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  #16  
Old 17th September 2019, 03:31 PM
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Never got around to Yooka-Laylee, yet it still managed to disappoint me. Excited to not try this too and hopefully have it live up to my expectations.
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  #17  
Old 4th October 2019, 12:30 AM
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Impossible Lair's coming out! It releases for PS4, XBO, Switch and Steam on Oct. 8th; Tuesday!


In brief
  • 2.5D platformer ala the Donkey Kong Country series
  • Story (like it matters in a DKU game?) is Capital B is enslaving the wider bee population with the use of the Hive Mind
  • Save the bees to progress. Each bee saved gives you another health point. Lot of bee imagery
  • Our bois Kirkhope and Wise rockin' the soundtrack again, with Wise doing the bulk of it. Impossible Lair's music is less "epic" than Tropical Freeze but that's not a bad thing
  • Still on the Unity engine — and you can tell it. But I think the game's style helps make up for it
  • Levels are apparently somewhat lengthy, and decently challenging, keeping in line with the DKC games
  • 20 levels, but they function like 40. In the same vein you could expand worlds in YL, you can change levels. This is done by altering the environment of the level in some major way or introducing some large novel concept to it. I've heard a few separate people saying that the altered stages are different enough that they feel almost completely new. They're also optional, anyway
  • The hub world is surprisingly vast, and unexpectedly extensive. This is a BIG map, though mostly linear. There's lots to do and many secrets to be found. You change levels by literally changing something in the overworld to affect the corresponding book you enter the level in
  • Tonics make a comeback. They seem fairly extensive too as there's lot of options to choose from to alter the gameplay experience
  • . . .Unconventional in some ways, cliche in some others (spikes and bottomless pits, oh my) Not wholly innovative, but it appears unique enough in its own right and seems to offer a fun time.
  • Sounds like the levels are solidly-made. Won't knock the King Kong of the genre, Tropical Freeze, off its skyscraper, but the overall consensus seems to be "pretty good, better than expected." So perhaps it's somewhere on par with DKCR
  • The final level (The Impossible Lair) is hyped up as quite difficult throughout the game, and apparently lives up to it, as the Impossible Lair is an incredible difficulty spike. Like BOTW, you can complete the final level at the beginning of the game, but of course you will not have enough health. Whether the grand finale being so harsh is annoying or rewarding, depends on how you see it.
  • The game "isn't easy, but isn't unfair". It's hard, but also has a forgiving checkpoint system. (No checkpoints in the final gauntlet) Impossible Lair lives up to its name, then. Casuals get ready to to get their butt whupped
  • Apparently the game's just plain fun, has well designed levels and has a lot of heart


  • Reviewers allocate anywhere from a 7/10 to 9/10 in score


Gameplay




I dig these background environmental designs. I dig them a lot, especially all the honeycomb patterns. New enemy and character designs are hit-or-miss but they all have a lot of personality to them.

All in all, quite a nice addition to the Playtonic Universe, especially after the sour reviews of the first YL. The guys at Playtonic can wipe the sweat off their brow and rest easy.
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  #18  
Old 7th October 2019, 03:05 AM
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It's such a pity that the RWP is dead, because this is the kind of game that would've driven us nucking futs in the aftermath of Nuts & Bolts. I have it on preorder and can't wait to try it. I didn't hate OG Yooka-Laylee but this looks so much better.

I really hope Nintendo hands the reins of the next Donkey Kong Country over to Playtonic, now that Retro's been shanghaied into making Metroid Prime 4. It would be such a homecoming.
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  #19  
Old 7th October 2019, 04:34 PM
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Somehow I totally missed this was on Switch. Will add it to the list of games that I will hopefully get around to some day. Just happy to see the franchise get a solid second outing, and hopefully more to come.
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  #20  
Old 8th October 2019, 12:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alakazam View Post
i've never played a neo-DKC, but the SNES ones (especially DKC1) have grown on me a lot the past few years, and i'll definitely give this a shot very soon
Tropical Freeze is one of the best video games I've ever played, straight up. For a stretch there, I thought I liked it more than DKC2, my all-time fave. Returns is also very good, but unless you're a challenge seeker, it's probably the most "skippable" DKC.
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  #21  
Old 8th October 2019, 08:52 PM
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I never cared for the DKC formula platformers. I've played DKC1,2,3 and both new games a decent bit, and definitely preferred Returns and TF over the originals. I still need to finish the end of YL before I get this though. I guess I always preferred the Mario style platformers over the more heavy monkey oriented ones. After SMB3 everything else feels clunky and awkward to me.
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  #22  
Old 9th October 2019, 05:05 AM
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SMB3 is definitely the best 2D Mario game and one of the best 2D platformers in general, but I don't think it's as good as any DKC except the first one. The thing about Donkey Kong Country is that people expect it to play like Mario and lose interest when it doesn't. That series has its own batch of tropes to learn and not everyone's willing to put in the time. Classic Sonic has the same problem. You either become a fan of it as a kid or not at all.

Anyway, I picked up Impossible Lair and... I'm gonna go play it now.
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  #23  
Old 10th October 2019, 12:30 AM
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So I played through Wild Web Woods in Impossible Lair. The game is damn good. The controls are a little more weighty and sluggish than I expected, which I can see driving some people nuts, but it doesn't bother me much, especially since the levels are full of timing-based obstacles that require a lot of starting and stopping anyway. In terms of pacing, it's definitely more Yoshi's Island than Donkey Kong Country.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Alakazam View Post
yeah, i agree that dkc takes some time to get its nuance down - i thought they were bad games for a long time, until i really sat down with a real copy of dkc1 and plugged away
I hope you'll give the same time and attention to DKC2. It's been my favorite game of all time since I first played it when I was eight. Bramble Scramble is my absolute favorite level in any game.

Actually, of the five DKCs, DKC1 is the one I enjoy the least. There's nothing wrong with it, but the sequels all added so much that the original feels bare-bones in comparison. DKC2 is where the series really comes into its own, imo.
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  #24  
Old 3rd April 2020, 04:40 AM
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Exclamation Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

Why isn't the Are Dubya Pee talking about this game? It's a new platformer from the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country, and unlike the original Yooka-Laylee, it really feels like it. It got solid reviews, too. Seems like it'd be in our wheelhouse, no?

Some people call it "DKC4 in all but name" and if you watch videos like this you'll totally see why:



Anyway, this game is really good. Totally drinks its predecessor's milkshake. It's like if Tropical Freeze, Yoshi's Island and Zelda II all had a baby, and it made me believe in this new googly-eyed animal universe like YL1 couldn't. It's also really hard, if you're into that, and has some top-notch music from Grant Kirkhope, David Wise, and new composers like Matt Griffin who are also really great.

My favorite levels are Frantic Fountains, Buzzsaw Falls, and Scareship Shootout, not necessarily in that order. Probably my only complaint is that there aren't any bosses except Capital B. Rampo from the first game comes back as an NPC, though. (You knock his teeth out again.)

Have y'all played this? What do you think?
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  #25  
Old 3rd April 2020, 05:50 AM
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Sorry, I legit didn't see or remember the old thread.
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  #26  
Old 9th April 2020, 02:30 AM
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Sorry again for double posting, but check it:



Whatever could it be?
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  #27  
Old 9th April 2020, 09:46 PM
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Updates here: https://www.playtonicgames.com/yooka...date-and-more/
  • "Not So Impossible Lair" mode
  • 8-Bit Soundtrack option in-game, and streaming on Spotify and Apple Music starting April 14th
  • 50% off discount on Switch if you already own Yooka-Laylee
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  #28  
Old 9th April 2020, 10:20 PM
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Those are all very cool additions. Not sure why they went with an 8-bit soundtrack option, though. 16-bit would make a lot more sense.
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