amazon Yooka-Laylee reviews
When I saw the first pictures of Yooka-Laylee, I even thought of playing the old Banjo-Kazooie game. It’s up to you to find out about the game, new or this is the product of the Rare team has developed many good titles for the Nintendo 64. Interestingly, the two main characters in Yooka-Laylee inherit the way. Named after Banjo-Kazooie’s instrument. Other just now are gecko and bat instead of bears and birds.
The graphics of Yooka-Laylee make me feel that the developer is kind. With its colorful and eye-catching design, the world in Yooka-Laylee is vibrant. The experience feels like you’re watching a high-quality 3D animation. Character movement is quite smooth and natural. This does not surprise me as the game uses the Unreal 4 engine. But in terms of experience, I have the impression that this engine does not seem to fit in the colorful. It is better suited for environments with old Gothic and dark-skinned screens.
The game environment is well built. Brilliant and lively. You can feel this clearly when observing the character and environment in the game. The two main characters of Yooka-Laylee, for example, let alone do nothing for a while, you will find them playfully joking. Or far away, the pink butterflies are fluttering around the bushes of cool green trees waiting for the capture. Even, the supporting characters are also invested in building a cute image. Among them, many faces I see familiar, seem to be inspired by many famous old cartoon.
In terms of gameplay, Yooka-Laylee is a perfect re-enactment of the 3D gaming scene from the Nintendo 64 era. But this is not necessarily good, especially as video games have grown steadily for nearly 20 years. The biggest problem of the game is that you are totally not know, do not know where to start. Yooka-Laylee has no directions or hints, also no map at all, almost puzzles the player.
Meanwhile, Yooka-Laylee remains loyal to the familiar 3D scene. The game has a lot of items collected, so you have to hunt down every corner of the game. The main objective of the player is to collect Pagie, which is actually a lost book page. The more Pagie you find, the more chance you have to open a new level or expand your old game with more challenges.
To open a new screen is also a matter worth mentioning. Yooka-Laylee does not design a centerpiece for you to choose other screens, like many modern games today, such as Rayman Origins. Instead, players have to hunt around to find a new entry. If it’s easy, there’s nothing worth mentioning, this experience is no different than a difficult task to test the player.
Beside the Pagie’s main task, players can also collect Butterflies, large purple butterflies to expand the character’s blood bar or quill (gold) as a currency used in the game. But the most interesting is the Ghost Writer. Each level has a different number of Ghost Writers, hiding in the most unlikely places of the game. But finding them does not necessarily collect them, you also have the necessary skills to “subdue” them.
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The player’s skills are obtained from Trowser. He is a red snake-shaped merchant whose face is rather cunning as his merchant nature. Every game has new skills, Trower sells anything that is horribly expensive. Therefore, you often have to wander long enough in the game to collect enough Quill, then find Trowser to buy the necessary skills. Otherwise, usually the player will never finish the game.
One of the problems that annoys me is the “voiceover” part. The characters talking to each other in nonsense language, quite headache. But the thing that bugs me the most is that the design does not allow you to skip the transitions. Which parts of the characters spoiled for some strange alien language. Finally, the camera angle changes very casually, making it very difficult to accurately measure angles to make some “jumble”.
In the end, Yooka-Laylee truly inherited the spirit of Banjo-Kazooie before. Even if I say that the game only for the old Banjo-Kazooie fans is not necessarily wrong. If you’ve been through childhood with some of the most famous 3D gaming titles of the Nintendo 64 or PlayStation 2 era, you’ll love the old nostalgic feeling Yooka-Laylee brings. If you are too familiar with today’s modern game style, you probably will not like Yooka-Laylee at all. This is probably true even if you like the bright, vivid graphics of the game. The game is released on PC, Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One.
Plot Overview
Yooka-Laylee follows the adventures of Yooka, a chameleon, and Laylee, a bat, as they embark on a journey to restore a magic book that evil Capital B and his minion, Dr. Quack, stole from them. The end goal for Capital B was to really suck in every literature in the world and bulge it into pure profit. This did set them off to get scattered pages of the magical book and thwart Capital B’s evil plan as they journey through various-themed worlds, filled with various challenges, enemies, and collectibles.
Characters
Yooka-Laylee is a game where instant love will be for characters as well as pure memorability. Yooka, the sensible and down-to-earth protagonist, shared Laylee’s sarcastic and witty comments in that banter-like talking terms somewhat similar to Banjo and Kazooie. Other than that comes a bright group of characters such as the bumbling Trowzer, a snake helping this dynamic duo, and advertising new abilities; Rextro, a retro-influenced dinosaur who hosts arcade games; and Dr. Puzz, a scientific octopus with transformational power. The dialogues are laden with puns and humor, mixed with some delicious references to the old gaming culture, thus making a light-hearted and delightful narrative experience.
Gameplay
Core Mechanic
The gameplay of Yooka-Laylee featured exploration across huge 3D worlds, collecting a variety of items within each world, and finishing them off with puzzle-solving. The primary collectibles would be the ‘Pagies’- which open up worlds and expand existing ones, whereas ‘Quills’ are used to unlock new abilities from Trowzer. The game features a large variety of move and abilities to be unlocked by the players, including rolling up slopes, flying short distances and sonar to reveal secret objects.
The controls are usually responsive and intuitive; however, some players have noted that at times the camera angles may suffer from precision platforming problems. Mechanically, the game reiterates its predecessors, being quite exploratory, inclusive of challenges, and assaults by the environment.
World Design
Yooka-Laylee features five large themed worlds: their climate, appearance, challenges, and inhabitants create a unique atmosphere for each of them-the warm Tribalstack Tropics, cold Glitterglaze Glacier, moody Moodymaze Marsh, industrial Capital Cashino, and outer space, or Galleon Galaxy. Inside each of these worlds lie even more diverse areas to explore, secrets to discover, and characters to meet.
This is level design that encourages exploration and rewards curiosity, hiding many areas and puzzles. Some critics pointed out that Eurocaves felt a little empty and even repetitive, compared to the smashing mass environments of classic platformers. Although another extension mechanic makes it possible for a player to open up more sections within each world, an additional depth and replayability have been added.
Puzzles and Challenges
The puzzles and challenges in Yooka-Laylee can be as varied and ingenious, and yet few of them have included platforming sequences or enemy encounters. It is combined with environmental puzzles and mini-games. In an old-style nostalgic arcade mini-games series within the game, Rextro plays host, letting you take a break from the main gameplay experience as it remembers a time of such entertaining titles. Mini-games can be played alone or in multiplayer mode, building replay value into the game.
Many of the puzzles require an ability or transformation for use that can be purchased from enough Quills and Pagies collected. For every Quill and Pagie, this progression has a function in after-exploration and ensures continual new levels of gameplay mechanics and strategies being revealed for players. However, there are some puzzles that players found to be highly obscure or difficult, thus leaving them frustrated at times.
Graphics and Art Design
Visual Style
Yooka-Laylee uses a bright and colorful visual style that is reminiscent of classic 3D platformers with the distinct flavor of the pre-N64 era. The game’s graphics are bright and cartoonistic, with a whimsical and celebratory feel appealing to the historically nostalgic and the young alike. The characters are really well constructed with much personality, and their animations are quite expressive, and they even have their own uniquely identifiable features.
Environments
The environments of Yooka-Laylee are richly varied; each has its theme and visual flair. The lush jungles and ancient ruins of Tribalstack Tropics give way to the icy landscapes and glittering caves of Glitterglaze Glacier; each of these worlds becomes a veritable feast for the eyes. The art design beautifully captures the essence of classic platformers while adding new-age graphical techniques and details.
While some people tagged the game with its visual fidelity, because sometimes pop-in textures appear, some portions dropped in frame rate, and the detail was less in some spaces, the overall art direction and creativity beholding it-the world’s design-remains as impressive.
Sound and Music
Soundtrack
The Yooka-Laylee soundtrack was recorded by both David Wise and Grant Kirkhope, veterans from across the industry, and bears some hallmarks of the work by these musicians in older Rare titles like Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie. The melodies here are peppy, catchy, and most suitable-bound-for-the-whimsy flavor of the game. This adventure has one tune in every world that morphs as players move through different areas and face their challenges.
The soundtrack is steeped in nostalgia while still producing fresh, memorable hooks. Not only does it carry traditional instruments and chip tunes but it also has ambient sounds for creating a rich audio environment that is well suited to the game’s visuals and gameplay.
Sound Effects and Voice Acting
Yooka-Laylee has well-executed sound effects that lend charm to the game setting. The sound design adds life to the face of immersion and interaction from rustling leaves and splashing water to voices from enemies and characters.
The biggest factor here is the “mumbling” voice acting in which the gibberish speeches of characters in Banjo-Kazooie are emulated. Some gamers like this for nostalgic reasons, whereas others find it quite repetitive or irritating at times. The dialogues consist of puns and jokes, intermixed with allusions to gaming culture, adding to the light-hearted and humorous texture of the game.
Reception and Impact
Critical Reception
On release, Yooka-Laylee had a mixed reception in the critical arena. A good number praised the title for its nostalgia charm, colorful graphics, and enjoyable gameplay, while a few said that it suffers from its technical glitches, shoddy level design, or many mechnics found to be outdated.
Reviewers praising the work highly commended its feel as a tribute to classic platformers, adorable characters, and its uniquely encompassed puzzles and challenges. Critics favorable to the game loved its really fun and whimsical feel, particularly the attention to detail and winks towards gaming history.
However, a few reviews pointed out some of the technical limitations toward which the game suffers, including camera problems, lower framerates, and some occasional bugs. For many critics, it became apparent that the game was too jointed and nostalgic in memory, while some game play methods, features, and mechanics appeared too aged and unrefined with respect to modern platformers.
Player Reception
The player reception of Yooka-Laylee has generally been more positive, as nostalgia fans of the classic platformers have expressed how much they enjoyed the gaming experience the title provides. Nostalgic players who enjoyed growing up with Banjo-Kazooie and others said it has successfully returned to the genre’s roots, recreating the exact classic platforming experience so highly revered among fans.
Players appreciate the visuals of the game with their colorful palette, catchy music, humorous dialogue, and puzzle challenges laced with various gameplay. Many also echo some of the complaints on bug-like technical issues and the occasional frustration that arose from certain puzzles and mechanics.
Legacy and Future
Yooka-Laylee has catalyzed the revival of the 3D platformer genre, inspiring other developers to whip together games simultaneously paying homage to the classic titles and injecting new-age innovations. This was a testimony for the genre’s eternal life and a thirst for nostalgia, which now comes with a new coat of paint.
Since Yooka-Laylee was released, the team at Playtonic Games has provided support and continued expanding the franchise. In 2019, they released Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, a 2.5D platformer taking inspiration from the classic 2D platforming of Donkey Kong Country fused with modern design sensibilities. The sequel was met with praise for offering refined mechanics, creative level design, and engaging challenges, further solidifying Yooka-Laylee’s standing in the pantheon of platformers.
Conclusion
Yooka-Laylee is charming and nostalgic; an honest tribute to the golden age of the 3D platformer, capturing the spirit and magic of the classics and introducing the genre to a new generation of players. While technically flawed and too often resorting to archaic mechanics, the game stands an endearing, vibrant, and whimsical experience, packed with lovable characters, creative puzzles, and plenty of fun.
This colorful land draws in and entertains nostalgic veterans alongside newcomers via its scenic artistry, catchy music, and silly banter. With the renewal of the 3D platformer genre by Yooka-Laylee and its continued support from Playtonic Games, the franchise will sit lovingly in the halls of gaming history.
Yooka-Laylee is a fun and entertaining venture through imaginative worlds and whimsical adventures for all, be it Banjo-Kazooie die-hards or new fans to the genre. It may not be the greatest game by many tentative rankings, but with its charm, creativity, and attempts to reflect true charm of classic platforming, it certainly deserves a spot in every gamer’s collection. This will be the lead-up to analyzing Shovel Knight in depth concerning the positive influences it had on the community and of what potentially lies ahead for both the game franchise and the genre it embodies.