The remake of the current generation Yooka-Laylee – cutely named Yooka-Replaylee – has been confirmed for release on consoles, with Playtonic targeting PlayStation 5, Xbox Series not the current console, or they would just say it was for Switch. The game, as previously confirmed, will also come to PC.
We’re in a very curious place for remakes and remasters right now, with Yooka-Replaylee, a remake of a game that’s just under 10 years old. The game was the debut title for Playtonic Games, which kickstarted the project in 2015 and eventually released it in 2017.
Playtonic’s desire to return to this game rather than make a sequel is to take several things they’ve learned since and reapply them to the original. Yooka-Replaylee will also feature improved graphics, more dynamic worlds, new and improved challenges, new collectibles, new characters and a whole host of quality of life improvements – of course the original game had a major Spit ‘n’ Polish update to make early improvements of its own.
It looks quite nice, I must say, although I hope this is a stepping stone to a full-blown 3D platformer sequel, if it proves popular enough. There was also the side-scrolling spin-off Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.
The spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee was a love letter to the early heyday of the collectathon 3D platformer. Reflecting on the original review, Jim said: “Of all the potential hurdles one might encounter when creating a 3D platformer in the style of the late 1990s classics, Playtonic deftly avoids by far the most egregious. At its core, Yooka-Laylee manages to revive a long-forgotten format and does so with such power and passion. However, players should not expect the genre to be reinvented.”