Review: Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair

• Platforms: Playstation 4 (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC
• Developer:  Playtonic Games
• Publisher: Team17
• Release Date: October 8th, 2019

When Yooka-Laylee was first announced back in 2015 it was met with the lofty expectations of being the spiritual successor to Rare’s crown jewel franchise, Banjo-Kazooie. The first appearance for the chameleon and bat was a good game bordering on great, but was just missing some new features and mechanics to bring the 3D platforming title to the current console generation. Fast forward to present day, and Yooka-Laylee returns with a 2D spinoff, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, which once again takes some inspiration from past Rare titles, while adding the extra ingredients necessary for a stellar modern platforming experience.

After foiling the plans of Capital B in Yooka-Laylee, the sinister CEO of Hivory Towers Corporation has returned with a new secret weapon: The Hive Mind. Using the Hive Mind, Capital B will take control of all the bees in the Royal Stingdom, that’s of course if Yooka and Laylee don’t put a stop to him once again. The chameleon and bat must venture through 2D sidescrolling levels to rescue members of the Beetallion (that’s a lot of bee puns), who will aid them on their quest to conquer the Impossible Lair.

When you first hop into one of Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair’s chapters you’ll likely feel the inspiration from yet another previous beloved Rare franchise: Donkey Kong Country. It’s not just the intricately designed two dimensional levels with extremely well-hidden collectibles that will remind of the adventures of DK and his sidekick Diddy, but also many of the game’s features and mechanics. Taking a hit will cause Laylee to go into a frenzy and scurry off, much like when a Kong takes damage, although in Impossible Lair you’re given a brief window of time to reel the bat back in. If you’re unable to catch Laylee in that brief moment of panic, she’ll be able to rejoin Yooka once you’ve reached one of the many Laylee bells scattered throughout each level, similar to a DK barrel. Losing Laylee will actually take away abilities from the player’s moveset, losing some key moves such as the buddy slam and twirl jump, which are often used to access areas in the levels that contain collectibles.

Although Playtonic was once again inspired by their past works, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair feels like so much more than an homage or a spiritual successor. There are plenty of ways the game stands out, starting with the Impossible Lair itself. What’s probably most unique about Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is that you can take on the final level, the titular Impossible Lair, right from the start of the game. It is up to the player to decide when they have collected enough of the beetallion to complete the final stage and take down Capital B. The more beetallion bees you collect when completing levels, the more hits Yooka and Laylee can withstand when inside the impossible lair. If you want to flex your platforming prowess you can challenge the Impossible Lair after collecting just a handful of beetallion bees to see how far you can progress, or play it cautiously and collect as many as you can to have a fair chance of stomping Capital B for good.

There are twenty levels to explore in Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair, but each level has an alternate state, bringing the total up to forty. By completing puzzles in the 3D overworld you may stumble upon ways to manipulate each level, such as flooding a level and then freezing it over to create an ice level or flipping a lever that causes a machine to dump an army of enemies into the level.

If that’s not enough alteration and manipulation for you, there are also plenty of tonics that can be found throughout the game that make things really wacky. Up to three tonics (at the start) can be equipped on Yooka and Laylee at one time, and these can either help or hinder your gameplay experience. Getting stuck on a particular level? There’s a tonic to add more checkpoints. Want to add a bit of a challenge? Use a tonic that flips the levels upside down. Or are you just in the mood to goof around and have some fun? You can enable the big head mode tonic, change the game’s appearance with filters, and much more. The tonic system can be fun to experiment with, however there is one minor issue with how the tonics are obtained. For the most part these tonics are scattered throughout the overworld, and require some heavy puzzle solving to snatch them up. Unfortunately, after you obtain them, you’ll still have to purchase them using the quills you find throughout each level. This isn’t a huge inconvenience by any means, it can just be a bit of a buzzkill when you come across some interesting new tonics and you’re strapped for quills.

Once again, the soundtrack is a major highlight for this Yooka-Laylee title. Both David Wise and Grant Kirkhope have returned to provide that signature sound that has become synonymous with the platforming genre. The way that the musical tracks can perfectly compliment the settings and surroundings of each level is second to none.

Overall Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a successful sophomore outing for the chameleon and bat, as Playtonic have carved a new identity for the franchise. The creative level design and well-hidden collectibles add a ton of replay value, the tonic system adds a nice little wrinkle to the gameplay, and the ability to challenge the final level at any given time makes for an interesting challenge.​​

A Playstation 4 review code for Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was provided by Team17