11 (!) years ago, a bunch of ex-Rare staff formed a studio called Playtonic to make Yooka-Laylee, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie that promised to skillfully carry the 3D platforming torch. Yet when the actual game launched in 2017, following an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, it didn’t fully deliver on that promise.

Players were met with a passionately crafted, but somewhat janky experience that some (like me) loved and others hated, and the cool reception resulted in the titular duo having a mixed reputation. Now, Playtonic has decided to make things right with Yooka-Replaylee, and I’m happy to report that the team has done an excellent job of delivering on that original promise.

Yooka-Replaylee Review - Screenshot 1 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

First off, what exactly is Yooka-Replaylee? Though it’s debatable whether this qualifies as a full-blown remake of the original, it’s immediately apparent that this goes far beyond a mere remaster that simply improves performance and visuals.

Yooka-Laylee was the epitome of a flawed gem, and Playtonic clearly took to heart the criticism the initial release received and used it to make this second pass a much stronger showing. Things like tighter controls, fast travel, a map, and loads more collectibles change up the gameplay experience in some important and very positive ways, rounding off those rougher edges that caused some players to bounce off the original.

The overall structure remains unchanged, as the titular duo explores the central hub and its five worlds in search of dozens of Pagies, a certain number of which is needed to unlock the next world in the progression. Once you drop into a world, there are around 50 Pagies scattered around the environment to collect, which can be picked up in whatever order you want.

Exploration is expedited and a lot smoother this time around because our heroes have not only had their moveset retooled to feel much smoother, but also have all their abilities unlocked from the beginning. The devs also more than doubled the Pagie count for this release, which has gone a long way towards making the worlds feel less empty. The environments are still pretty spacious, however, especially given that they’re now by default in their ‘expanded’ state.

To make them feel less daunting, Playtonic added a cute bookmark NPC named Mark who you can not only fast travel to at various points on the map, but also pay to reveal the location of Pagies you haven’t found yet. I wasn’t exactly disappointed by the design and depth of the worlds in the initial release, but the work Playtonic has done here to streamline traversal and progression through them has absolutely changed them for the better.

In addition to Pagies, there are also oodles of coins and quills scattered in each level. The former can be traded to Vendi in exchange for equippable Tonics that modify difficulty settings and myriad cosmetic changes, while the latter can be traded to Trowser for things like energy and Tonic slot upgrades to make the protagonists a bit more durable.

Overall, I was really pleased at how thoughtfully they balanced the economy here - even finding these ‘currency’ collectibles feels exciting due to the sheer variety of stuff you can purchase.

Taking a step back and seeing all these gameplay changes really puts into perspective how much effort Playtonic put in to polish and improve their debut release. Yooka-Laylee was never a bad game, but it had some quirks and flaws that occasionally got in the way of the fun, and just about every one of those drawbacks has been modified or addressed in some way here.

Yooka-Replaylee Review - Screenshot 2 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

I’ve seen it argued that Playtonic would’ve been better served putting such effort into a true sequel, but I’d say that the changes here bring this duo’s first 3D entry up to par (in terms of quality) with Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. A lush, real-life orchestral recording of the original soundtrack only adds to that feeling of quality.

As far as the visuals are concerned, Yooka-Replaylee is a clear improvement on its predecessor but a little less so with this Switch 2 port. The good news is that the environments feature much richer detail and better lighting, giving them a far more vibrant and alluring atmosphere compared to the occasionally flat presentation of the original.

The bad news? The frame rate is capped at a disappointing (but stable) 30fps, which can make the action look a little bit choppy at times. The devs have said they’re looking into a potential post-launch performance boost after "limited time" with the Switch 2 dev kits restricted their ability to design for it, but right now it's still up in the air whether that patch will ever materialise.

Yooka-Replaylee Review - Screenshot 3 of 4
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)

I also encountered a few bugs on my playthrough that ranged from amusing to annoying. After leaving the Switch 2 in sleep mode for a few hours, I returned to the game to find that there was no sound and after about 10 minutes of playing without it, the game simply crashed and I was booted back to the Home Screen. In another instance, whacking a treasure chest next to a wall caused my duo to clip through the level geometry and tumble into a formless black void, never to return.

Hiccups like this weren’t too common in my experience, but they also weren’t exactly uncommon, either. I'm hoping the team will address these at some point after launch.

Conclusion

Yooka-Replaylee, in most ways, feels like the game that Yooka-Laylee was always meant to be. The core experience has remained the same, but much has been added or tweaked to make for a significantly more confident and streamlined experience.

Though the technical issues hold it back a bit, at least on Switch 2 at launch, this is still a clear improvement over the original and a game that no fan of the 3D platforming genre should miss out on. Even if you played the original to completion, I’d say Yooka-Replaylee is still very much worth your time and money.

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