Yooka-Laylee

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 269 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 139 out of 269
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 269
  3. Negative: 79 out of 269
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  1. CanadianYeti
    Jul 17, 2017
    4
    Yooka’s main goal is to remind players of how great Banjo-Kazooie was back in the day, and I feel it accomplished that with me. In my entire time playing I found I’d much rather be playing Banjo than this worse homage to it.
  2. 200ft
    Apr 14, 2017
    4
    This game is nothing like the og. Banjo. This is just a big pile of mess. The first world is awesome, I have to give it that. but the rest are just frustrating ugly stages. Every activity you do for a pagie is so boring: fly through circles, kill a bunch of enemies and fly through circles again. Wait for a discount and then maxbe consider buying.
  3. BloodyHellMate
    Apr 18, 2017
    0
    This is the result of attempting to ride the coattails of former successes from an era that has long since passed. 3D platformers dying off was a natural evolution of gaming; working backwards against that flow was bound to produce mediocre results from the very beginning.

    Between a cringe-inducing rip-off of the original DK rap which embarrassingly misses all of its strong points—its    This is the result of attempting to ride the coattails of former successes from an era that has long since passed. 3D platformers dying off was a natural evolution of gaming; working backwards against that flow was bound to produce mediocre results from the very beginning.

    Between a cringe-inducing rip-off of the original DK rap which embarrassingly misses all of its strong points—its originality at the time of its release, its large roster of characters that it discussed, and so on—the constant "t-this'll be just like those outdated 90's games you loved 20 years ago!" reminders, the forced memes and tie-ins to other games (Shovel Knight for example), etc., it's clear as day that they didn't have enough confidence in their product to market it as its own independent game. At every possible opportunity, they had to say, "Look, guys; we're just like Banjo-Kazooie!" Even the character design of the main characters reeks of this nonsense.

    Due to BSODs consistently interrupting whatever I do less than half an hour after starting my computer, I'm going to briefly summarize points that I would normally spend paragraphs describing in detail.
    The level design is as bland as anything you'd expect from a 1st generation 3D platformer. 20 years later, there's no excuse for this hot mess, and no amount of "pretty" (see: acceptable/average/"meh") graphics will make up for that. The "combat" is as bland as that in—to draw comparisons between 90's platformers—the first two Gex games, the first two Crash Bandicoot games, and Super Mario 64. The minigames won't be entertaining to anyone who isn't a minor and recognizes that they have no more depth than any given cash-grab mobile game. Difficulty? What difficulty? This game provides no challenge, and thus no sense of accomplishment for completing anything. The maps/"levels" are so few in number that I couldn't even recommend this game at a $20 price point, let alone the $40 these lunatics are asking for.

    Pick this up for a younger sibling or cousin who's easily entertained by shovelware when this goes on sale for $10 a year or two from now. Otherwise, avoid this outdated, uninspired bargain bin software (courtesy of the Unity engine! I wish I was joking.) like the plague.    … Expand
  4. OmegaTigerWoods
    Apr 12, 2017
    3
    The developers turned the game political, which is never a good sign. On top of that, the game is complete garbage, and devoid of the charm the original Nintendo 64 Rare games had. The levels feel emptier than Tooie, the camera jerks at the worst times and the humor is painfully unfunny.

    Don't waste your time with this rubbish. There are better games out there.
  5. MrReviewerMan
    Apr 11, 2017
    0
    In hopes of cashing in their nostalgia card after its expiration date; Playtonic released a game that really no one asked for or wanted. Yooka Laylee is a "love letter" to a genre of games that got married, started a family and moved on with their lives. It offers nothing new to the genre, but instead aims to cash in on old mechanics and gameplay in hopes that the rose-tinted glasses ofIn hopes of cashing in their nostalgia card after its expiration date; Playtonic released a game that really no one asked for or wanted. Yooka Laylee is a "love letter" to a genre of games that got married, started a family and moved on with their lives. It offers nothing new to the genre, but instead aims to cash in on old mechanics and gameplay in hopes that the rose-tinted glasses of gamers today would convince them to spend their hard earned money at such a shameless cash grab title. Everything from visuals to audio is mundane or even ear-splitting as the "mumbling" that characters do when they talk aren't in any way close to how tolerable it was in games like Banjo Kazooie. Instead, we just have someone making a bunch of grumbles and grunts and passing that off as kosher when there was no mixing or imagination put into said sound design unlike Rare's earlier titles with sound mixing. Gameplay-wise, it's as fresh as that loaf of bread you left in your pantry for a month past expiration. Sure, you can still toast it to make a hot new sandwich but you're still eating a stale, moldy experience that's way past its due date. Controls are stiff, nearly unresponsive when it comes to platforming (which is a huge deal in these kind of games) and the biggest crime of all is the final boss which is nothing more than a shameless ripoff of another famous collectathon's final boss. To conclude, that's what this game is. Shameless. It takes pride in ripping off older genres and adding nothing to them but instead slapping their "I made this" sticker on it and calling it their own. Playtonic, if this is the game you're bringing to the table, I surely hope you're ready to take it back to the kitchen and start over from scratch.… Expand
  6. fykins
    Apr 25, 2017
    0
    This game is not worthy of being mentioned in the same sentence as banjo kazooie. There are just so many reasons not to get this game, just another early access game that turned to trash. Oh sure they took your money upfront and that's exactly why they don't need to deliver at launch time.

    Play Rachet and Clank instead.
  7. claytastic
    Jul 10, 2017
    4
    Yooka-Laylee isn't the worst game ever made, but in comparison to it's spiritual predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie, it's an abomination in need of euthanization. It has a couple of good levels at the start, but after that, its just poor design and missed opportunities all around.

    Some levels are super easy, while others are beyond frustrating, which is mainly because the game is harder to    Yooka-Laylee isn't the worst game ever made, but in comparison to it's spiritual predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie, it's an abomination in need of euthanization. It has a couple of good levels at the start, but after that, its just poor design and missed opportunities all around.

    Some levels are super easy, while others are beyond frustrating, which is mainly because the game is harder to control than a pack of gorillas trying to break out of a zoo, and the piece of sh*t camera doesn't make it much better. The hub world is way too big, making it near impossible to find the next level. The music, while great, fails to fit the levels or scenarios they go with.

    The character and level designs (from a visual standpoint) do stand out compared to other games. That's definitely one of the better parts of the game. Yooka and Laylee are great mascots, Trowzer is genius, and there's a bunch more great ones. There are a few problems with this, though. One of them is that none of these characters are actually interactive they're just standing in one spot the whole time with no purpose, and their dialogue is really cringey. Most of the time, they don't even fit the levels. They just end up getting recycled from previous parts of the game. It's just lazy.

    Overall, Yooka-Laylee is a massive disappointment, especially since it was developed by some of the creators of the original Banjo-Kazooie. It feels more like a fan-made early access game than a full title. My recommendation for anyone craving more collect-a-thon 3D platformers is to just buy Banjo-Kazooie on the Xbox One. Don't waste your money on this garbage excuse of a spiritual successor.    … Expand
  8. Broseph14
    May 14, 2017
    4
    This is one of the most disappointing games of the year. I heard mixed things but decided to take the plunge anyway. Yooka-Laylee somehow manages to get things wrong that games like Jak and Daxter 1 or even Super Mario 64 did excellently. The level design is is atrocious, everything feels like its just been thrown at a wall and left as is. The controls feel slippery and unresponsive. It isThis is one of the most disappointing games of the year. I heard mixed things but decided to take the plunge anyway. Yooka-Laylee somehow manages to get things wrong that games like Jak and Daxter 1 or even Super Mario 64 did excellently. The level design is is atrocious, everything feels like its just been thrown at a wall and left as is. The controls feel slippery and unresponsive. It is very easy to get lost in even the smallest sections of a level and since most locations lack distinctive landmarks you often end up aimlessly roaming around a level looking for the next mini-game/objective. Speaking of which a lot of the mini-games in this game are horrible. The hoop race is an excellent example of how not to implement variety into 3d collectathon platformers, especially when the controls are as bad as they are. You'd be much better off digging out your old favourite collectathons or re purchasing them instead of wasting your money on this.… Expand
  9. badgerryan19
    Jun 19, 2017
    4
    With all that money with the Kickstater this is what they come up with? This game I understand is a blast from the past kind of thing, but I should of stayed there. The controls are so unresponsive sometimes and the puzzles are downright idiotic. The glitches are ridiculous but the graphics are nice. And the voices I understand as well that its retro but they get so annoying.
  10. lione81
    Mar 25, 2020
    0
    Cámara horrible. Controles imprecisos. Fallos y bugs aleatorios. Control de colisiones malo.
  11. Paulo969
    Oct 7, 2019
    3
    Apoiei o jogo no kickstarter. É uma confusao de desenho de niveis, nunca sabemos pãra onde ir ou o que fazer. Uma autentica trapalhada. Completamente desinspirado e hoje nao dava nem 1 euro por este lixo. Uma oportunidade de ouro desperdiçada. Kickstarter nunca mais.
  12. peehsehterb
    Nov 25, 2018
    4
    I have never had such a bad time playing a game. I originally bought it almost purely for the art style, since it's incredibly appealing, but when I started playing, I slowly lost all form of interest. The game is weighed down by poor controls (with Flying and the camera for example), a camera that glitches out after death, levels that are so frustrating to navigate that I'm surprised thatI have never had such a bad time playing a game. I originally bought it almost purely for the art style, since it's incredibly appealing, but when I started playing, I slowly lost all form of interest. The game is weighed down by poor controls (with Flying and the camera for example), a camera that glitches out after death, levels that are so frustrating to navigate that I'm surprised that there's no map (Tribalstack Tropics being the one exception to me), and arcade games within it that are too poor, slippery, and unfair to play/control- This game just overall provides a frustrating experience and it's just not fun to play.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

58
#58 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2017
78
#78 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
68

Mixed or average reviews - based on 53 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 31 out of 53
  3. Negative: 2 out of 53
  1. Power Unlimited
    Oct 19, 2017
    87
    Yooka-Laylee at times feels more like a remake of Banjo-Kazooie than a completely new game, that's how much they are alike. But in this case it is only meant in a positive way. The world needs more games likes this, you know.
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  2. Wired UK
    Aug 30, 2017
    50
    When the original is so readily available, and still so thoroughly playable, Playtonic's recreation of the recipe can't help but fall flat.
    Read full review
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 7, 2017
    70
    Much more fun than it is frustrating, and don’t go in expecting evolution. That said, this is still a quill in the cap for a genre that is slowly making a comeback. [June 2017, p72]
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