Yooka Re-Playlee Review – Modern Shine on a Classic Throwback

Review of Yooka Re-Playlee

Original YUKA-LEILI released in 2017 after a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign. It was the first game developed Playtonic Gamesconsisting of graduates of Rare Studios. It's a tribute to the N64-era 3D platform and a spiritual successor to the beloved model. Banjo-Kazooie. Eight years later, Playtonic released a remaster of Yooka-Laylee for current generation consoles called Yooka Re-Playlee. They've made some bold changes, so read on to find out if this new version warrants a replay, a first-time play, or a pass.

Yooka Re-Playlee is about Yooka and Laylee, a duo of chameleon and bat friends. In terms of characters and gameplay, they emulate the dynamics of Banjo and Kazooie. Yuka is a cheerful hero who carries his annoying winged companion on his back. The story is about how Yuka and Leili collect the pages of an all-powerful book called “The One Book”. He is vacuumed up by Capital B, the villainous bee, and Dr. Quack, his mad scientist assistant. That's all there is to it. Yooka Re-Playlee is centered not on a simple narrative, but on its charming characters.

3D platform gameplay

The main feature of Yooka Re-Playlee is the classic 3D platformer. X is a jump and can be held to glide. There is no double jump. Square is a tail attack. The circle sticks out Yuki's tongue, who swallows power-ups that give different powers. It can also be used for fighting. Holding R2 performs a forward roll, which can be used to climb steep surfaces. Holding square while rolling allows you to perform an even faster roll, similar to Sonic the Hedgehog.

Pressing L2 in the air causes a downward slam. By pressing L2, X makes a very high jump. Holding L2 makes Yuka invisible. Underwater, holding L2 creates a bubble around Yuki so he can walk on land instead of swimming. Triangle fires a sonar shot, which depletes the stamina meter. Sonar detects invisible objects. Holding triangle completely depletes the stamina meter, but causes the sonar to explode across the entire screen.

Everything is unlocked at once

One of the main changes in Yooka Re-Playlee is that all of these moves are unlocked from the very beginning of the game. In the original version, most of these moves need to be unlocked gradually. Yuki-Laylee has a Metroidvania-like structure where the player can see a collectible that they cannot reach until a future ability is unlocked. Yooka Re-Playlee eliminates this aspect of the original version by unlocking all moves at once.

The format of the Yooka Re-Playlee collectible games has also changed. The original game had five main levels that had to be unlocked gradually. Now they are completely open from the start. Some will appreciate the lack of backtracking, but I prefer how the original unfolded. This new way gives a more open world feel, e.g. Super Mario Odyssey. This gives the player freedom. I know many of these players, but it seems to me that Yooka-Laylee was created from the ground up for systematic development. I don't mind a more linear experience. Playtonic was clearly responding to modern players' desire for open worlds and greater freedom.

Twice as many pages

Now you need to collect twice as many pages from the Single Book (called “pages”). Original pages really need to be earned by overcoming certain challenges. Now many pages are just lying around idle and there is no feeling that they have been earned. Again, I feel like this was done in response to Mario Odyssey, which featured a lot of collectibles. More collectibles make the game move faster, but unfortunately Yooka-Laylee wasn't designed with that philosophy in mind from the start, so the new pages feel tacked on and unbalanced.

The biggest improvements made to Yooka Re-Playlee are in the camera and controls. The original camera was reminiscent of the N64 camera, which swayed more than any other 3D game from version 6.^th gen and further should ever do. The way Yuka controls and moves isn't always pleasant. Now the camera fully complies with modern standards. He's more zoomed out and higher up, rather than being as close up, low and directly behind Yuki. Yuka feels great when she plays. The movements are extremely precise. These improvements make the game much easier, but also make Yooka Re-Playlee a much more advanced version of the game. I would really like there to be an option to turn off automatic camera movements entirely. Yooka Re-Playlee is not a game that requires an automatic camera. I prefer complete freedom.

Improved visuals

Yooka Re-Playlee also has significantly improved graphics. The original game looked like a PS3 game, but with aesthetic choices made to make it feel more like an N64 game. Yooka Re-Playlee has been redesigned to look like a modern 3D platformer. It has brighter colors, better lighting and textures. It really does look like a next-gen version of Yooka-Laylee. I'd really like to see Yooka Re-Playlee retain some of the obvious aesthetic choices of the N64, like the Banjo-Kazooie-themed main menu or the Banjo-Kazooie text boxes. A new player might not even realize how much Yooka Re-Playlee is an homage to the classic N64 games.

Yooka Re-Playlee also has a lot of minor changes. Some cut scenes have been edited. The game begins with a collection of stories about Yuka and Leili sailing on a pirate ship. There is now a short introductory section with tutorials. The One Book is immediately introduced as a character. Much attention has been paid to improving most of the Yooka-Laylee's sharp edges.

In conclusion

Yooka-Laylee is a platformer that I wanted to love, but had trouble with due to the controls and camera. Many also hated the return and linear structure. These issues were resolved in Yooka Re-Playlee, making it an improved version. I actually really enjoyed unlocking abilities and levels in the original game. And I feel like some of the attempts to make it more open and increase the number of collectibles don't work very well. I wish I could have played Yooka Re-Playlee with just better graphics, camera and controls. It would be a dream come true for me if Yooka Re-Playlee offered an in-game choice between the original version and the Replay version. Despite its shortcomings, Yooka Re-Playlee is the best version of the excellent N64-style 3D platformer.

***PS5 code provided by publisher***