Starting off as a Kickstarter project created by former Rare employees and Playtonic, the original Yooka-Laylee was a homage or spiritual successor to the 3D platformer/collectathon classic Banjo Kazooie. Instead of modernising the genre, it stuck so close to the formula that no amount of winking knowingly at the outdated gameplay could hide. Appearing out of nowhere this year, a follow up (but not a numbered one) was announced in Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. This time moving away from 3D platforming and taking inspiration from another game or two Rare was responsible for some time ago: Donkey Kong Country (and maybe to a degree Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge). 

For those who have never encountered the original game, Yooka is a male chameleon and Laylee is a female bat who rides along on Yooka (like Banjo and Kazooie but different animals). Things start off suddenly as Yooka-Laylee arrive to the beeland to take on Capital B, who is about to unleash a mind control device ‘The Hivemind’ to take control of a protective shield called the Beetallion. Not only does he succeed, but as a result he has become near unstoppable. He is hiding out in a place called the Impossible Lair, and you can’t face it alone. If you have any hope of defeating Capital B or his titular Impossible Lair, you’re going to need to free the Beetallion and kick some beehind. There’s no big story, you’re given the whole premise within the starting/tutorial level and any interactions past that are with characters from the previous game who need help or are there to hinder you. 

There are two different types of gameplay in the Impossible Lair. Levels take place as a 2.5D platformer as you jump, roll and collect your way to the bee soldier waiting at the end of the level. Levels feel very much like Donkey Kong Country and given the pedigree of the Playtonic staff it’s no surprise. It feels like going back to Donkey Kong Country...to a point. Or these days more like the Donkey Kong Country Returns series but that’s a whole other conversation. The levels found in this game are also pretty challenging, much like Donkey Kong Country (Returns). Yooka and Laylee only retain some of their moves from the previous game. Some can only be performed when Laylee is present, such as a useful ground pound for busting through floors. When you get hit you lose her, she flies around in a panic for a brief period before flying away and needs to be summoned by a bat bell found dotted around the level. When you’re continuing as just Yooka you can be guaranteed to miss secret areas and struggle to make some jumps as you can’t perform certain useful moves. 

Next is the 3D overworld section, which is where you’ll be spending the time between levels. I don’t know if there’s any direct inspiration, but I felt like it borrowed from some of Rare’s older isometric 3D games like the Banjo Kazooie game on the GBA. In the overworld portion it is more about puzzle solving to get to new levels, or activating the alternative levels you’ve already played. You’ll talk to characters from the previous game, and some will need your help in return for altering a level nearby.

Then there is the Impossible Lair. You can take it on whenever you wish, although the more of the Beetallion you have saved the better. As it turns out, the titular Impossible Lair turns out to be the reason for doing everything else, it’s why you’re collecting the Beetallion after all! Each bee soldier you free is one extra hit you can take in the Lair. Initially it looks like it’s just a boss fight against Capital B, but upon returning to the Lair you’ll find out it’s much more. The Impossible Lair is a constant onslaught of enemies and obstacles. The Beetallion shield is necessary because the Lair is designed to whittle down those bees. While the overall levels aren’t a cakewalk, the Lair is such a sharp jump in difficulty to the point it feels unfair. Luckily throughout the levels there are reasonably placed checkpoints. If you’re struggling with a section the game will offer to skip you to the next section, kindly reminding you that you have ‘nothing to prove’ and letting you know it’s ok to jump ahead. This feels at odds with the Lair, because it turns out you do have something to prove if you want to see the game through to its end.

Not too far into the game you uncover that there are alternate versions of the levels. The mechanic feels similar to the ‘Flipside’ levels in Yoshi’s Crafty World, repeating a level but with differences that alter how they’re played. When these alternate level states are activated the differences can be that they are suddenly frozen, windy, or have many more enemies. It’s fun working out how to change the versions of the level later in the game. For the most part these alternate versions are different enough, they’re more difficult at least. However, it’s hard to shake the fact that you’re playing the same level with a few small tweaks. The standout levels are the ones that make bigger changes and feel they add to the level.

Now it’s not all straight forward going from level to level, not when con-man/snake Trowzer sees a chance to make some money. Set up through the over world, Trowzer has placed Paywalls to gate your progress and stop you tearing through the levels too quickly. While it’s an amusing gag, it turns out it’s just as frustrating, winking to the player doesn’t negate a frustrating obstacle. You need enough T.W.I.T coins from each level (and their alternate) to pay to get through. T.W.I.T coins are usually well hidden or out of the way, and they can also be tied into quill challenges. Quill challenges involve collecting a group of quills within a very limited time. These coins aren’t dissimilar to the K O N G letters in DKC, only in this case they’re necessary to progress. If you don’t have enough you’re going to have to go back through older levels to scrounge up the coins. It is possible to scrape through if you get most of the coins the first time around, but if you don’t it brings the game to a sudden halt. It wouldn’t be so bad if the levels were were fun enough to want to backtrack through, but mostly they’re just ok. Some coins are really easy to miss, and often once you’ve missed it there’s no chance to go back short of dying before the next checkpoint. My issue isn’t that there is this collectable, but that it’s harsh to tie progression into coin hunting as opposed to completing levels. 

Out in the 3D overworld sections there’s collectables in the form of tonics. These can only be used in the levels, and can assist by making levels easier or more difficult if you want the challenge. Others apply a visual filter such as Game Boy colours, or put googly eyes on all the enemies. Some filters are neat, others are pretty standard. But not only do you have to find these tonics hiding away, you have to spend quills to activate them. Depending on the tonic, it can also leave you with less quills at the end of every level. The tonics can have their uses and I’m sure people like messing around with visual filters too, they just don’t add much to the game overall. 

Performance wise the game runs smoothly, 60fps platforming on the Switch. The visuals are colourful and cartoony, and when the environments get out of being inside of buildings, the visuals can even be beautiful. When you’re indoors, everything starts looking similar regardless of what level it is. While the overall levels might not have the same range of variety in locations as the games it’s trying to imitate, the alternate versions can provide some neat visual touches to levels (once again, when you’re not in a building).

The music is always a high point in this franchise, with David Wise and Grant Kirkhope on board. I can't imagine them or the other composers involved messing up a soundtrack. But it’s hard not to picture these tracks in DKC or Banjo Kazooie levels/worlds, and it adds to the feeling that Yooka-Laylee spends too much time trying to capture the feelings of other games rather than create something fresh. That aside, the music is great. You should definitely have your volume up and maybe go check out some of David and Grant’s other music.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a good game. Much like the original game was a take on Banjo Kazooie with a smaller budget, this one is Donkey Kong Country on a budget. There’s lots of good parts; solid platforming with an interesting alternate level mechanic, runs well, sounds great and doesn’t look bad either. Then there’s the Impossible Lair itself which sounds good on paper but frustrates in practice. This isn’t helped by some iffy collision detection and obstacles designed to drain bees/hitpoints. If you’re looking for a good platformer then the Impossible Lair offers some value for money. Hopefully future entries will feel less like reliving past glories and do something fresh with the series.

Review code provided by Team17