Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Reviews
After inheriting the Banjo-Kazooei's 3D enviromental platforming DNA, now Yooka y Laylee goes behind the 2D skin of Donkey and Diddy Kong. The chamaleonic Playtonic proves their mastery going back to its Rare legacy, offering a very sweet and enjoyable platform game that tastes like classic honey.
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While Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a decent copy of a Donkey Kong Country it's not a patch on the real thing.
After the first Yooka-Laylee, you could be forgiven for not being desperate for more, but Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a more accomplished and markedly different game to its forebear. And it's all the better for it.
Donkey Kong Country fans rejoice: this is the spiritual successor you've been waiting for. The worst thing you could say about it is that the overworld exploration may prove to be too involved for those who are in it purely for the runny-jumpy stuff, but those who are happy to mix platforming with top-down adventuring and don't mind adapting to the constantly changing pace will find the best of both worlds here. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a fantastic sophomore effort that pays tribute to Rare's past and establishes Playtonic as one of the UK's most exciting studios.
A clear improvement on the original, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a pleasant surprise. It struggles to balance difficulty, but the end result is a robust and compelling platformer. It feels much more cohesive than its older brother and, free from the need to play to nostalgia, gives the characters and the world a better identity. It isn't perfect, but it's certainly a step in the right direction for Playtonic Games.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair ironically does justice to the impossible task of living up to the name of great platforming games like Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong Country, and Rayman Legends. It's a joy to play, feeling simultaneously modern and yet nostalgic. The odd omission of boss battles and some issues with variety aside, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a game any self-respecting platformer fan should play.
I’ve had a lot of fun with Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. It’s challenging, humorous, beautifully designed and offers a surprising amount of variety.
Thanks to its tough-but-fair challenge, Playtonic has made a very rewarding game.
A much more inventive and thoughtful affair than the duo's previous outing, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is the closest you'll get to Donkey Kong Country on PS4 and you should embrace it with the accordant warmth.
Where this game shines is in the sum of its parts. The individual levels might not be outstanding, but combining those with alternate versions and a light and engrossing overworld make the whole package that is Playtonic's second game a thrilling one. They might not have regained the crown from Retro Studios in the realm of Donkey Kong Country-like games, but they certainly retained the googly eyes.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair neatly captures the essence of Yooka-Laylee and reimagines it as a new type of game. It's a distillation and a simplification, but it's effective. Then, as its grand finale -- a necessary conclusion that looms over the whole game -- it turns uncharacteristically punitive. It's rewarding, that much is undeniable. But it also leaves you feeling like all those hours spent beekeeping never really prepared you for the final challenge. Those bees just afford more leeway over the course of a very long struggle. It's kind of a buzzkill.
This time around, Playtonic has swapped out the retro 3D stylings of the original for something that plays more like a Donkey Kong Country sequel, offering a variety of levels where skill and strategy are necessary to succeed.
In many ways the first Yooka-Laylee felt like the developers were trying to make up for lost time and bring audiences the Banjo Three-ie everyone wanted. With this follow-up, you get a distinct sense that the game has been allowed to breathe and find its own identity, and it’s an overwhelmingly positive thing.
On the whole, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a carefully designed platform game that rewards repeat play and trial-and-error.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair brings the dynamic duo down to a 2.5D perspective to deliver one of the best platformers we've seen in years.
After the huge whiff last time around, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is undoubtedly an improvement — a small one, but an improvement nonetheless. But an improvement doesn’t guarantee greatness and this game makes that clear.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is one of the best 2D platformers available. If you're looking for something filled with refined gameplay and fun levels, this is it.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair marries a variety of platforming mechanics in a meaty campaign with tons of challenges ahead. It’s as polished as it is focused and as true to the genre as you can get. Now, sign me up for the next one.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is essentially a spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country that ends with a difficult Super Mario Maker-like dungeon. It friggin' rocks.