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[Bullet Club]

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair for Switch game reviews & Metacritic score: Yooka & Laylee are back in a brand-new platform hybrid adventure. They must run, jump and roll their way through a series of challenging 2D levels, face a puzzl...

www.metacritic.com

IGN: 8.7/10

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.

Destructoid: 7/10

Solid and definitely has an audience. There could be some hard-to-ignore faults, but the experience is fun.

DualShockers: 7.5/10

Maybe it’s for those reasons that the team behind Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair wanted to avoid the eventual juxtapositions, but despite these criticisms, Playtonic and Team17 should be quite happy and proud of building a game that is at least worthy of comparison to some of the quality character platformers we’ve had as of late. Those games are few and far in between, and enthusiasts of that subgenre should find plenty to enjoy here. But for casual players, I recommend spacing out your play sessions and resist the urge to chuck your controller into your screen.

Vooks: 4/5

If you can either appreciate a masochistic final challenge or are happy to simply not worry about it, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is an excellent platformer from a team of veterans showing they can still produce nostalgic experiences that stand up to the best of the modern era. There’s an undeniable charm present throughout thanks to the gorgeous art design and a stellar soundtrack, and the combination of an extensive 3D overworld and tight 2D platforming makes for a thoroughly enjoyable adventure reminiscent of the platforming golden age. It feels just like catching up with an old friend, but just be prepared for the friend to randomly punch you in the kidneys as you go to say goodbye.

PushSquare; 7/10

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.

Twinfinite: 4/5

If you enjoyed the first game, or are a fan of platformers and collectathons in general, you should absolutely pick up this game.

Nintendo Life: 9/10

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.

Nintendo Enthusiast: 9/10

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.

 

[ROMhack]

If you enjoyed the first game, or are a fan of platformers and collectathons in general, you should absolutely pick up this game.

Seems like all you'd need to know really. It's definitely not my bag of chips but if one is so inclined to align themselves to this viewpoint, whether consciously or otherwise, then I imagine you'd receive much enjoyment out of this particular slice of downloadable content.

 

[mcjmetroid]

It looks great and probably is great but boy does it look a little too similar to tropical freeze.
I'll get this one at a discount I'd say.

 

[iconmaster]

82 on OpenCritic for now.

This bit from Destructoid would have turned me off if I were interested:

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.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[IbizaPocholo]

 

[Animagic]

Been playing this today and it’s spectacular.

 

[Saruhashi]

Had an opportunity to play this last night and had some more time with the game this morning.

It's an excellent platformer that is very much like Tropical Freeze, which it awesome.

Lots of character and style. Solid, responsive controls.
If you like 2-D platform games then it's a must have in my opinion.

If you liked Tropical Freeze then you absolutely will love this.

The "impossible lair" concept is pretty intriguing.
I like the idea that they give you this brutally difficult level that you can try any time you like but through playing the game you can make it less brutal.

I wish more outlets would give more coverage to these smaller games instead of stoking outrage for clicks.

 

[IbizaPocholo]

When Yooka-Laylee first arrived on PC and consoles, it was not given that warm a welcome due to some issues the game had to deal with. Although we thought we would probably see the duo again, we never expected Playtronic to drop the Mario 64 / Banjo-

When Yooka-Laylee first arrived on PC and consoles, it was not given that warm a welcome due to some issues the game had to deal with. Although we thought we would probably see the duo again, we never expected Playtronic to drop the Mario 64 / Banjo-Kazooie tribute to turn to a more Donkey Knog...

www.gamersyde.com

 

[-Arcadia-]

I don’t really give a shit about reviews (although I greatly appreciate the OP’s effort in collecting them), so, checking out footage of this on a whim, I was shocked to see how quality it looked.

My prior experience from the E3 stuff, was that it looked exceedingly mediocre, but the final product seems to have turned into something of a Tropical Freeze sister game, which is a high compliment to pay anything.

Rare has always been at its best, taking recent Nintendo designs, and putting their own spin on them. Perhaps this is just what Playtonic needed. Interest very much piqued.

 

[existensmaximum]

Really looking forward to playing this game! The first one was kind of cool, but the lack of polish ruined it to me, it felt super cheap in many ways. Also, the camera made me super nauseous and should have been much more "fluid". Can't imagine how bad it must have been before all the patches..

Anyway, this game seems to be much improved in every way! I much prefer side-scrolling anyway

 

[IbizaPocholo]

With the Switch as their lead system to develop Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, the odds were in favor of a solid version and Playtonic has not failed. On Nintendo's console, framerate is locked at 60 fps most of the time, with minor dips in ve

With the Switch as their lead system to develop Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, the odds were in favor of a solid version and Playtonic has not failed. On Nintendo's console, framerate is locked at 60 fps most of the time, with minor dips in very specific locations and little to no...

www.gamersyde.com

 

[TheSadRanger]

Had an opportunity to play this last night and had some more time with the game this morning.

It's an excellent platformer that is very much like Tropical Freeze, which it awesome.

Lots of character and style. Solid, responsive controls.
If you like 2-D platform games then it's a must have in my opinion.

If you liked Tropical Freeze then you absolutely will love this.

The "impossible lair" concept is pretty intriguing.
I like the idea that they give you this brutally difficult level that you can try any time you like but through playing the game you can make it less brutal.

I wish more outlets would give more coverage to these smaller games instead of stoking outrage for clicks.

Is it the spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country 2 for those that may not like the weighted controls of Returns?

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Had an opportunity to play this last night and had some more time with the game this morning.

It's an excellent platformer that is very much like Tropical Freeze, which it awesome.

Lots of character and style. Solid, responsive controls.
If you like 2-D platform games then it's a must have in my opinion.

If you liked Tropical Freeze then you absolutely will love this.

The "impossible lair" concept is pretty intriguing.
I like the idea that they give you this brutally difficult level that you can try any time you like but through playing the game you can make it less brutal.

I wish more outlets would give more coverage to these smaller games instead of stoking outrage for clicks.

Awesome. I took a chance by preordering this on GOG, so I'm glad to hear it turned out. Really glad it's such a departure in terms of quality from the first game.

 

[Animagic]

Is it the spiritual successor to Donkey Kong Country 2 for those that may not like the weighted controls of Returns?

Now I like DKCTF but this is closer to old school style than that game was for sure. Everything feels good when moving around

 

[bigDdestruction]

I haven't played the first yooka laylee but i've been playing this new one for about 4-5 hours and its easily an 8/10 imo. I'm having so much fun with this game. So glad Yooka Laylee was given another chance. I hope everyone can give it a chance as some of these reviews definitely don't do it justice (looking at you gamespot 6/10 review)

 

[Animagic]

I haven't played the first yooka laylee but i've been playing this new one for about 4-5 hours and its easily an 8/10 imo. I'm having so much fun with this game. So glad Yooka Laylee was given another chance. I hope everyone can give it a chance as some of these reviews definitely don't do it justice (looking at you gamespot 6/10 review)

I like the first game too. Their mistake was making the first world too open with some truly frustrating traversal without having all the moves. I suspect many people just quit after trying to play the first world

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Pretty deep into the game (just unlocked the last paywall) and completely loving it. Great controls, awesome graphics, creative level design and the depth of the overworld elevates the entire experience. Playtonic really knocked it out of the park with this one.

 

[Silvawuff]

Oh wow, this looks great. I didn't mind the original Yooka Laylee, but it was very clear it needed more time in the oven. I'm glad to see Playtonic taking its criticisms to heart and cooking up something new like this.

 

[Vampire On Titus]

Man, what an absolute BATTLE. But I finally got there and with some bees to spare. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a 2D platformer this much. Playtonic absolutely hit it out of the park.

 

[Bournetobewild]

Now I like DKCTF but this is closer to old school style than that game was for sure. Everything feels good when moving around

Agreed. DKCTF feels more clunky control-wise by comparison.

 

[jaysius]

The character movement in this game feels really off, like junk like in a budget indie game not from the makers of DKC, I play it on PS4 Pro.