My guided demo of Yooka-Laylee was probably one of the most sweetly nostalgic experiences I had at E3 2016. Built by Playtonic Games, a studio composed of experienced industry folks who created classics like Banjo-Kazooie, Diddy Kong Racing and Donkey Kong 64, Yooka-Laylee looks and feels as bright, crisp and fun as any of those titles.
Concerned with modernizing the 3D platforming genre while maintaining its retro appeal, Yooka-Laylee enshrines player choice as its modus operandi. For one thing, players may choose how quickly they progress through the game and in what order. They can complete just enough of one world to move on to the next; they can comb each world exhaustively, even expanding the world for access to more advanced challenges in newly revealed areas; they can unlock a whole lot of different worlds, then hop from one to the other in whatever order they please.
For another, players can also choose the abilities Yooka and Laylee will have. Abilities are purchased from a talking snake named Trowzer, using quill collectibles. Special abilities, almost more like cheat codes, are available from a charming lady vending machine by completing certain tasks.
You don’t have to buy all of the abilities in order to beat the game, but if you choose to take on more difficult challenges scattered throughout the worlds, you can also choose what abilities will be most helpful to you. Your choice of abilities can be as simple as “this is how I like playing” or involve more complicated strategic choices, but either way, the choices are yours.
Even the various flora and fauna around you are fodder for your powers, permitting you to spit fire or ice as you will. Distinct environments in each world can change according to your choices or lack thereof. Furthermore, all collectibles have a meaning and purpose: for example, butterflies help charge your power bar for using your abilities, and quills are currency for abilities. Pages help unlock new worlds and expand old ones.
The retro-modern feel of Yooka-Laylee means that while player choice is central in gameplay, aesthetic choices help throw Yooka-Laylee back to its spiritual ancestry in Banjo-Kazooie. A bold N64-style font specially created for the game, special 2D character faces during dialogue, and even 2D sprites for collectibles help bring that old feeling into the new. Characters even speak in the familiar gibberish of old Rare titles.
Best of all, Yooka-Laylee feels like the seed of a new franchise. Each character could be the star of their own game, with each game in a different style. Yooka-Laylee is a fresh, vibrant beginning built on strong foundations. This game should easily appeal to both a new generation and a slew of nostalgia-seekers eager to see what Banjo-Kazooie could have been had it grown into the present day.
Yooka-Laylee arrives for Wii U, PS4, PC and Xbox One in March 2017.
