Yooka Laylee Reviews
Yooka-Layle offers an interesting take on the classic 3D platfom formula. It's a pity that it controls and behave not as expected from some experienced developers as the Playtonic guys are.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Yooka-Laylee stays true to its '90s platformer roots, even to its detriment. But there are just enough modern touches and excellent platforming to make it more than just another nostalgia play.
Yooka-Laylee could have been the start of a new generation of 3D platformers, but its design leaves it firmly stuck in the past.
Serving as an homage to the past, Yooka-Laylee is strongly inspired by elements of the team’s previous efforts, and despite some flaws, it is the game that fans have been waiting for all these years.
Yooka-Laylee would fit right into the late 90s with its vague puzzles, wakka-wakka voices, and confusing levels. Time has moved on since the N64, and while there are a handful of bright spots, this sadly isn't the catalyst for a 3D platformer revival.
The nostalgia is real in this Kickstarter success story from a group of ex-Rare staffers. But so is the clunky camera and repetitious backtracking
I'm far less sure of how someone without that attachment to the originals will perceive the mix of flaws and strengths. For me the chance to revisit one of my first game infatuations did reduce the annoyances, or at least they became part and parcel of going back – you take the irritants with the joys because without it it wouldn't be the same.
Yooka-Laylee is a game out of time, clinging so desperately to past glories it doesn't seem to understand the Earth kept spinning after the N64 was discontinued. It's everything wrong about the formative years of 3D platforming and it somehow retained none of what made the genre's highlights endure. Yooka-Laylee is, in a word, rubbish.
Yooka-Laylee is a fun platformer, despite some technical issues and outdated mechanics. If platforming wasn’t your thing in the ‘90s, there’s little here to change your mind now, but fans of the genre – and the Kickstarter backers that brought it back to life – can rest assured that they’re getting exactly what they wanted.
Yooka-Laylee wears its influences on its sleeve, but gamers with nostalgia for the Nintendo 64 era will find plenty to enjoy — even if others are left cold.
The platforming is fast and delightful, with plenty of abilities to use, items to find, and areas to explore. Charming characters, clever humor, and lots of bright colors all serve to enhance the gameplay as well.
It may look like a game for children but this primary coloured, Kickstarter-funded platformer is catnip for 30-somethings who came of age with Banjo-Kazooie
Yooka-Laylee is a fun throwback to a simpler time, but in the process some things got lost in translation. Whether it's rose-tinted specs or just modern game design sensibilities, something doesn't feel right with Yooka-Laylee, even if it runs great on Switch. I guess it just can't compare to the likes of Super Mario Odyssey.
The harsh reality is that I wanted to love it just as much as anyone else. The team is clearly talented and Yooka-Laylee is a work of passion, but it's simply not enough. Yooka-Laylee is simply a chore to play and it relies too heavily on past glories and self-referential humour.
Yooka-Laylee is gorgeous. It is a delight to behold. But its design and mechanics don't always match up to its ambitions.
With colorful graphics, playful game design and charmig characters, Yooka-Leylee is a throwback to the platform genre of the 90's. It's not perfect, but if you're a fan of Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64 you'll probably have a lots of fun with this.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
Yooka-Laylee is bright, colourful and fun from the outset, a theme that carries through the whole of the game. It's a colourful romp through a unique world filled with pagies, cagies and weirdly wonderful characters. It feels like a love letter to a time of games gone by in the best way possible, and it's hard not to be drawn to the way the game looks. A few issues with the camera and some of the controls stop the game being perfect, but it isn't far off.
This time around, Kickstarter actually did come to the rescue, delivering a game that is very much worthy of being called the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. Yooka-Laylee is a game for fans who miss the N64 days of running around a huge, open map, collecting a bunch of stuff and having a bit of a laugh. It's cute, it's funny, and a few minor technical issues aside, it's exactly what it promised to deliver.
It might not be as good as your vague memories of the hallowed games of Rare, but Yooka-Laylee has a little bit of that old lovable magic in it. It may be made for children, but there is a little something that can make the old and miserable smile again. That alone is worth it.
Yooka-Laylee is exactly what Playtonic promised, and also exactly what I expected. While some of the levels are not great, the overall package takes me back to a different time where the genre thrived. For better or worse this game recaptures what made those games special, and frankly if it starred a certain bear and bird combo, it could have easily been a sequel to a game from that era.