldly. But abandoning the 3D platformer genre altogether? That was the whole point of Yooka-Laylee! I don't think the IP alone is going to float a sequel.

Playtonic has stated this is not a direct sequel to Yooka Laylee I think you might wanna correct your article a bit

Even though I bought it on Switch, I was never a fan of the original 3D Yooka-Laylee, but this looks much more my cup of tea. I may well grab it. Price dependent, of course!

Thank goodness! I loved the characters of the first game... but the open world exploration of the first game was SOOOO CONFUSING! I had to play it with a FAQ open just to find my way around (yes I know it was trying to replicate N64 exploration levels... but ... give us a Mini-Map with objectives ... please!).

This is a much improved idea to focus on linear levels and focus on characters + platforming - the strengths of the team and characters.

Music by Wise and Kirkhope... Insta-buy!

This is just Yooka-Laylee: Grunty's Revenge. I'm sold.

Please do not take too long to release this, now that I know about it I want to play it on my Switch right now.

"the popular 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee...."

This game was never 3d. The Switch is not a 3d console. It is a 2.5 game. The new one will be either 2.5, the same, or 2d.

Yay more 30fps platforming in 2019! lol

@mist I read that in Tommy Wiseau's voice! lmao!

Cool! First game was so-so, but was still enojoyable

Shame it's 2.5D, I love 2.5D platformers as well but was hoping this would be 3D plat like Yooka Laylee 1

@SepticLemon It's not really Nintendo's responsibility to advertise a 3rd party, multi-platform title like this. You could say the exact same of Playstation or Xbox, why aren't they announcing it?
They can choose to add the video to their YouTube channel but doing that and making space to announce it in their E3 Direct are two very different things. Sure if it was an exclusive or timed exclusive they should, but it's not and we have no idea what they will be choosing to focus on.

Looks good, I'm be looking forward to the physical version so I can put it next to Yooka-Laylee.

This looks promising

I just hope the camera isn't a total mess this time.

This is giving me some serious Tropical Freeze vibes!

"Featuring music by David Wise..."

Oh god, I'm sold.

Also the overhead sections kinda remind me of A Link Between Worlds. Also a very good thing!

Still waiting for the first one to be a Free PS+ game or $5 on Steam.

But this actually looks promising. On my list.

I love 2D platformers, kinda spoiled with so many on the Switch. This looks really good, the gimmicks look familiar but I’m not complaining, and the visuals are lovely. 3D puzzling hub sounds fun too.

Too bad they are copying Tropical Freeze!!! I wish a new Donkey Kong Country game would come out

I hope this runs at 60 fps. There's almost nothing more annoying than a sidescrolling game that runs at 30 fps. Please make this platformer smooth!

Hopefully the levels are just as insane and chaotic as retro's DK levels. I still haven't looked into Yooka-Laylee yet, ugh...I hate being limited on money all the time.

I'm getting heavy Microsoft Powerpoint vibes from that ghastly subtitle in the logo.

Game looks promising though, even if it meant dropping the 3D platforming element.

Hmm, top down overworld with sidescrolling levels. Doesn't look bad though, I'll keep an eye on it.

Considering the sheer quantity of pointless moons in Mario Odyssey that reward you for doing busywork that isn't fun occasionally gets to me (there's good content, but only about 300 out of 800 moons in my opinion), I doubt I'd enjoy the sorts of collectathons which are completely based around that kind of filler content. So I've held off on Yooka Laylee. Platforming is fun though, so if that's the focus and not collecting everything, I might give it a try.

@zool such a shame they only made one 3D Mario game, by your reasoning. 64's big jump into 3D was all lies.

And, ACKSHUALLY, by just as sound reasoning, the Switch IS a 3D console, because it exists in physical space and therefore has depth.

They should create different characters for their next adventure/platform game. I don't feel yooka-laylee. With Banjo I loved it. This is not working for me

This looks way more interesting to me than the previous game. Will await more info.

I'm glad they Switched to 2D. I liked several things from the first game, but its many issues frustrated me so much I just gave up on it near the end. If it were another 3D game I'd ignore it, but with this DKC-like approach it's definitely in my radar.

Nah, I'll skip this. The original was quite wonky and I didn't really enjoy it. Come to think of it, I think Rare might be one of the most overrated developers out there. There, I said it.

Yookal Laylee Country Returns

Looks good, but so different from the first one. I'll have to see more gameplay.

@CoastersPaul yes, the physical Switch exists in our 3d world. We'll sussed.

But Mario64 and other similar games were given the 2.5 discription because they were not ture 3d in a 2d world. But the 3ds does give a true 3d illusion on a 2d screen.

Now that was worth getting out of bed fore. 😁

Well I’m disappointed, I’m one of the minority that loved the first title and was hoping this series would continue scratching my BK itch. This looks good but... it’s not the same. :-/ I wanted a bigger YL with more worlds, maybe even FPS sections with multiplayer, everything I loved about Tooie.

Oh well.

Great choice taking things back to the sidescrolling level design and taking a page from what Rare and Retro did in that style.

This will give Playtonic a chance to reset expectations and explore more of the potential and feel of their characters.

Looking forward to see this release and hopefully impress

Going from a relatively unexpanded sub-genre to one that has seen the likes of Rayman Legends and Tropical Freeze raise the bar ever higher is quite a bold move playtonic, i hope you know what you are doing.

This looks fun, I'll probably get it.

I do wish they had just put out a more polished 3D sequel. They almost had the first one right. Just tighten the controls, add a map and make the camera a little more sturdy...

@Starcakes Just recently completed Tropical Freeze, my first time ever playing the game.. And raise the bar it had indeed.. Tropical Freeze is a fantastic platformer

@Dpullam Did you play Yokka Laylee? Of course this could be bad. That game was abysmal in parts. Hopefullty with their experience making DKC they do a better job this time. I am definitely interested but can't feel excited just yet, especially with how well Retro improved on the DKC formula.

@zool What a lot of nonsense. Mario64 you could move around on a 3D plane with 360° movement, so it is classed as a 3D game. I believe you understand what they mean by 3D and 2.5D gaming and you are just being pedantic.

Well, I don't see any signs of Rextro being in this game again...so yay!!

Nor did I see minecart courses. Not against those so much but they weren't nearly as good as those from the DKC days.

Ok you have my attention.

'Not a 3D platformer' My heart is broken.

They had a chance to learn and fix the mistakes of the first and create a truly noteworthy game within a sparse genre. Now they are just going to give the world something we already have a gazillion of – Great 2D Platformers. Yawn.

Yes it looks good – even Donkey Know Country level, but no 3D breaks my heart.

What brave developers are going to rise to the challenge now for goodness sake?

Very interested in this one, looks so much like DKC:TF and even has the rolling attack too. Will keep an eye on this but still haven't got around to playing the original 3D game yet.

@CupidStunt if you think I could take you seriously with a that name, I can't. This is a game site not a.....

@zool My name is a clever spoonerism. And yours is based on a very badly aged 90s Amiga platformer.... And doesn't know the difference between 3D and 2.5D gaming.....

After the success of the first entry it should have been a physical launch in all stores.

@zool Sorry but don't talk soft. You're dismissing decades of established industry-established and accepted terminology.

Following the meaning behind these industry established terms we would have something like the following descriptions:

A 2.5D Platformer: has player controlled movement of its character restricted to 2 dimensional planes, BUT the game takes place (at least at times) within a full 3 axis space. The character can travel within (but not be controlled within) the 3rd axis (depth). All of this takes takes place on a 2 dimensional screen and any depth is merely an illusion.

Perfect example: Pandemonium (PS1)

A 3D Platformer: Is a platform game with 3 dimension-based visuals AND player-controlled movement within those 3 planes. Again all of this takes takes place on a 2 dimensional screen and any depth is merely an illusion.

Perfect example: Mario 64 (Mario 64 has never been given 'the 2.5 description' - except by idiots)

Virtual Boy, 3DS or VR platforming game: A 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional visual-based and/or movement-controlled game with or without activated support for a 3D 'effect' that gives a more convincing illusion of actual depth. Once again all of this takes takes place on a 2 dimensional screen and any depth is merely an illusion.

Examples: Any on those systems

If you want to be technical we don't have any 'true' 3D video games (as far as I know) – just ones that give the illusion of depth in various ways.

Note: Any platform game that does not have the character move in or out of the 3rd axis (depth) is a 2D Platformer – even if it has some 3rd dimension based visuals, such as 3D rendered shading, polygon-based imagery or a parallax effect.

Games like Mutant Mudds or Kirby: Triple Deluxe are interesting genre-twisters in that the character can move into and out of the 3D plane at the press of a single button of player-controlled movement. These games therefore have characteristics of both 2.5D and 3D Platformers - but wouldn't normally be thought of as 3D Platformers. Fez interestingly, has characteristics of 2D and 3D Platformers – but not really 2.5D!. He remains entirely on a 2D plane and the 3rd dimensional world moves around him at the press of a single button of player-controlled plane-shifting.

Hey, it has David Wise... I wondered what he’d been up too lately...

@CupidStunt you say clever Spoonerism, I say juvenile toilet humour.

@SepticLemon I thought the same thing but it seems now the new norm is to announce games just before E3 and use the convention too showcase them. Ninty did it with Pokemon, THQ Nordic has announced 3 games this week. I just hope there are enough new game announcements next week too keep things interesting.

@brunojenso "Mario 64 (Mario 64 has never been given 'the 2.5 description' -"

.... back it the day it was referred to as 2.5 since it was not true 3d. Which had yet to be implemented in video games. Although it could be seen in places like Disney World with 3d glasses.

@zool '.... back it the day it was referred to as 2.5 since it was not true 3d. Which had yet to be implemented in video games. Although it could be seen in places like Disney World with 3d glasses'.

Even if that were true and we could find such a reference (from back in the day), it's still been established over decades that Mario 64 is, according to common convention, a 3D Platform Game.

We can, if we wish, call anything anything we like. I could from this day forth call a Dolphin an Avocado if I like, but it would make me (conventional speaking) an idiot – because the commonly accepted term is a Dolphin. And the commonly accepted term for a game like Mario 64 is a 3D platformer.

So if the first game was not-Banjo, this one will be not-Donkey Kong Country.
Not big on the first game, but I'm interested to see how this one turns out.

I dont think i like the fixed view, isometric over world. I would perfer more open world with a mix of the 2d sections. That has its challenges but this is a too different a game.

@CupidStunt Look at my first comment. See, the good thing about being a different person is that we can all have different opinions. There were no points in the game for me that I thought were atrocious. I thought there were some unpolished parts, and finicky segments, but that is about it. I consider that to be part of that N64 charm, even if unintentional, because a ton of games did the same exact thing back in the day. Perhaps that is why I am immune to the game's faults.

They had me at ‘new Yooka-Laylee game.’

They lost me at 2D... the last thing the platforming genre needs is more 2D titles.

@TreonsRealm what did limited run ever do to you?

@ClaytThaGreat i hear ya, got too many crapping on the 3d platforming collectathon genre

@zool CupidStunt is a very well known character from a comedy sketch show. And I have the intellect to understand what is meant by a 3d game, and what is meant by 2.5d. Mario 64 was actually hailed as the first true 3d game as you had full analogue controls, and the most advanced 3d camera controls of any game at that time. Judging by your lack of knowledge and intellect on this matter, I would like to assume maybe you were not around in those days; however, the fact your avatar is Zool would indicate you most likely were which is a bit concerning.

Playtonic: ‘Right, we suck at 3D platformers so let’s go back 100 years and chuck a generic 2D platformer out there’

My eyes have just rolled so far back I can see my brains.

Could be good! I love 2D platformers. It looks a little by-the-book, though, compared to the brilliant craziness of recent DKC and Rayman games. I'm a little sad that they didn't make another attempt at a 3D platformer -those are pretty rare now, and I bet they could improve a lot on the first game based on feedback.

Also, I totally knew that music had to be by David Wise before his name popped up. Very similar to the Tropical Freeze soundtrack.

I played this. I am embargoed up. But... you'll be pleased.

Much better than the first game. Which wasn't that bad, but obviously suffered from being a Kickstarter project that was also part of a company starting up

The amount of time spent on the overworld in the trailer is troubling.

I would rather Twoka laylee

I think I figured out why I find Yooka-Laylee so annoying... The sound design just irks me so much. Not the music, the actual noises that everything just constantly make. I found myself getting annoyed at this trailer at the same 2 or 3 sound effects spammed back to back.

First one wasn't all that great...I ll skip this one

@zool Yooka Laylee is a 3D platformer as is Mario 64. You can move freely in 3 axis (X, Y and Z). That is what is defined as a 3D game. It is not a 3D view like on the 3DS, that is 'stereoscopic 3D' and is unrelated to whether or not the game is 3D. In fact a 2D game can be viewed in stereoscopic 3D if built with planes of Z-depth. But because the game itself allows the player to only operate on the X and Y axis it is still a 2D game just being viewed with stereoscopic 3D. It does not become a 3D game and it does not mean games not viewed in stereoscopic 3D cannot be classed as '3D games'. It's certainly not what 2.5D means.

I was expecting a 3D game (you know what I mean by 3D game) that fixed all the problems with the original game. The level design of the first game is atrocious and the gameplay is really flawed. I will get this game eventually but I was hoping that they dared to fix all the issues in Yooka-Laylee instead of moving to 2D gameplay. It looks like the easy way out and how many 2D platformers have been released this generation?

@Damo can't wait for this

@Ogbert not so back in the day.
Google: Super Mario 64 was not the first 3D game by a long shot, and not even the first 3D platformer. The game seems like a pioneer because it became the template for true 3D design - and so is now something of a legendary creation.

@CupidStunt if we are guessing age I would guess you were middle to late teens, if you were much older then that would be a bit more concerning.

@zool Well a man in his 40s (maybe late 30s) should know what 3D and 2.5D gaming is. I am guessing ageing man with no education?

Lucky you have not gambled your house on your guess, you could be homeless by now. 😲

@zool It was the first 3D platformer with fully analogue controls, and a fully controllable camera.

But I thought you said it wasn't 3D and that it was 2.5D? 🤣

@CupidStunt it was not True 3d, and was referred to as 2.5 🤔

@zool I would love to read an article in which it is referred to as 2 5D? Never have I ever read anything referring to a game with full 360° degree movement and full camera control as 2.5D and I have been reading gaming media for years. But please feel free to prove me wrong.

This looks like a far less ambitious title.

@CupidStunt I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. I will agree that Mario 64 was promoted as 3d back in the day but was eventually defined as 2.5d to seperate it from what would be true 3d as we know it on the 3ds.

https://kotaku.com/our-definitions-for-2d-and-3d-are-broken-please-fix-5514956

Have you ever watched a phone review comparing say, the Pixel camera against the iPhones?

The reviewer is showing a photo from each and making a comparison with the colours. Neither will be correct if you are viewing them on your phone, if you have, say a, Samsung. Compare a game on the N64 with a game on the 3ds and then ask someone to pick the true 3d.

@zool This is the opinion of one person, and 3D televisions never really took off, hence the reason Sony ditched it for PS4, and Nintendo from 3DS to Switch. So this is one article from 2010, and the terminology has stayed the same. Wearing 3D glasses only adds more depth; depth which can also be added to 2D games. This is called stereoscopic 3D. Playing a game in a 3 dimensional space is still 3D gaming, with or without a telescopic effect.

@CupidStunt well, I had a 3d TV and lots of tv's had 3d built in anyway. What killed 3d was the cost to watch it. 3d DVD's were double the price, and TV stations charged silly money to watch their programmes in 3d. Its not that it didn't catch on.

The same with the 3ds, my favourite console, Nintendo killed it, not the gamers. Gamers didn't stop buying games, Nintendo stopped making them. I hope someone like Sony will bring out a 3d handheld and carry on where Nintendo left off, its a big market.

Yes I gave one example, you only asked for one. We are all just one person with one opinion.

@zool The 3DS was superseded by the Switch and people lost interest in sterescopic 3D, although I so love the glasses-less 3D if the 3DS.

The opinion of one person will not change the terminology of gaming.

@CupidStunt I do dispute that people lost interest. In our home there is two Switches and and five ds/3ds consoles. The 3ds and ds's are gathering dust and won't be replaced by Switches. The tablets and smartphones have replaced them.

The mini Switch could fill the ds gap but the physical games would have to be at a similar price point to ds games.

@zool Well your home has not, but sales figures of the most recent 3DS games state otherwise, as sad as that is. You can't compare the World to your own home. You need to look at the macro picture.

@ChromaticDracula
YES! THIS! Scrolled through the comments just to see if anyone else was miffed by the exclusion of any sort of in-world map! Wandering around aimlessly was the worst (especially when World’s became ‘updated’), and they could’ve just made it another collectible to hunt down! This game looks to fix that problem...but I’m glad I’m not alone.

@zool I say loosen up and develop a sense of humour 😘

@CupidStunt it's you again. What are you on about now? 🙃

@zool Your comments about my name. Life must be difficult without a sense of humour.