Suddenly, and to unanimous confusion, Playtonic Games reveals Yooka-Laylee remastered

[qwertykins76]

...and it's called Yooka-Replay-lee!

I am....not going to pretend I don't feel exasperated. In the context of where the 3D platforming genre is at right now, a Yooka-Laylee remaster is rather...frustrating.

However, I want to be fair. On the positive side: I do actually LIKE Yooka-Laylee, and would be more than happy to buy this. And more importantly, I did listen to those dev commentary videos from way back in the day. Getting to hear the devs talk really gave me the confidence that a lot of Yooka-Laylee's little flaws kinda weren't the devs' fault. A lot of it was a manpower/time/too many Kickstarter promises issue.

Listening to those videos convinced me the team genuinely is full of very smart and capable people, who are actively learning from thier mistakes. And when Impossible Lair came out after that, it cemented my belief that Playtonic can and will do great things. So, I have total confidence the Yooka remaster is going to be drastically improved, in many ways.

According to Game Informer: "The search for Pagies starts anew in Yooka-Replaylee, the enhanced definitive version of the beloved indie darling with all new challenges, secrets, mechanics, and accessibility options." They call it a remaster with "remixed challenges". Will it be like that scapped Banjo remake idea? Where Banjo and Kazooie slowly become self-aware they're in a remake, and the game gradually becomes something drastically different? Probably not. But we'll see how far they go with it.

On the negative side: This was not a good idea to announce this, not before revealing your next real game (and they have confirmed, the remaster isn't the only game being worked on.) Context matters a lot. Replay-lee is going to have a bunch of negativity surrounding it now BECAUSE you announced it first. I don't know if Playtonic's next real game will be announced this week, or not. It seems very possible. But if they revealed Replay-lee AFTER a new game, the public's perception would be completely reversed.

Ask yourself: Who is going to buy the remaster? Not many people. MOST of the fandom diehards will buy it---not even all of them. But very few normal people will buy the same Yooka-Laylee for a second time, especially if they were already dissatisfied the first time. I dunno, I just don't think it's going to sell well enough to justify the time and money to make it. Hope they prove me dead wrong. :/

Also. I like most of the small the changes we have seen. I'm hopeful. But we've seen VERY little, and the changes feel rather unnecessary so far. It was NOT a good idea to announce this remaster without showing us something concrete, something new and exciting to get us hyped over. What was the point? Why not either wait to announce it, or show more OF it?

And I'm sorry, but that's WAY too much sunlight over Shipwreck Creek. Relax. I don't understand this obsession modern game devs have with adding fancy bloom effects to their games. It absolutely does not make the game look better, it makes it look washed out and hard to see. I also just learned I've been formatting the title wrong, the game isn't Yooka-Replay-lee. It's Yooka-Re-Playlee. That's awkward and worse.

Here's a Gematsu article.
https://www.gematsu.com/2024/06/yook...or-consoles-pc

Here's an unrelated picture of a Yooka-Laylee dragon transformation, which only exists in my dreams and which we will never have.

While my thoughts here are overall somewhat negative, I just think the timing and the way the remaster was presented was off. I do trust the studio, and I do have a lot of faith that they can quickly flip my opinion in the other direction. Good luck.

[qwertykins76]

It bothers me a lot the Yooka-Laylee worlds are entered by jumping into books but the actual world themes are not based on books or literature whatsoever

[Yoshi52]

No matter what it is, Yooka-Laylee feels too ""recent"" of a game to get a remaster. Getting an update that adds all the significant stuff in as an expansion would make more sense to me, unless they, like, really divert from the original game in some way.

[dragon_kazoooie]

Kind of feels like a bizarre decision but maybe they're just trying to build SEO for their next project coming up?

[Zondekel]

They're giving you a map and a challenge checklist so you don't get lost and know what you're doing.

Works for me.

[qwertykins76]

Originally Posted by Zondekel

They're giving you a map and a challenge checklist so you don't get lost and know what you're doing.

Works for me.

That leaves a sour taste in my mouth tbh. This whole genre of 3D platforming is about exploration. That's like, half of the whole point of these games. If they give you a map and a list of chores, that robs you of like half the experience. People need to pay more attention to the game environment. And if the levels themselves are so complex they truly NEED a map, then they don't need a map. They need a redesign.

Although a caveat here is I actually do support maps and challenge lists in these games IF they need to be unlocked first. I'm okay with it as long as you don't get them immediately when you first enter a level.

[Mr. Airplane]

I love paying attention and exploring a Banjo Kazooie size level, but once you get to Tooie/Yooka/DK64, map pls

[Gold Jinjo]

Weeeird. I loved Yooka-Laylee but it was missing something. It was like a very good, but generic take on Banjo. I think I'd rather see an attempt at a better sequel with more heart in it.

[Zondekel]

Originally Posted by qwertykins76

That leaves a sour taste in my mouth tbh. This whole genre of 3D platforming is about exploration. That's like, half of the whole point of these games. If they give you a map and a list of chores, that robs you of like half the experience. People need to pay more attention to the game environment. And if the levels themselves are so complex they truly NEED a map, then they don't need a map. They need a redesign.

Although a caveat here is I actually do support maps and challenge lists in these games IF they need to be unlocked first. I'm okay with it as long as you don't get them immediately when you first enter a level.

I found the levels in Yooka-Laylee, especially when you expand them with Pagies, to be larger, but also just.. not as distinct in terms of set pieces. Like, there weren't as many landmarks or differences for me to get my head around where I was. Even the first level, which should be the simplest, was just a mix of greens and rocks and ruins that when I'd be like, "Oh I need to go back to this are" I'd just end up wandering until I found it.

A map would be nice.

[dragon_kazoooie]

I'm hoping that the next game's worlds have more character to them or at least interesting set-pieces that set them apart from each other. Stuff that really makes you want to explore all the nooks and crannies.

[DementedSun]

I did feel like the levels were very... forgettable, and easy to get lost in, so a map is a positive change I guess. Hopefully the controls are improved a bit too, cause that was my only other point of frustration.

And anyways, [REDACTED] is being announced tomorrow, so this is a welcome addition .

[Danny Trabajo]

Originally Posted by DementedSun

And anyways, [REDACTED] is being announced tomorrow, so this is a welcome addition :p.

The bear and bird are back and better than ever...

[Mr. Airplane]

Sorry gamers, we are never getting Voodoo Vince 2.

[DementedSun]

There's always next year ...



:')