Even with all of their antiquated problems, I still have a thing for 3D platformers, which comes out whenever a game like Super Mario Odyssey manages to ingeniously revitalize the genre. Although Yooka-Replaylee, which remixes a platformer that was already drenched in nostalgia, falls well short of that standard, it does manage to elevate the adorable but unmemorable journey of Yooka-Laylee from 2017 to a more capable level. In addition to removing a lot of bloat and unsuccessful ideas, the original has addressed my main complaints, which included camera problems, clumsy controls, and a lack of quick travel.
However, this reworked creation also has a strange Frankenstein quality, a surprisingly high number of technical issues, and the same relentless focus on nostalgia for the 3D platformers of the past that leaves very little original or novel. The redesigned experiment that serves as their most recent adventure only manages to make a game that never quite worked into something a little less disappointing, but there are still enjoyable moments to be had with this endearing lizard/bat pair. Yooka-Replaylee is a comprehensive overhaul that corrects a significant number of errors, but at its core, it remains a 3D platforming collectathon. This is more than the straightforward remaster that its cheeky moniker may suggest.
As you search for the crucial “Pagies” needed to open the next region, you’ll be hopping, gliding, and rolling throughout vibrant environments while conversing with goofy, googly-eyed characters. It shows off its obvious Banjo-Kazooie influences. Thankfully, you can now do all of that without the dreadfully bad camera and clumsy controls of the original, which is pretty nice. Additionally, everything has been completely redesigned, usually to your advantage, from the story to the quests you’ll complete to even something as basic as how many Pagies you’re collecting.
Yooka-Replaylee never gets harder than needing the infrequent second try, whether you’re playing minigames like a gem-grabbing minecart ride, battling silly-looking creatures, or figuring out simple jumping puzzles. Combat in particular is as simple as possible because foes are quite bad at hitting you, and most of the time, you just have to spam the tailspin attack until everything dies. Because of the enhanced controls and camera, the platforming’s extreme simplicity is now more obvious, and most problems can be solved with just a basic understanding of movement methods.
For example, understanding that you can consume specific materials to improve your powers, such as red orbs that give Yooka the ability to spit fire and melt things, or jumping off of Yooka’s tail to raise your jumping height. Although it all plays considerably better without as much wonkiness, the very basic material isn’t that fascinating in the first place. However, Yooka-Laylee’s clumsy camera angles and slick movement used to be near-constant annoyances, so it’s obvious that a lot of work went into making this version feel much better.
The best compliment I can probably offer is that, because it was never a major concern, I hardly ever gave the camera any thought when I was playing. Naturally, I would occasionally get caught in an awkward corner or something and have to move the camera around for a little while, but because the controls are so smooth, I never had any issues while I bounced around ravenously devouring Pagies. In addition, I never got angry when I botched a platforming attempt because this time I was solely responsible for my own mistakes.
The fundamental issue that this all feels generic is not resolved by new paint.
Tighter controls, however, don’t solve Yooka-Replaylee’s main problem, which is that the original was already a modest throwback that capitalized on your nostalgia for classic 3D platformers rather than attempting to break out from that stereotype or accomplish something unique within it. A new coat of paint doesn’t address the fundamental issue of Yooka-Replaylee feeling generic and unsurprising; it is essentially a rebuilt version of a game that was already a mashup of old ideas. We’ve had more time to outgrow these antiquated designs as standouts like Astro Bot or Donkey Kong Bananza explored the genre in more inventive ways, so the fact that it’s coming out eight years later doesn’t help either. Yooka-Replaylee feels faster and less linear as a result of all these changes. You may more or less run through each zone, grabbing everything in sight until you’ve completely cleared it, as opposed to seeing a Pagie out of reach and knowing you’ll have to go back to get it once you’ve achieved a certain ability you don’t yet have
.Even better: you get a map with a list of every Pagie in every world, so you can satisfy your need to be thorough without spending hours looking for something that’s hinting at you. Unless it’s a Pagie piece, which isn’t displayed on the map for some incredibly erratic reason, so you could spend three hours looking for the final one on a level, which is definitely not what I did. Although it was liberating to be allowed to explore each environment and systematically tackle every puzzle and battle encounter in my way, removing these artificial barriers to progress is undoubtedly a wise option. However, there are some really strange side consequences to making so many overhauls. I found it difficult to justify recommending this to others when they could play Astro Bot instead, even though I was impressed by how much they had progressed.
It’s not precisely the same, though, and the adventure’s general tempo is one of the most significant modifications.You get all of those skills immediately and then learn to use them when they arise throughout platforming problems, as opposed to gradually unlocking talents by gathering unique money in each section. Similar to this, you have access to the complete maps of all five major levels from the beginning and can even fast travel to various locations to reduce tedious backtracking, which is fantastic, as opposed to unlocking different areas of each level in phases. Additionally, each level now features 50 Pagies to find instead of the original 25 relatively scarce ones, allowing you to enjoy Yooka and Laylee’s hilarious panic about finding one twice as frequently.
The most bizarre example is the addition of more Pagies, which drastically changes the adventure’s plot in some really unattractive ways. Yooka-Replaylee has been modified to resemble Super Mario Odyssey, where you’re picking up items left and right. This is in contrast to the original Yooka-Laylee, which was specifically created around the 3D platforming philosophy of classic games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, where collectibles were more difficult to obtain but more meaningful. The issue is that some are still concealed behind outdated designs that require you to defeat a boss or win a minigame, while others are simply strewn about in accessible locations or packed into awkwardly positioned areas.
Because of its Frankenstein composition, there are unexpected side effects everywhere.
The fact that I discovered I had collected enough Pagies to simply go finish the story after conducting a completionist run of the first two worlds is the most extreme example of this tweak gone wrong. Yes, it’s much easier now than it was in the past, so I strolled straight into his house and rolled credits before even going into the other three stages. I still needed 120 of these people to get to the big baddie’s lair and start the last boss fight.
It felt really strange to do this, especially since several of the cutscenes along the route still make references to events that are meant to have happened in the regions I skipped. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose to offer players greater freedom to approach the journey anyway they wish. This eliminated any sense of urgency to finish the remaining planets, allowing me to roll credits after just four hours and then return to spend a further seven hours on the other levels in the least dramatic manner imaginable.
The Frankenstein architecture of this extensively redesigned collectathon has many unintended consequences. For example, in the original, you had loads of chances to chat with fun side characters like Trowzer the snake, who got a chance to show off his humorous personality while he sold you all of your platforming abilities. However, since you now have access to those skills from the very beginning, Trowzer has been reduced to a completely optional vendor with whom you may only interact once every stage, which means he no longer has the opportunity to use the majority of the goofy jokes and one-liners he used to offer. One of the antagonists, Dr. Quack, who used to joke around with you while making you do his obnoxious tests throughout the narrative, is another illustration of this.
Please understand that, despite the fact that they may cause some jankiness or result in the removal of some jokes, I still believe that the great majority of these changes are a positive step. The extent to which this game has been twisted to fix earlier mistakes is so obvious that it almost seems like it would have been wiser to create a brand-new game instead. Since you talk to characters much less and spend a lot less time comprehending the antagonists and their motivations, the story in particular feels like a casualty of all the revisions. It almost seems as though you have to have played Yooka-Laylee (and remembered enough of it) to understand it.
Verdict
Although it feels better as a result of Yooka-Replaylee’s efforts to revamp a platformer plagued by annoying bugs, none of the modifications are sufficient to bring it anywhere near modern 3D platforming standards. Fantastic upgrades include improved camera and character mobility, improved graphics, and the elimination of pointless inconveniences like the need to gradually gain powers.
A plot that has been unsatisfactorily chopped up and a search for Pagies that feels a little too easy, given how many are now stuffed into each area, are just two of the almost equal number of problems that have emerged from all the bending that was done to modernize this thing. There aren’t many convincing reasons to play this 3D platformer again, unless you have a strong nostalgia for it.
