Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair Isn't A Direct Sequel To The First Game

I hope this is a physical release and an AAA title and scores well.

I bought the original game when it was at it lowest price this year and was an OK game for the price. I would not have been happy if I had paid the full release price.

While I did not play this game, I always like if a franchise is treated in a transformative way, this is why I can't hardly await Cadence of Hyrule for example and I will be closely watching this.

Having finished the first game I have to say I’m a bit disappointed this isn’t a sequel. One of the things the original actually got right was the characters and humor and I feel like throwing that away after every installment is a waste. Part of what made Banjo Tooie so magical was the fact that it followed the events of the original.

The first game was fantastic. I get the bad feedback it has received but you have to set the Banjo Nostalgia aside for a moment and appreciate the game for what it was. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

When this was first announced, I was disappointed that it wasnt a 3D platformer, but after hearing that it's not a sequel and is just an extra game we're getting, I'm happy.
Can't wait for a true sequel though! It sounds like they're cooking something up!

Wouldn't it be amazing if it turned out that they've been working with Rare on Banjo remake/Banjo 3/Banjo in Smash, and that they wanted to release this so that they at least had some kind of YookaLaylee game out this year?

One can only hope!

Why isn't it a direct sequel though? I mean I know its a completely different take than the first game, but that's no reason to not call it a sequel storywise. That's like saying Banjo and Kazooie 3 on the Game Boy Advance isn't a direct sequel to 2.

Also ya a lot of people overlook the fact that we did get a 3rd Banjo and Kazooie game on the GBA called Grunty's Revenge. And surprisingly it's just Banjo and Kazooie on the GBA. Only thing is it has a top-down view, but it plays just like the N64 games.

I suppose the inclusion of the 2D platforming sections alone could render this not a direct sequel. It's looking promising to me.

I enjoyed the first game as much as I enjoyed Odyssey; That is to say, for me personally, compared to general opinion, Yooka-Laylee felt underrated and Odyssey felt overrated. Will definitely give The Impossible Lair a go.

You could say “fresh take”, but I prefer to think of it as, shall we say, a “spiritual successor” to the first games.

I’m not gonna lie...Surely it is a sequel just adopting a different style... it has same characters... it’s either a prequel, sequel or a reboot.... there is not another option.... it happens after events of first game... it’s a sequel... this is basic stuff... they are just trying to distance themselves from the first and negativity which is a shame as the first is a very good game now

@patbacknitro18 Would you also considered Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts a sequel to Grunty's Revenge too cause by your logic it's different concept but still the same IP?

It’s a bit meh. Still don’t like the characters and art style is bland.

I haven't played the first one yet, although its next on my list. But I'm glad its moving forward. Looks charming.

The first poster didn't read the article and the second didn't play the game. Not a problem, just funny.

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?

Although I have always thought that Yooka and Laylee lack charm and their design is just OK, some of the original levels are beautiful and some side buddies are great so it's not the art style that doesn't click but the level design, characters, gameplay and even script. However, I believe that Playtonic can do much better than this.

Thank goodness for this update. I haven't been able to sleep since the game's announcement, being so consumed with worry about where it fits in the Yooka-Laylee canon.

@thesilverbrick There’s still the overworld and NPC interactions so the humor should still be there.

@brandonbwii True, but I was hoping for some kind of continuity, haha.

@Maxz I'm not sure I understand your post. The first Yooka-Laylee was a classic example of an attempted 'spiritual successor' of its inspiration – Banjo Kazooie. That was kind of its whole point of existing. This new game is not a spiritual successor of anything - it is a 'fresh take' using Palytonics now established characters. It's not an original take – but I guess it is a fresh take for Playtonic. You could say (and I'd agree) that the game is very similar to past games like Donkey Kong Country Returns/Tropical Freeze – but that's not the same as a spiritual successor.

Anyway this gives us hope that they haven't completely abandoned 3D Platforming forever. Maybe after all the negative press they just wanted to simplify the development and show the world they can make a well designed platformer. Maybe if this game is even close to DKC TF in terms of level design and overall quality, it'll give the team a new-found confidence. Then I'd like the 'true sequel' to be a non-collectaton 3D platformer.

@thesilverbrick With all the fourth wall breaking of the first, I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some kind of continuity.

@Stocksy they are not saying it isn't a sequel, they are saying it isn't a direct sequel

If it’s not a sequel the I sort of feel it’s a missed opportunity to try some new IP. Yooka Laylee as characters and the world from the first game was so incredibly bland and uninspired and I do believe using the same IP will hurt them as much as it’ll help given the lukewarm at best reception the first game got.

Happy to be proven wrong but I’d have been more interested if they’d dumped the Yooka Laylee characters and introduced something new and ideally more fitting today’s market.

I just assumed this means while not a direct sequel to the first game, it is still within that universe's continuity.

@patbacknitro18 This game and the Kart game on GBA were fun surprised on the system, while no way groundbreaking, it was simple fun.
My only gripe with grunty's revenge is that it is short and they could've atleast added some image slide puzzle gimmick to pad things when you collected all the puzzle pieces.

@patbacknitro18 But Grunty's Revenge isn't a sequel to Banjo Tooie, it's a interquel because it's set between both Banjo Kazooie (two months after its ending) and Tooie (some time before it begins).

It was a fun game despite being so short. Too bad it hasn't gotten a remake though.

I expected a "cinematic universe" of sorts, but it looks like they aren't done with Yooka and Laylee yet. Maybe the other characters get a game in the future?

I’m a little excited about the game, but after watching the trailer I see that, like the original, the momentum looks a bit off. That was a big problem the first time around and I hope they don’t repeat it.

@retro_player_22 well yes, but Gruntys Revenge is still Banjo 3.

@KyleHyde are you positive it's between both games? It feels like it takes place after tooie, especially since I think the tutorial Mole in it mentions bottles death. Not to mention I remember some time travel element to the game, atleast at the end where several Banjos appear from a time rip. It's just a really weird but fantastic game.

@khululy For a handheld Banjo game I think it did the best it could. Though i agree I would have loved it to have been longer and also to have added more variety in its puzzle solving.

@patbacknitro18 It's between both games as Gruntilda was still stuck under the giant boulder from where she fell after the final fight in Kazooie. This is explicitly stated in the game's intro. She only got out because Klungo made a mecha for her to transfer her ghost/soul into via a spell, as he was too weak to remove the boulder himself.

The tutorial mole is an ancestor of Bottles, as Banjo went back in time to the distant past with the help of Mumbo's magic to stop Gruntilda's plot (she kidnapped Kazooie and went on to make a mess of the past, so that Banjo and Kazooie would have never met in the first place).

You might be mixing things up because there weren't multiple Banjos in this game (there were 3 Jinjos in Banjo's yard once he got back home). The end consists of Banjo and Kazooie completely destroying Gruntilda's mecha, which sends her ghost back to her body in the present. After this, she tells Klungo to give up on moving the boulder by himself and to send a message to her sisters to help her out. Meanwhile, Banjo goes back to the hut of Mumbo's ancestor so he can send him back to his own time. Once he gets there, Banjo and Kazooie prepare for the game of cards that occurs during the beginning of Tooie (with Banjo saying that he'll invite Bottles and the others over to their house, while Kazooie shuffles the cards).

@brunojenso Sorry, it was a weird post. Around the time Yooka 1 was released it seemed like actual ‘spiritual successors’ where coming out left, right and centre, so the term got some heavy use. Arguably to the point of tedium.

I just liked to imagine that these games, if not sequels, could be called ‘spiritual successors’ to the first games which were in turn ‘spiritual successors’ themselves.

Of course, they’re not. If anything the opposite is true, as they keep the characters but change the gameplay.

But... I just wanted to say the words ‘spiritual successor’ again.

I'm sure the developers will put as much love and care into this game as they did the one previous... But I can't help but think this was a bum play.

You go 2D platformer and you have some nasty competition. It's going to be very difficult for this one to stand out. No longer can you lean in on a neglected genre and nostalgia.

I think with the first title, there was a solid foundation to build upon, clean up and improve. This looks like a clean slate and a step backward.

@Maxz Cool mate, it's a great term. And sorry, It may have sounded like I was getting petty over semantics.

@thesilverbrick Please show me where they are changing the entire story and characters?

"each game is an opportunity for us to add new mechanics and gameplay that isn’t necessarily limited to what’s happened before."

It's going to be a 2.5D game. The plot itself might be a new storyline with some new introduced characters, it doesn't mean they're throwing everything out the window. If they do, get back to me when this comes out. Otherwise, you're just worrying too much for nothing imo.