Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was just recently announced by Team17 to be one of their newest titles and gameplay footage has debuted on Nintendo’s Treehouse: Live for E3 2019. You can view it below to see just how different Playtonic’s next title is in comparison to the original Yooka-Laylee.
First off, we see the immediate change as Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair does not play like a 3D platformer. Instead, the sequel is more of a 2.5D side-scroller platformer, similar to the vein of the Donkey Kong Country series. Curiously enough, some members of the Playtonic team, the game’s developers, come from developing Donkey Kong Country. It’s kind of smart to see them play to their strengths this time around, and it might just give Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair a better reception than the original Yooka-Laylee.
It’s still a massive collect-a-thon, though, with Yooka and Laylee traversing many levels to collect a ton of collectibles in addition to eliminating enemies with over-the-top environmental kills. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair also takes some very brave cues from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, since you can basically finish the game at the outset by heading on over to the Impossible Lair – that is, if you think you’ve got the skill for it. The Impossible Lair, lore-wise, is this gigantic dungeon crafted by the game’s primary antagonist, Capital B. A developer stated that due to Capital B’s confidence that the Impossible Lair can never be traversed, he keeps its gates open, which is the reason why you can immediately access it at the very beginning.
So how do you defeat the Impossible Lair? Well, it turns out that by completing levels normally, Yooka and Laylee find bees, members of Queen Phoebee’s Royal Beettalion Guard. Acquiring them can greatly help you on the Impossible Lair, as they take hits in your stead, thereby saving you from some dangers ahead. It’s a very interesting concept to say the least, and it looks like Playtonic is trying to cater to both absolute completionists, casuals, and those looking to do challenge runs, like, say, completing the Impossible Lair without getting hit.
Check out the rest of the gameplay footage above to see more of Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair in action.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is coming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC in 2019.
