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Yooka-Laylee (Switch)

Release Date:
75
Metascore
 21 reviews
7.2
User Score
 167 ratings
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Developer: Playtonic Games
Publisher: Team17
Game Details: Yooka-Laylee is an all-new 3D platformer from the creative talent behind the Banjo-Kazooie and
Yooka-Laylee is an all-new 3D platformer from the creative talent behind the Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country games. Weve come together to form Playtonic Games and create a spiritual successor to our most cherished work from the past!

Our new heroes, Yooka (the green bloke with no pants) and Laylee (the wisecracking lady-bat with the big nose) were conceptualised from the ground up for stellar platforming gameplay, created by the same character artist behind the rebooted DonkeyYooka-Laylee is an all-new 3D platformer from the creative talent behind the Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country games. Weve come together to form Playtonic Games and create a spiritual successor to our most cherished work from the past!

Our new heroes, Yooka (the green bloke with no pants) and Laylee (the wisecracking lady-bat with the big nose) were conceptualised from the ground up for stellar platforming gameplay, created by the same character artist behind the rebooted Donkey Kong family and legendary N64 heroes Banjo and Kazooie.

Using an arsenal of special moves like Yookas tongue grapple and Laylees tactical sonar blast, players will explore and expand gorgeous 3D worlds drawn up by esteemed environment artist Steven Hurst (Banjo-Kazooie series, Viva Pinata) and through skill discover the plethora of delicious collectibles hidden within.

FEATURES:

* Heroes Built for Fun: Our new buddy-duo were dreamed up specifically for entertaining platforming gameplay and exceptional colour coordination. We think we've captured the spirit of our past heroes while introducing our most inventive moves yet.

* An Arsenal of Abilities: Sonar blasting, tongue whipping, sky soaring a move roster built for platforming fun and unlocked with added freedom. Additionally, there may or may not be a move involving a giant fart bubble.

* A Dream Soundtrack: David Wise (Donkey Kong Country) and Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie) combine in what's sure to be a melodic masterpiece! Seriously, clean out your ears - they're in for a treat.

* Collect-em-up 2.0: A roster of shiny collectibles with gameplay progression at their core (as well as other, more valuable materials). Every collectible type in our new game will expand gameplay in a meaningful way. Yes, we employ the man responsible for DK64's myriad of trinkets, but we've had a stern word. Our main collectible, Pagies, are used to unlock and expand new worlds in Yooka-Laylee.

* Expandable Worlds: Experience more of the playgrounds you love by spending collectibles to expand your favourites into bigger, more challenging worlds.

* A Cast to Last: A huge cast of memorable characters to meet (or beat) brought to life by the art and audio teams behind Banjo-Kazooie and destined to endure in future games as part of Playtonic Universe. Expect all manner of grunts, squeaks and squawks.

* Introducing Play Tonics: Discover these unique gameplay modifiers and use them to customise gameplay to suit your style. Will you run faster, hit harder or fly further? Also, are they named after our studio or vice versa? We'll never know.

* Arcade machines: Each world hides at least one secret arcade game encasing old-school gaming goodness. Complete its retro-tastic challenge to claim your Pagie!… Expand
Developer: Playtonic Games
Publisher: Team17
Genre(s): Action Platformer 3D
Number of players: No Online Multiplayer
Cheats: On GameFAQs
Rating: E10+
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  • Yooka-Laylee - Nintendo Switch Trailer

    Yooka-Laylee - Nintendo Switch ...

  • Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair - Official Reveal Trailer

    Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible...

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Critic Reviews
(21)
75
Metascore Generally favorable reviews
13 Positive Ratings 61%
8 Mixed Ratings 38%
0 Negative Ratings 0%
Based on 21 Critic Reviews View All
90
Areajugones
Dec 14, 2017
"Although it does not bring anything new compared with previous versions, Yooka-Laylee is perfect for Nintendo Switch and its type of gameplay will make you stay playing this fun game for lots of hours." ... Read full review
85
GameSpace
Dec 14, 2017
"While it doesn’t quite stand as tall as the Mario Odyssey masterpiece, Yooka-Laylee is a game every Switch owner should consider. Fantastic fun for all ages, and tons of content to boot." ... Read full review
80
DarkStation
Jan 16, 2018
"Yooka-Laylee doesn’t branch too far from its obvious Banjo-Kazooie roots. It simply takes a bigger is better approach that doesn’t always work in its favor. Despite the flaws, it's a joy to explore the worlds and collect every goody. Yooka-Laylee may not be the most polished platformer around, but Playtonic Games has created an enjoyable love letter to 90's collectathon platforming. Hardcore fans of the genre will want to set their googly eyes on this one." ... Read full review
75
3DJuegos
Dec 22, 2017
"Quotation forthcoming." ... Read full review
75
Nintendo Force Magazine
Feb 26, 2018
"Playtonic's decision to hew so closely to '90s platformer conventions works both in Yooka-Laylee's favor and to its detriment. [Issue #32 – March/April 2018, p. 17]"
70
Switch Player
Dec 18, 2017
"The extra time taken to bring Yooka Laylee to the Nintendo Switch has been worth it. The game runs extremely well on the Switch and feels well polished. A few design issues, however, means that this spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie is good but not quite great!" ... Read full review
60
NintendoWorldReport
Dec 18, 2017
"When Yooka-Laylee was originally announced as a Kickstarter project by former Rare developers, it gave fans of the 3D platformer hope that a nearly dead genre could return to its former glory. It’s unfortunate, then, that Yooka-Laylee is no more than a mediocre attempt to capture nostalgia from the days of yore. In a year that has given us some truly innovative and special 3D platformers that pushed the genre to new heights, I can only really recommend pushing through Yooka-Laylee’s pedestrian campaign to the most enthusiastic of old Rare’s fans." ... Read full review
User Reviews
(39)
7.2
User Score Mixed or average reviews
103 Positive Ratings 61%
33 Mixed Ratings 19%
31 Negative Ratings 18%
Based on 167 Ratings and 39 Reviews View All
10
SporadicDeviant
Mar 29, 2020
I finally took the time to 100% this game. I earned every pagie, found all the quills, round up all ghost writers, and even collected theI finally took the time to 100% this game. I earned every pagie, found all the quills, round up all ghost writers, and even collected the hidden pirate treasures. An I did it all without any help from a guide, wiki, or any other outside help. The game's intention was to recreate the style and feel of games like Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, and Donkey Kong 64 while also having an identity of its own. After spending 21 hours completing the game, I can say, from where I'm standing, Yooka Laylee more than accomplishes its goal.
The game controls smoothly. Navigation is more open than most platformers of the past. The music and art style is amazing. The characters are charming with clever (if somewhat cheesy) writing. Collecting the majority of the various macguffins feels rewarding to do with how each world changes the pace so that the game doesn't get stale. The overall package is a great experience.
The fact that the game got a relatively mixed reception from critics and certain fans just baffles me to no end. It's not that I think that everyone should like the games that I like, it's that the majority of criticisms thrown this game's way either, don't apply to the game anymore after the patches (camera and framerate), are mostly false (how are worlds with this many collectibles/challenges "empty" to some?), or stem from a misunderstanding of the genre of collect-a-thon 3D platformers. Games like Yooka Laylee are designed to test the player's knowledge of the layout of each world and how to navigate them. The fact that a lot are complaining that they get lost shows that the game is succeeding in challenging the player in that aspect. Saying that a 3D platformer like Yooka Laylee should have features like a mini-map, or any kind of map, is like saying that a RPG like The Elder Scrolls should only provide the player with a prebuilt character to play as.
That's not to say the game is perfect (no game truly is if we're being honest here). The Rextros minigames are hit and miss and the fact that each world makes you repeat each minigame for the full completion feels like padding. The pagies earned with Kartos felt very much like trial and error, although it never got to the point of irritation but I understand if it was frustrating for others.
If I were to compare Yooka Laylee to the collect-a-thon platformers that Rareware made for the N64, I would say that Yooka Laylee isn't AS good as Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, but I think it's just a tad better than Banjo Tooie.
My overall score for the game is between a 9 and 10, however, due to the game succeeding in recreating the feel of old school 3D platformers of the late 1990's/early 2000's, I'll bump up my User Score slightly and give Yooka Laylee a 10/10.… Expand
10
kreegan64
Aug 23, 2018
The graphics look great and the gameplay is a blast to the past. It's clear that the devs really love their Banjo & Kazooie games that they'veThe graphics look great and the gameplay is a blast to the past. It's clear that the devs really love their Banjo & Kazooie games that they've haven't been able to work on for decades now due to it belonging to Microsoft now. It's very cute and fun, a love letter to those who grew up playing games like B&K and Mario 64. The best part is that the Switch version is the definitive version, it's right at home along with Mario Odyssey. Since their updates it's only gotten better and this is a recommendation to anyone who likes cute games, Mario Odyssey, platformers, fun games, and the like. Do yourself a favor and get the physical version that's on Limitedrungames, it'll be worth it.… Expand
9
Klaww25
Oct 10, 2020
I am just appalled how underrated this game is. 3d Platformers are like traditional Action Adventure games, my favorite genres in gaming hasI am just appalled how underrated this game is. 3d Platformers are like traditional Action Adventure games, my favorite genres in gaming has become so rare that every year, we're getting too few of them since 2d platformers developed by indie developers are just as common as open world games. This game has great graphics, sound design, and tons of content for a low budget game. This game, reminds me of the first Ratchet and Clank game it doesn't hold your hand. Which is a welcome break since handholding ruined modern Jrpgs and open world games since, the market is oversaturated with those types of games. I hope in the future we get more 3d Platformers, and traditional action adventure games because those genres can only be experienced on older consoles. On newer consoles they just focus on open world games, RPGS, and shooters which has ruined modern gaming for me. I just want traditional action adventure games such as, Zelda and GOW and 3d Platformers more. Because those types of games are a goldmine in the Ps2/Xbox/GameCube era which was the golden age of gaming. Gaming started getting bland after 2010, just like the main series Pokemon games got boring after gen 4 since, the 5th gen of Pokemon is more overrated than all the Uncharted games combined. It has a default installment called Pokemon Bw which is overrated by professional critics and it was equally as dull as RBY because of the region is bland and
the game has a lack of innovation. I want to Play Pokemon Shadows of Almia because Pokemon BW are, one of the worst games I have played in modern gaming for copy pasting it's predecessor, and holding your hand like Zelda Skyward Sword.… Expand
8
greninjaX
Dec 1, 2018
this game has gotten a bit of a bad reputation online, but this is NOT another mighty number 9. yooka laylee is not a bad game, and if you'vethis game has gotten a bit of a bad reputation online, but this is NOT another mighty number 9. yooka laylee is not a bad game, and if you've already gotten 100% completion in Mario odyssey but you still want more 3D platforming action on your switch, this is the game to buy.… Expand
7
Onioncreature
Jan 27, 2022
A flawed but still generally pleasant spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. My biggest complaint is that the worlds lack the levelA flawed but still generally pleasant spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. My biggest complaint is that the worlds lack the level of density that the made the game Yooka-Laylee is based on so enjoyable, and as a result finding collectibles can become a bit of a slog. The controls are passable, but not nearly as smooth as you'd want in a modern 3D platformer. Fortunately, the game has a very enjoyable art direction and comedic tone, which helps to make up for it's various shortcomings. The music is also quite good, though not quite at the level of Banjo-Kazooie. While the end result isn't the most impressive product, the passion from Playtonic, the development team, is quite evident, and they've proven to be committed to improving the quality of the series through quality of life updates to the Switch version and a far superior 2D spin-off. I hope to see more from the series moving forward, as there's quite a lot of potential here that sadly wasn't realized with this original release.… Expand
6
AshuraZoro
Feb 13, 2023
the final stage sucks. the rest of the game isnt bad, its a 8/10 withoute the final stage
0
Phuz
Apr 3, 2021
Played the demo. The whole play on words got on my **** from the get go. It lacked character and charisma and I just thought I would rather bePlayed the demo. The whole play on words got on my **** from the get go. It lacked character and charisma and I just thought I would rather be playing anything else right now.

Is it bad, no but it is also not remotely good in a world with 10's of 1000's of video games to choose from. Honestly, a game of Solitaire would have been more fun.… Expand
User Reviews