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. 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
  7. 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...

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Best PC Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

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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.
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  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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