Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

 PC
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 68 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 68
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 68
  3. Negative: 21 out of 68

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  1. MaxmilianKohler
    Mar 22, 2020
    3
    Looks nice. I like the gameplay. I like the idea but not the implementation.

    I really don't like the fact that you can destroy objects and enemies (you have to use them to jump on) on accident (very easy to do) that are necessary to obtain certain things and reach certain areas. Thus, if you destroy something you find out later you need you have to restart the whole level. This is    Looks nice. I like the gameplay. I like the idea but not the implementation.

    I really don't like the fact that you can destroy objects and enemies (you have to use them to jump on) on accident (very easy to do) that are necessary to obtain certain things and reach certain areas. Thus, if you destroy something you find out later you need you have to restart the whole level. This is terrible design and very aggravating.

    The game needs the ability to "reload checkpoint". If you die, it kind of reloads to a checkpoint, but there's not always a way to easily die, and the checkpoint doesn't seem to re-save even though the animation shows that it does.

    Then every time you die it plays an annoying sound (which ends up making me play without sound altogether) and gives a few second delay before you can try again. Certain parts take a lot of experimentation and attempts before you can do it, so altogether, the only method it gives you for retrying certain parts (go find something to kill yourself, listen to the death sound, wait for the delay, then do the whole section again) is really annoying. If I see something in a game that's gettable I feel an urge to get it. When they make it this tedious to get it it's super frustrating. There are also things you only get one chance at unless you want to restart the whole level. This is just trash. There are even things that seem to be put there just to FK with you, because it's either not possible to get them or it's ridiculously tedious. When I watch playthroughs people just ignore them. Even your buddy that gives you an extra life and special moves - when he gets lost he doesn't fly in a random or set pattern, he toys with you.

    If you're a person that 100%'s games, avoid this one. The only way to find it enjoying is to ignore the majority of stuff and just try to get through the game while appreciating the art/graphics.

    Can't rebind the controller or keyboard, and the default keyboard keys are set to the JKL; area for some strange reason.

    Just another game purposely designed to be a headache. Another one of those games where I don't feel satisfied/accomplished after completing something, I only feel a little less frustrated and angry that the devs made me go through that.

    It's also designed so that you have to play levels multiple times. For example, there are so many places where it doesn't let you backtrack, and it's extremely easy and common to not notice something (or even accidentally cross a barrier/door) until you've passed one of those block-offs preventing you from backtracking. They block you off for no good reason. Just another opportunity for them to FK with you and make you redo the whole thing over and over.

    There are places where if you lose your bat friend you cannot progress. Since there is no "load checkpoint", if there is no way to kill yourself you have to restart the whole level.

    Often times there are two identical doors you can choose to take. One of them will lead to an item, and the other will prevent you from getting the item and going back. 50-50 chance of having to restart the whole level.

    The ground is very slippery. You easily slip off and die.

    Whoever made this game, please never make any game again. And people, please don't buy these types of games, it will only encourage this type of bad behavior.

    Some people may not mind playing levels over and over, but since the first time of a level is often tedious enough, playing it again is a "no thanks" from me.

    Unskippable intros.

    On level 7 you have to complete one map to get teleported to the 2nd portion. There's a door there you have to knock down to get access. I went into the level without knocking the door down (didn't notice the door, just continuing playing), had to do something mid level and quit the game. When I came back there is no way back to the 2nd portion since I didn't knock down the door. I'll have to replay the entire level just to get back to the same spot. There are just so many stupid terrible, frustrating design choices like that.

    And on the 2nd portion of level 7 it seems to be bugged. There's a lightning that kills you if you're not fast enough, but it kills me in a ridiculous time, so I looked up a playthrough and it's not following and killing them fast at all.

    There are invisible things in hard to get places, so the only reasonable way to find out they're there is to watch a playthrough. Terrible.

    Other parts are completely random, so you have to try it over and over till it lines up properly.

    Did not enjoy this game at all. I uninstalled about midway through. I watched someone do the end on youtube and I have to say, for the people who are able and willing to do this, this is not a good use of your time. There are vastly more important things that competent, high functioning people could/should be doing.    … Expand
  2. popocho
    Apr 14, 2020
    0
    I tried this game after all the good things that I heard about it. And I found that is unplayable with a keyboard. I can't understand how such a basic feature like this could be absent in a PC game nowadays, No rebinding, missing key elements that couldn't be activated without a controller. Just awful
  3. jakkaof86
    Apr 18, 2020
    4
    This game has some good ideas. But compared to Mario or Donkey Kong (the games it is clearly inspired by) it just feels so slow. So many of the levels have you riding or waiting for slow moving platforms.

    Ans dont even get me started on the tedium that is the Impossible Lair. An overly long level that is just gotcha moments rather than relying or testing the skills you learned through the game.
  4. TitaniumDragon
    May 17, 2021
    0
    Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Maze is a 2D platformer that is strongly reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country mechanically. While a sequel to the 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee, this is a very different fish in terms of gameplay and is much better than its predecessor.

    You play as Yooka, a lizard with a bat named Laylee riding around on his head. Much like the new Donkey Kong Country games,    Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Maze is a 2D platformer that is strongly reminiscent of Donkey Kong Country mechanically. While a sequel to the 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee, this is a very different fish in terms of gameplay and is much better than its predecessor.

    You play as Yooka, a lizard with a bat named Laylee riding around on his head. Much like the new Donkey Kong Country games, the bat is both an extra hit point as well as someone who gives you more powers - while you have Laylee on your head, you can do an aerial twirl that keeps you in the air longer and gives you songs lateral movement, as well as a stronger, longer ground roll. Yooka can roll on the ground, jump, hit things with his tail, and even pick up some items with his tongue. There are also some water sections, where you swim around and can dash for a little boost of underwater speed. There are vines and nets you can climb and, in a few levels, barrels that launch you through the air - just in case you forgot what game this was borrowing from.

    One important difference from Donke Kong Country is that being hit doesn't just take away your partner - instead she takes off from your head and flaps around squeaking erratically in the air, similar to baby Mario in Yoshi's Island. If you touch her again before she flies off, she will land on your head again and you will have effectively healed. In addition, there are bells in each level that call her back if you lost her, and if you die, you will restart at the last checkpoint with her on your head.

    The game itself has two main components- a 3D isometric overworld, and the main game, the 2D levels. The 3D overworld is all about exploration- you can't jump very high, but there are no significant dangers there either. Instead, you go around completing various puzzles to unlock the levels and find collectible tonics - items that can be paid for in quills (the game's coin or banana equivalent) and then used in levels. These can visually alter the gameplay, but can also empower Yooka and Laylee, making them faster, giving them super attacks, or allowing them to find secrets. Alternatively, they can make the gameplay harder and give you bonus quills as a reward. Most of the bonus tonics negatively impact the quills you get, which is a bit of a downer - I mostly just used the tonics that gave some benefits at no cost, but in retrospect it might have been better to use some of the other ones.

    However, that is an open question, as the game is not very difficult to begin with.

    The 2D levels are similar to Donkey Kong Country in that a lot of levels try to do their own thing. While its gimmicks aren't as diverse as those of DKC mechanically, visually the game has a great deal of variety. Each of the 20 levels in the game is actually a double level - performing some task in the overworld, like flooding the level with water or freezing it with an ice bomb, will cause the level to change aspects. These are not minor changes but lead to very different gameplay, routing, and challenges.

    The game is fairly generous with its checkpoints, and none of the main levels have especially difficult platforming. As a result, a lot of your deaths are likely to occur due to exploration rather than difficulty, as you go back and forth over the levels to find the secrets they hold.

    Each level contains quills - similar to coins in Mario or bananas in DKC, these are all over the place and guide you through levels. But the real secrets are hidden coins - 5 per level - which are used to unlock overworld progress and access new levels. These can be hidden off behind seemingly solid walls, be off the far side of the beaten track, be easy to see but difficult to reach, or require you to complete some task to find them. Such tasks are almost always either to complete a quill challenge, where you must pick up all the quills dropped by a quill with a face or catch up to one before it disappears, or else bringing a special explosive item to blow up marked cages.

    These coins encourage exploration of the 2D levels, and it generally takes 15-20 minutes to completely clear each of the game's 40 stages.

    In addition, there are a number of one off "challenge" levels that you get in the overworld. Generally you have 2 hp in each and must kill all the enemies in them. These are single screen challenges and often take 30 seconds or less to complete; like the coins, these, too, unlock parts of the overworld.

    Your ultimate goal is to collect 48 beetallion (yes, the game is bee themed and loves it's bad bee puns) members- one for beating each stage, plus eight you get on the overworld either via exploration or secret exits within the 2D stages - and get through the titular Impossible Maze, which is quite possible at that point - though still hard enough to be a challenge.

    All in all, it's an 80/100 game. Sure, it might be derivative, but it is derived from some pretty good games.    … Expand
  5. SonsofZeruiah
    Oct 18, 2021
    2
    While the secret is in the name, this started off a good game to play, another classic former Rare team throw back to another one of their series: Donkey Kong Country. However, all the fun of the game is completely ruined by the final level. They offer 48 extra hits from the bee battalion to help you though, but unless you can play a constant set of perfect inputs, you'll burn them all upWhile the secret is in the name, this started off a good game to play, another classic former Rare team throw back to another one of their series: Donkey Kong Country. However, all the fun of the game is completely ruined by the final level. They offer 48 extra hits from the bee battalion to help you though, but unless you can play a constant set of perfect inputs, you'll burn them all up before you even reach the second of four fights with Capital Bee. This is a challenge far beyond what should be required to merely finish a game. Just to get the ending. What exceptionally bad game design. Do not play this game.… Expand
  6. dib1313
    Nov 4, 2019
    9
    Wow! This game gets really close to be a real DKC (Snes style) successor. I definitely recommend this one! The exploration of the overworld is awesome and it have some good levels too.

    I wish only to suggest a few things for the next one: 1 - Make two playable characters like in real DKC (Diddy and Dixie) (For the next one I suggest some cliche like Laylee was kidnapped and Yooka and    Wow! This game gets really close to be a real DKC (Snes style) successor. I definitely recommend this one! The exploration of the overworld is awesome and it have some good levels too.

    I wish only to suggest a few things for the next one:

    1 - Make two playable characters like in real DKC (Diddy and Dixie) (For the next one I suggest some cliche like Laylee was kidnapped and Yooka and his cousin will search for her)

    2 - Implement an way to exit the level that you already have finished without losing the Trowzer coins

    3 - Design the level to have only one checkpoint (several checkpoints like Rayman origins style is getting boring)

    4 - Instead of 5 generic Trowzer coins in each level, put only two Trowzer coins per level with bonus level challenge to acquire each one (DKC style again)

    5 - Include some boss levels in the overworld (the player have to beat the boss to gain access to new area, no more paywalls)

    6 - Include a secret world where you have spend the Trowzer coins to play new levels (paywalls only in the secret world)

    7 - Put a single special coin in each level (like a DKC coin in DKC2 and DKC3). Make it an extra... maybe an 4th slot reward only.

    Follow those steps and your game will be the GOTY    … Expand
  7. VigilanteOito
    Feb 23, 2021
    4
    Horrivel, esse jogo é muito simples ate mesmo para o publico infantil.
    Eu fui estar ele pq disseram q era parecido e bom como o donkey kong country
  8. Brainstrain
    Jan 31, 2020
    8
    A big step up from their debut game. Playtonic feels MUCH more confident in the 2.5D space. The overworld is fun and packed with secrets. Every level is unique and bursting with charm. And the challenge is nicely portioned. Check pointing (and losing all your collectibles on death) can feel a bit harsh and arbitrary. It's just a good, fun game with the right amount of challenge.A big step up from their debut game. Playtonic feels MUCH more confident in the 2.5D space. The overworld is fun and packed with secrets. Every level is unique and bursting with charm. And the challenge is nicely portioned. Check pointing (and losing all your collectibles on death) can feel a bit harsh and arbitrary. It's just a good, fun game with the right amount of challenge. Recommended for all platformer fans.… Expand
  9. Virus_Driggy
    Oct 31, 2019
    8
    Its a fun little platformer. Controlles not perfect whit controller but still great. Runs pretty good. Levels are designed well some levels can be frustrating but still fun.
  10. JinoGamer
    Oct 12, 2019
    0
    This is honestly the worst **** game i have ever played in my entire life! How the developers screw up Yooka Layle with microtransactions!!! The DLC also are a joke.... a bad joke...
  11. PietStok
    Oct 14, 2019
    10
    DON'T believe the negative reviews (which are all posted by 1 guy with multiple accounts), 'cause it runs like a charm (60fps) and the only DLC is a tonic pack, which costs just $/€4,- (and is 100% optional)!
  12. GermanGarmendio
    Oct 10, 2019
    5
    This is a good game! Really! But a generic one..... The music and the graphics are okay..... Nothing more to say.... A generic platformer game with some things good and some things bad.
  13. Fredvdp
    Oct 14, 2019
    9
    A fantastic platformer game with the best interactive overworld map I've seen in the genre since Donkey Kong Country 3.

    I love how the puzzles in the overworld allow you to create state changes to levels, altering them in very meaningful ways (e.g. throwing an ice bomb on a level to freeze all its water). The platforming itself is precise, with creative level design. The only    A fantastic platformer game with the best interactive overworld map I've seen in the genre since Donkey Kong Country 3.

    I love how the puzzles in the overworld allow you to create state changes to levels, altering them in very meaningful ways (e.g. throwing an ice bomb on a level to freeze all its water).

    The platforming itself is precise, with creative level design. The only downside to the levels is that it could stand to have more visual variety between worlds.

    Presentation is good. The game has great visuals and music. Some minor issues are an unskippable logo sequence at the start of the game, and the game displaying Xbox buttons when playing with a PS4 controller.

    Recommended for fans of the Donkey Kong Country series.    … Expand
  14. slurpydoge
    May 7, 2021
    8
    This game really gives out these donkey kong country tropical freeze vibes. I really like it I find it's concept really interesting that you can beat final level right at the beggining, but I have to say that this game has too many secrets hidden in the walls and some secrets require you to wait for a block to move which isn't clever but annoying. This game does most thinks good but someThis game really gives out these donkey kong country tropical freeze vibes. I really like it I find it's concept really interesting that you can beat final level right at the beggining, but I have to say that this game has too many secrets hidden in the walls and some secrets require you to wait for a block to move which isn't clever but annoying. This game does most thinks good but some thinks are just annoying… Expand
  15. PeakZach
    Oct 2, 2022
    8
    Gameplay is fantastic. The overworld combined with the platformer feel was a direction I'm glad this game took. Feels similar to Crash Bandicoot, where the levels are less open-world fueled like the first. Where I think this game take a turn, is the grinding for TWIT coins. They are usually more difficult to spot and find in levels, and the game unfortunately forces you to collect hem toGameplay is fantastic. The overworld combined with the platformer feel was a direction I'm glad this game took. Feels similar to Crash Bandicoot, where the levels are less open-world fueled like the first. Where I think this game take a turn, is the grinding for TWIT coins. They are usually more difficult to spot and find in levels, and the game unfortunately forces you to collect hem to unlock more of the game. Replaying levels I've already 'beaten' isn't something I very often want to. I would prefer if this was an optional mechanic to unlock optional parts of the game. I suppose the entirety of the game is optional as you are provided with the last level from the start, but the difficulty is obviously so 'impossible' that you need to collect bees regardless.… Expand
  16. Denvers
    Mar 29, 2020
    6
    After hearing all of the good things about Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, I was thrilled! I couldn't find much negative feedback, and after some time, I decided to try the game for myself. I have never been so polarized on a review - on one hand, the levels are very well crafted ad the tonics make for a very interesting mechanic, but on the other, the controls don't feel great andAfter hearing all of the good things about Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, I was thrilled! I couldn't find much negative feedback, and after some time, I decided to try the game for myself. I have never been so polarized on a review - on one hand, the levels are very well crafted ad the tonics make for a very interesting mechanic, but on the other, the controls don't feel great and exploration seems to be a mixed bag. The game actively encourages exploration while it punishes it at the same time. Most of the secrets/puzzles to find secrets are really easy, and when I'm looking in obscurer areas for secrets, there aren't any. In addition to that, after just dying a few times on a level trying to get to what was seemingly a secret, the game told me it would skip a part of the level for me if I needed it. This is supposed to be a tough game, so after a few deaths, why would it offer to help me so soon? I want to give this game a 5 because I feel so strongly about liking it and disliking it, but the game is cute and innovative, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.… Expand
  17. Adasc2906
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Donkey kong country meets rayman legends. That's pretty much what this game is all about. I am really impressed with what this game tries. A 2.5d platformer outside of the levels and 2d platforming goodness on the inside. Get it on sale or on epic games now. Trust me you won't regret it.
  18. JoeyPL5
    Nov 16, 2021
    6
    It's pretty weird and difficult to review a platforming game where the level select map was more fun than the actual 2D platforming levels.

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Best PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 13
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 13
  3. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. GameGrin
    Dec 30, 2019
    100
    Playtonic has absolutely smashed it with Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair. It builds on the team’s experience with platformers and manages to improve on its predecessor in every way. One of the best platformers I’ve played in years.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Nov 25, 2019
    85
    Each level is a rainbow firework that captivates with detail, makes laugh with the character design, and amazes with its quality and design. [13/2019, p.66]
  3. Games.cz
    Nov 7, 2019
    70
    Yooka-Laylee is back, waxing nostalgic again. This spin-off celebrates 2D platformers of a bygone age and brings tasteful fun, even though it’s not very original at all.
    Read full review
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