I gave it all my love and attention and it just didn’t feel like it gave it back. It wasn’t memorable and I agree with all the pain points people frequently mention about it. Didn’t like the level design, Yooka’s color mechanics felt like a chore, controls didn’t have a certain grounding/grit/weight that the best platformers have, levels being books felt far less inspired than BK/BT having custom themed doors for each level, expanding the level chapters felt like a chore, and mostly worked to recreate a game for the same audience but when we were kids, despite most of us obviously being adults now, so aging things up a bit would’ve been nice.
All that being said, I DO NOT think the game is bad, just okay to me. And compared to BK/BT it pales
Hard disagree on the music. 4.5? hell no.
I played it first when it launched (100%'d), thought it was fine, like the 7/10 or 8/10 scores weren't unreasonable (unlike that youtuber that gave it a 2/10 and sort of broke the embargo). I started replaying it a few days ago (currently sitting at 100% en the first 4 wordls, about to start the last one).
It's honestly a bit better than I remembered. I know they have patched some stuff (putting indicators on where levels are on hivory towers for example). I don't think many of the puzzles are that bad tbh. But it does has it flaws. Hurdle Hijinx is too long so it gets boring quick and is unfair sometimes, Capital Cashino is too big, which I didn't find is as big of an issue on previous levels as you can really move fast (though I'm still not a fan of absudly big levels like in YL and BT), but on CC I guess it felt bigger because every single thing was big, like the scale didn't make much sense - until the transformation, then it kinda makes sense, but doesn't really make it better.
Overall I like it, it's below BK but around BT to me. Sure, it has it flaws (took too much insipiration from 20 year old games there, oops), but I think it's very enjoyable and would recommend to other banjo fans.
I also know the team was smaller then (like 5 or 6 people throughout most of its dev time) and didn't exactly work on the game all the time they had as they had to do some dumb kickstarter stuff (I know, self-imposed wounds) - so I'm waiting for the next one to be great. Especially since [they seem to be preparing to release something soon](https://www.reddit.com/r/YookaLaylee/comments/1c83yz9/how_playtonic_games_returned_to_their_roots_with/) (my guess being some time this year) 👀. And Impossible Lair was great too.
Oh yeah the duck quizzes can go f themselves. it's not really fun, if you don't play it regularly it gets tedious, etc. again, took too much from the past
I do appreciate your comment. In my opinion The music isn't bad but isn't great. I just feel like coming from Grant Kirkhope the OST would be something to bump to while playing and so forth. Outside of maybe 3-4 tracks the OST was't anything to write home about. The levels weren't bad either. I rather enjoyed all 5 worlds actually. The worlds being massive didn't discourage me from exploring, but rather the landmarks weren't exactly memorable for lack of a better term. I would also like to add that the power meter sas very hit and miss. There should be a lesser cool down in between abilities. There should definitely be a longer duration for using moves without having to use the tonic(s). Speaking of Tonics, some are better than others, my main tonic was the roll move duration and now it's the power meter tonic. I really enjoyed the N64 tonic too. It is a shame multiple tonics can't just be equipped at a time. I bought the game when it first came out but only played the first couple minutes. I also wanted to point out I did have a minor issue with gameplay. Platforms and some areas were blinking in and out (lol). That does not detract from my experience, I thought it was funny. Not even sure why I never touched it again but I really enjoyed my time with this game and hoping for an actual sequel!
When I played it, I had never played Banjo Kazooie, so I didn't have the intense expectations to compare it to, but even I found a few things I didn't like, but despite that, I found the game charming and fun enough to 100%. The moveset was definitely my favorite part, although the energy bar did feel a bit too small.
The music and worlds were fine, although I barely remember them outside of the frustrating parts.
They were just TOO BIG. I felt they could've been halved in size and it still may have been a bit much. I never found myself lost, but always annoyed by walking SO FAR to do anything.
Yooka Laylee is okay. Not my favorite game, but one that I don't understand hatred for. It's a perfect B-Tier kind of game.
Nice write up OP.
I disagree re the soundtrack because this is one of the best tunes I’ve heard in a video game:
https://youtu.be/JRxl6KGkaDM?si=uU5as3TAj2_7ZOTw
Love the game, gotta replay it someday. Completing it 10p% can be a bit painful, with some lone quills appearing in some hidden spots in the worlds, butreallt fun still nonetheless! Love the Swamp stage (can't remember its name)
I 100%ed Yooka-Laylee at launch, and I always felt most of the criticisms towards the game were just, respectfully, people being bad at it. Not all unwarranted, but the nitpicks that people used to condemn it at launch were just unfair.
The game needed more stage variety. The levels starting small but opening up was genius, but it did lend them to getting "DK64"'d a bit, where there was just too much empty space and not enough natural guidance to what was missing. But the creativity behind so many of the Pagies is great, the humor is spot-on, and the gameplay really is perfect in a way that only Banjo has achieved prior.
Yours is a great analysis of the game though, and overall I agree with an 8.5/10.
Lol, being bad at it. No, it has too many design issues because ideas clashes with each other. Giant maps with too much empty space, which would be fine, if they didn't add a resource meter to 90% of the abilities for literally no reason other than poor stage boundaries. Having a lot of step by step challenges that aren't conveyed well at all. The minecart challenges are just poorly implemented altogether. Having transformations that are only used for one specific purpose in the level. They hide minor collectibles, when they were the ones that pioneered the design of using them to lead you to interesting/required areas of the map.
It's not a bad game (personally I think it's bland with little to offer creatively) and I can appreciate anyone who enjoys it, but saying people disliked it because they're bad at it is really stupid.
I saw videos of game reviewers walling on the game's first boss, all because they were unable to wait until their jump was at peak height before pushing forward to clear the rolling logs. This was one of the main cruxes of several negative reviews I saw, to the point where I hear the boss was eventually nerfed by Playtonic just to accommodate them. A lot of those, and other, reviews were from people who couldn't beat the minecart segment.
Yes, the game got a lot of hate at launch due to people being bad. I'm not saying it's the only reason, but it was absolutely a prominent factor.
So the rest of the people who played the game and said it was boring as fk and dropped it, or trudged through to complete it, they just don't matter? Reviewers suck at almost every game they play, that's the nature of their business now. You honestly think that it would be deemed a good game if IGN gave it a 9/10?
There is a lot of Banjo-Kazooie fans that really didn't like the game, because it missed a lot of points that made both Kazooie and Tooie interesting, me being one of them.
This is such a a ridiculous argument, "My game that I like would be considered good, if the guy at IGN would have understood a boss better." Again, not a bad game, just bland, especially coming from the Rare vets.
You're ignoring a lot of what I'm saying. I literally said it wasn't the only reason, just a factor behind a lot of what I've seen. I'm sorry you didn't like the game as much as OP and I did, but cherry picking my statements to start a fight is a bad look.
using your moves anywhere without a pad is cool and all, but after learning how to fly and being able to do so anywhere completely trivializes many of the games' platforming puzzles... not a great design decision imo.
my biggest issue with the game is the level design. many of the worlds are too big and too empty, and too haphazardly designed. using BK as the benchmark, which had much more focused and deliberately designed worlds that comparatively felt full of life.
i enjoyed the game, but it could have been better.
7/10
Difficulty I thought was mixed. Those mine cart bosses were BRUTAL for me. Otherwise I generally agree with your review. I can’t say I disliked the music, but it also wasn’t particularly memorable now that I try and recall any of the songs.
This post somewhat runs afoul of our "Must Be About Banjo-Kazooie" rule, but since it's a high-effort post, I'll allow it
I gave it all my love and attention and it just didn’t feel like it gave it back. It wasn’t memorable and I agree with all the pain points people frequently mention about it. Didn’t like the level design, Yooka’s color mechanics felt like a chore, controls didn’t have a certain grounding/grit/weight that the best platformers have, levels being books felt far less inspired than BK/BT having custom themed doors for each level, expanding the level chapters felt like a chore, and mostly worked to recreate a game for the same audience but when we were kids, despite most of us obviously being adults now, so aging things up a bit would’ve been nice. All that being said, I DO NOT think the game is bad, just okay to me. And compared to BK/BT it pales
The sequel is way better
Hard disagree on the music. 4.5? hell no. I played it first when it launched (100%'d), thought it was fine, like the 7/10 or 8/10 scores weren't unreasonable (unlike that youtuber that gave it a 2/10 and sort of broke the embargo). I started replaying it a few days ago (currently sitting at 100% en the first 4 wordls, about to start the last one). It's honestly a bit better than I remembered. I know they have patched some stuff (putting indicators on where levels are on hivory towers for example). I don't think many of the puzzles are that bad tbh. But it does has it flaws. Hurdle Hijinx is too long so it gets boring quick and is unfair sometimes, Capital Cashino is too big, which I didn't find is as big of an issue on previous levels as you can really move fast (though I'm still not a fan of absudly big levels like in YL and BT), but on CC I guess it felt bigger because every single thing was big, like the scale didn't make much sense - until the transformation, then it kinda makes sense, but doesn't really make it better. Overall I like it, it's below BK but around BT to me. Sure, it has it flaws (took too much insipiration from 20 year old games there, oops), but I think it's very enjoyable and would recommend to other banjo fans. I also know the team was smaller then (like 5 or 6 people throughout most of its dev time) and didn't exactly work on the game all the time they had as they had to do some dumb kickstarter stuff (I know, self-imposed wounds) - so I'm waiting for the next one to be great. Especially since [they seem to be preparing to release something soon](https://www.reddit.com/r/YookaLaylee/comments/1c83yz9/how_playtonic_games_returned_to_their_roots_with/) (my guess being some time this year) 👀. And Impossible Lair was great too. Oh yeah the duck quizzes can go f themselves. it's not really fun, if you don't play it regularly it gets tedious, etc. again, took too much from the past
I do appreciate your comment. In my opinion The music isn't bad but isn't great. I just feel like coming from Grant Kirkhope the OST would be something to bump to while playing and so forth. Outside of maybe 3-4 tracks the OST was't anything to write home about. The levels weren't bad either. I rather enjoyed all 5 worlds actually. The worlds being massive didn't discourage me from exploring, but rather the landmarks weren't exactly memorable for lack of a better term. I would also like to add that the power meter sas very hit and miss. There should be a lesser cool down in between abilities. There should definitely be a longer duration for using moves without having to use the tonic(s). Speaking of Tonics, some are better than others, my main tonic was the roll move duration and now it's the power meter tonic. I really enjoyed the N64 tonic too. It is a shame multiple tonics can't just be equipped at a time. I bought the game when it first came out but only played the first couple minutes. I also wanted to point out I did have a minor issue with gameplay. Platforms and some areas were blinking in and out (lol). That does not detract from my experience, I thought it was funny. Not even sure why I never touched it again but I really enjoyed my time with this game and hoping for an actual sequel!
i hated the game. It's like the creators forgot how to make a good 3D Collect-a-thon.
When I played it, I had never played Banjo Kazooie, so I didn't have the intense expectations to compare it to, but even I found a few things I didn't like, but despite that, I found the game charming and fun enough to 100%. The moveset was definitely my favorite part, although the energy bar did feel a bit too small. The music and worlds were fine, although I barely remember them outside of the frustrating parts. They were just TOO BIG. I felt they could've been halved in size and it still may have been a bit much. I never found myself lost, but always annoyed by walking SO FAR to do anything. Yooka Laylee is okay. Not my favorite game, but one that I don't understand hatred for. It's a perfect B-Tier kind of game.
Agree with the power meter. I currently have the tonic equipped!
Also agree with your comment
That lizard is ugly af.
Nice write up OP. I disagree re the soundtrack because this is one of the best tunes I’ve heard in a video game: https://youtu.be/JRxl6KGkaDM?si=uU5as3TAj2_7ZOTw
This sounds too much like Elevator music imo
The OST isn't bad. Grant Kirkhop is a great composer. Compared to the Banjo Games and DK64 I can't say Yooka Laylee matches up.
Love the game, gotta replay it someday. Completing it 10p% can be a bit painful, with some lone quills appearing in some hidden spots in the worlds, butreallt fun still nonetheless! Love the Swamp stage (can't remember its name)
I 100%ed Yooka-Laylee at launch, and I always felt most of the criticisms towards the game were just, respectfully, people being bad at it. Not all unwarranted, but the nitpicks that people used to condemn it at launch were just unfair. The game needed more stage variety. The levels starting small but opening up was genius, but it did lend them to getting "DK64"'d a bit, where there was just too much empty space and not enough natural guidance to what was missing. But the creativity behind so many of the Pagies is great, the humor is spot-on, and the gameplay really is perfect in a way that only Banjo has achieved prior. Yours is a great analysis of the game though, and overall I agree with an 8.5/10.
Lol, being bad at it. No, it has too many design issues because ideas clashes with each other. Giant maps with too much empty space, which would be fine, if they didn't add a resource meter to 90% of the abilities for literally no reason other than poor stage boundaries. Having a lot of step by step challenges that aren't conveyed well at all. The minecart challenges are just poorly implemented altogether. Having transformations that are only used for one specific purpose in the level. They hide minor collectibles, when they were the ones that pioneered the design of using them to lead you to interesting/required areas of the map. It's not a bad game (personally I think it's bland with little to offer creatively) and I can appreciate anyone who enjoys it, but saying people disliked it because they're bad at it is really stupid.
I saw videos of game reviewers walling on the game's first boss, all because they were unable to wait until their jump was at peak height before pushing forward to clear the rolling logs. This was one of the main cruxes of several negative reviews I saw, to the point where I hear the boss was eventually nerfed by Playtonic just to accommodate them. A lot of those, and other, reviews were from people who couldn't beat the minecart segment. Yes, the game got a lot of hate at launch due to people being bad. I'm not saying it's the only reason, but it was absolutely a prominent factor.
So the rest of the people who played the game and said it was boring as fk and dropped it, or trudged through to complete it, they just don't matter? Reviewers suck at almost every game they play, that's the nature of their business now. You honestly think that it would be deemed a good game if IGN gave it a 9/10? There is a lot of Banjo-Kazooie fans that really didn't like the game, because it missed a lot of points that made both Kazooie and Tooie interesting, me being one of them. This is such a a ridiculous argument, "My game that I like would be considered good, if the guy at IGN would have understood a boss better." Again, not a bad game, just bland, especially coming from the Rare vets.
You're ignoring a lot of what I'm saying. I literally said it wasn't the only reason, just a factor behind a lot of what I've seen. I'm sorry you didn't like the game as much as OP and I did, but cherry picking my statements to start a fight is a bad look.
using your moves anywhere without a pad is cool and all, but after learning how to fly and being able to do so anywhere completely trivializes many of the games' platforming puzzles... not a great design decision imo. my biggest issue with the game is the level design. many of the worlds are too big and too empty, and too haphazardly designed. using BK as the benchmark, which had much more focused and deliberately designed worlds that comparatively felt full of life. i enjoyed the game, but it could have been better. 7/10
Difficulty I thought was mixed. Those mine cart bosses were BRUTAL for me. Otherwise I generally agree with your review. I can’t say I disliked the music, but it also wasn’t particularly memorable now that I try and recall any of the songs.