Touted as a spiritual successor to the platforming classic Banjo Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee plans to deliver a beautifully faithful callback to beloved 3D platformers and collect-a-thons of the 1990s. From what we’ve seen so far, the minimalistic adventure maintains the visual charm and playful simplicity we love about the genre, while adding some truly exciting new additions.
YOOKA-LAYLEE RELEASE DATE – WHEN IS IT COMING OUT?
Although initially scheduled for a 2016 release date, developer Playtonic games has announced the game has suffered a delay and will now launch in Q1 2017. In a press release, the developer remained vague about which platforms the game will come to, only stating it will come to “PC and consoles”. Could this mean that some platforms, like the Wii U, have been scrapped? We don’t know, but with E3 right around the corner, hopefully we’ll learn more.
“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,” Creative director Kevin Price said in a press release. “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.”
YOOKA-LAYLEE DEVELOPER – WHO IS MAKING IT?
Yooka-Laylee is developed by Playtonic Games, a studio formed of ex-Rare employees and other industry legends. Designer Chris Sutherland is at the helm of the project, having previously worked on Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata and Donkey Kong Country.
Acclaimed composer Grant Kirkhope is also involved, known for his classic work on Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata and Goldeneye 007.
Playtonic Games has an absolutely astounding pedigree behind it, so hopefully this translates into an equally compelling adventure in Yooka-Laylee.
YOOKA-LAYLEE TRAILER
Here is the E3 2016 trailer for Yooka-Laylee, featuring almost two minutes of gameplay and some of the game’s cast.
YOOKA-LAYLEE CHARACTERS – WHO DO YOU PLAY AS?
Taking clear inspiration from the 3D platformers that came before it, Yooka-Laylee has a varied cast of vibrant and colourful characters for you to discover.
Playtonic hopes to create a diverse cast that will live on as part of the developer’s future, so you can expect plenty of fun storytelling as you go about collecting things.
Yooka-A young, confident and excitable chameleon, Yooka is the game’s main protagonist alongside Laylee. Some of his abilities see him use his tongue, tail and camouflage to solve complicated puzzles and find hidden collectibles.
Laylee-Laylee is a ‘wise-cracking lady bat with a big nose’ and your permanent companion. Her tactical sonar blast and agile flying abilities could add intrigue to the platforming in search of new areas.
Capital B-This dastardly fellow acts as the main antagonist in Yooka Laylee, and has a devious plan to twist all the world’s literature into greedy corporate profit. How he plans to do that, we don’t know, but it’s your job to stop him.
Dr. Quack – Capital B’s right hand man/duck, this evil bird is the ambitious head of Quack Corp, a company doing everything it can to satisfy the needs of its new leader, Capital B. He’s also a talking duck in a motorized gumball machine, which is really cool.
Trowzer – Trowzer is a new supporting character who will teach you new moves and abilities during your time in Yooka Laylee. Donning an Australian slouch hat and khaki shorts, the unusual adder snake is often seen wielding an old mobile phone with the year ‘1985’ plastered on the side.
YOOKA-LAYLEE GAMEPLAY – HOW DOES IT PLAY?
From what we’ve seen thus far, Yooka-Laylee remains faithful to its platforming roots, taking pride in its collect everything inspired gameplay and striking visual personality. If you ever played Banjo Kazooie or Conker’s Bad Fur Day, the core mechanics of Yooka Laylee will make you feel right at home.
Throughout the game Yooka and Laylee will explore a variety of unique worlds found within magical books. They must then collect golden book pages known as ‘Pagies’ to unlock new worlds and challenges. Pagies will also act as the game’s main currency, with a number of different uses in the explorable hub area.
Each new world will conclude with a boss battle, which will put your newly acquired skills to the test. Some of these moves include ‘sonar blasting’, ‘tongue whipping’ and ‘sky soaring’. Additional moves may be purchased from Trowzer, the dopey snake we mentioned earlier.
Playtonic Games hasn’t forgotten about the experiences that inspired Yooka-Laylee, and have constructed a collection of fun, cute and nostalgic experiences scattered throughout the game. Players will find hidden arcade cabinets in each level hosted by a polygonal dinosaur called Rextro Sixtyfourus, a clear homage to Nintendo 64.
In addition, Yooka-Laylee will feature minecart sequences similar to those found in Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64. We’ve no doubt the finished game will be peppered with even more nostalgic easter eggs and cute little references.
Finally, the game will include local co-operative multiplayer for two players. There will also be a collection of eight unlockable minigames that can be played locally with a maximum of four friends. As far as we know, there will be online multiplayer in Yooka-Laylee.
Source: trustedreviews.com
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