It must have been almost 20 years ago since we where this excited about the release of a new platformer. Time to get excited again, because Yooka-Laylee is finally here and we’re going to find out if it was worth the wait. Will it deliver on the hype. Editor in Chief Björn played the first 4-5 hours of the game and got a good first impression of Yooka-Laylee. Below is his early opinion based on the first gameworld of Yooka-Laylee.

Like so many other people, I am a huge fan of Banjo-Kazooie and the platform games of the 90’s. When I learned many of the developers of Rareware left the company to join together and make their – and our – dreams come true I was sceptical, frightened but excited. Trying not to keep the excitement build up to much, I tried not to follow along to closely during the development of Yooka-Laylee. But now that the game is finally there, I couldn’t wait to play it!

a first impression of Yooka-Laylee

Let’s not pretend we’re not going to compare this to the masterpiece Banjo-Kazooie. The Playtonic team consists of many of the same developers and their goal from the very start was to make a “Banjo-Kazooie-like” game, fit for current times. From the moment you start the game, there is the feeling this is a very good looking and high resolution version of Banjo-Kazooie. The menu’s, that characters and the music.. my god the music!

After a short intro to the story, you get thrown straight in the game, off to your great adventure. Off to play as the new duo Yooka and Laylee who are in almost every aspect a modern version of Banjo and Kazooie. Yooka is down to earth and calm and Laylee the wisecrack who will most likely make you laugh quite a few times before the credits roll.

My first worry.. was nothing to worry about!

At first the controls felt a little bit ‘floaty’. As if there is a small delay in every action, especially noticeable when jumping. This bugged me quite a bit to be honest. However, the moment I stopped worrying about it and enjoy the game, I haven’t been bothered by it again. The controls might not be perfect, but their good. If this is what is holding you back from trying Yooka-Laylee for yourself, don’t! Another small point of worry is the camera. Though we’ve all seen worse, it is not flawless. But, like the controls far from game-ruining.
 

Tribalstack Tropics

So far I have only played the first world Tribalstack Tropics, the expanded version that is. Not willing to spoil anything about the game, not even the first world, it’s good.. very good! While at first the size and layout are a bit overwhelming, you soon get to grips with the layout and will know your way around. Most of the challenges are interesting and creative. I personally am not (yet) a big fan of the Rextro arcade like challenges. But like (almost) all challenges they can be easily skipped and forgotten unless you absolutely want to 100% the game.

So far, so good..

Overall my first impressions with the game are fantastic. I had a lot of fun and the hours just rushed by. Only a few minor things tried to get in the way of the fun, but they are easily forgotten in the bright colours, the nostalgia and most of all, the fun! Is Yooka-Laylee as good as Banjo-Kazooie and it’s sequel? Probably not.. but then again, what game is!? I’ve enjoyed every minute and so far can fully recommend this game to everybody who is still in doubt. Next week we’ll be publishing a full written review here to give our full opinion of the game after exploring every nook and cranny. I am looking forward to doing all that exploring!

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