Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Released on  October 8, 2019, developed by Playtonic Games, and published by Team 17, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair features classic side-scrolling platformer action with some modern twists.

As I am an unabashed lover of Rareware's Nintendo 64 3D platformers, the decision to support Playtonic's 2017 release, Yooka-Laylee through Kickstarter was a no brainer. The formation of Playtonic, a company composed of many glory days-era former Rareware employees, seemed like a dream come true. Unfortunately, the resulting product did not Many of Yooka Laylee's vast, 3D worlds feel empty, and much of its gameplay feels like items marked off a checklist, not elements the developers felt passionate about implementing. It's no wonder then, that Yooka Laylee's successor, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, drops the 3D platforming altogether, aiming for something far more akin to Rareware's 16-bit glory days...and the change pays off in dividends.

So many colors...

If you aren't aware, most of Rareware's 16-bit glory days were spent creating three incredible SNES Donkey Kong Country games. This simian-centric series set itself apart from the side-scrolling platformer pack by featuring unique, dual protagonists gameplay, and groundbreaking graphics and music. In the DKC games, players usually have the choice of using a burly character, or a smaller more nimble one. Those games also feature excellent two-player co-op gameplay, with one player taking over with their character after the other is hit. Likewise, in one-player mode, when the player is hit, they lose whichever character they are controlling, and switch over to the other that was tagging along. Of course, the two characters can also be switched out at will. Yooka-Laylee and the Impossble Lair takes elements from its original Banjo-Kazooie roots and infuses them into a modern single-player only adaptation of DKC's gameplay.

 

"Let's get out of this review, that last paragraph was too confusing!"

The player controls Yooka, a chameleon, along with Laylee, a bat sitting on Yooka's head. Laylee allows the player to ground pound and jump farther. Get hit, and Laylee flies off of you, and zips around the screen manically, like a speedier, more random Baby Mario from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Quickly catch her, and things go back to normal. Don't catch her in time, and she flies away, leaving behind a Yooka that now has a more limited move set, and who now dies immediately when he's hit by an enemy.

 

Good thing there are save points.

Any side-scrolling platformer is made or broken by its controls, and Impossible Lair's are spot-on. The chameleon and bat duo do exactly what you tell them, and move on a dime. Also, the level design is excellent, not overly difficult *(MAJOR CAVEAT COMING) if you're just playing straight through, though in DKC tradition, instead of four KONG letters, there are five secret coins hidden throughout each level...and finding and grabbing all of those isn't easy. Coins are mostly used to unlock certain portions of the game's overworld map, but Impossible Lair's major currency is feathers. Feathers are everywhere within the levels, and on the overworld map itself, and are used to unlock even more of the map, to buy tonics, and more. Tonics, which are also scattered around the game's overworld map, do anything from adding more savepoints within levels (though they're already pretty plentiful), to simply changing the game's aesthetic. Use tonics that make the game easier, and a percentage of the feathers you find in the level you used them in are taken.
Since I've mentioned the overworld several times in this paragraph, let's take a look at one of Impossible Lair's most delightful aspects.

Pushing fearful grocery baskets off of lighthouses.

Impossible Lair's overworld is played from a top-down perspective, and reminiscent of Zelda games played from that same view. You'll want to explore every nook and cranny of the overworld, looking for secrets and hidden areas, fighting enemies you come across, while looking for the entrance to the next level. The coolest thing about Impossible Lair, other than the subject of the title that I'll get to in a minute, is the way all 20ish levels of the game have an alternate version. These alternate versions can only be accessed after the overworld environment around the level entrance has been altered. This leads to more inventive puzzle-solving and variety, and helps Impossible Lair to realize a more full and satisfying universe. Then, there's The Impossible Lair, itself.

Pictured: a safe place. Not a safe place: The Impossible Lair.

The titular level is a hellacious gauntlet of side-scrolling platforming, and must be completed to finish Impossible Lair. The kicker is, you can access this level anytime you want. You the game off right next to it on the world map. The thing is,this level is nearly, well...impossible. Every time you beat one of Impossible Lair's other levels, including their alternate versions, you free a captured bee warrior. When you enter The Impossible Lair, all of the bees you've freed will surround you as a shield. Every time you're hit, you'll lose one. If you earn the bees from every level, and find the several secret ones hidden around the overworld, including a few only accessible by finding secret exits in several of the game's levels, you'll have 48 hits to spare when you reach The Impossible Lair...and that still might not be enough.

You know this picture wasn't taken in The Impossible Lair because I'm still alive.

I pride myself on my platforming skills...I haven't played it in years, but I'm confident I could breeze through Super Mario Bros. right now. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (which this game is most aesthetically similar to) was a breeze for me. More recently, I even kicked the stuffing out of Super Mario 3D World's "Champion's Road." Even just last year, I made Cuphead and Hollow Knight feel my wrath.
The Impossible Lair is hard. I died...a lot. The level has four checkpoints, but you only get to start them with however many bees you had when you reached them...and each one starts off with a boss fight! And the ultimate kicker for absolute completionist psychos: there's a tonic you can only earn by beating The Impossible Lair on the first try without getting hit. I didn't try that, and beat the game in 30 hours, earning just about every tonic and item\...if you want to beat The Impossible Lair without getting hit...get ready to play this game for at least twice that.

Or you could just write a shoegaze song about these pink, fluffy little clouds.

Graphically, as an above parenthetical stated, this game looks a lot like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Considering both games feel like the SNES DKC games' natural successor, this makes sense. Impossible Lair is bright and beautiful, 3D models and environmental effects looking great in the side-scrolling levels, as well as the overworld. As for the animation, it's effortless. Yooka and Laylee, as well as the NPC's (this is an acronym heavy review!) are given the charm and quirks you'd expect from the developer involved.

Also, the overworld has a map! That you can unlock and fill in portions of! Fellow gaming cartographers of the world rejoice!

Speaking of, the characters all talk in that same awesome, weirdly funny Banjo Kazooie barking voice that the original Yooka Laylee carried over. All that weird, quirky, pitch black British humor is here, as well. These blokes are cutely sick! As far as music, DKC composer, David Wise, and Banjo Kazooie composer, Grant Kirkhope, provide a few major themes and supervise, but Matt Griffin and Dan Murdoch have created the lion's share of the music here. The duo somehow manage to honor Wise and Kirkhope's previous work, while putting their own unique spin on things--however that optimistic, yet meditative and subtly sad vibe is fully intact. The graphics, humor, and music are simply top notch.

Nothing is as "subtly sad" as a barrel.

Truthfully, this is a AAA game wrapped in an indie developer package. The production values, controls, and level and gameplay design are all excellent. While Playtonic struggled to rekindle the magic of Rareware's classic, 64-bit 3D platformers, they show complete mastery over an updated version of their old 16-bit glories. Truthfully, the only nitpick I can make here is that, even with all of the gameplay variety and nuance, everything about Impossible Lair is almost a little bit too familiar. That's the only criticism I can lob at this game, and it's one that does nothing to diminish my excitement for whatever Playtonic creates next.

SCORE: 9.2/10