Yooka-Laylee

 Switch
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 167 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 103 out of 167
  2. Mixed: 33 out of 167
  3. Negative: 31 out of 167

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  1. Fezehim
    Apr 7, 2018
    6
    An otherwise decent game, let down by some dreadful boss fights. Worth picking up, but feels unpolished in places
  2. B-Bog
    Jun 22, 2021
    4
    It's...not very good. The only way that I can see that you could possibly give this game a 8 or higher (10?? for this?? are you insane??) is if maybe you were a giant fan of Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie back in the day and have not played a single 3D platformer since then.

    First off, the game looks terrible. Seriously, Super Mario Galaxy looks better than this most of the time and that came out    It's...not very good. The only way that I can see that you could possibly give this game a 8 or higher (10?? for this?? are you insane??) is if maybe you were a giant fan of Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie back in the day and have not played a single 3D platformer since then.

    First off, the game looks terrible. Seriously, Super Mario Galaxy looks better than this most of the time and that came out 10 years before Yooka on the Wii for crying out loud.

    The music is incredibly bland and boring, absolutely no comparison to the iconic tracks Grant Kirkhope composed for BK.

    The platforming feels stiff and awkward. The levels are way too big for no good reason,so they end up feeling lifeless and empty. The challenges the game throws at you are uninspired to the point of seeming random. Quills are also just sort of strewn through the level, with no real rhyme or reason to it.

    Checkpointing is not a thing, you just start at the last doorway you exited. That might've been acceptable in 1998, it is not today.

    Combat is as unsatisfying as it possibly could be. There's no weight behind any of your moves and you don't get proper feedback through sound or vibration, so it feels like you're just sort of floating through your enemies.

    Yooka and Laylee as characters are pretty bland in comparison to the way Banjo and Kazooie played off of each other. In fact, the whole game could be described as that: A worse version of Banjo-Kazooie.

    In conclusion, this game lacks charm, is uninspired, and looks and plays more like a Unity engine demo than a finished video game made by former Rare employees. And, maybe worst of all, it's just plain BORING.

    If, like many others here in this review section, you're willing to forgive giant flaws in game design just because the game vaguely reminds you of Banjo and thus your youth, then sure, give Y-L a go (although you could also just go play Banjo-Kazooie, which is way better). If this description doesn't fit you and you're looking for a well-made 3D platformer on the Switch, stay as far away from this as you possibly can and go play Mario Odyssey or maybe New Super Lucky's Tale.    … Expand
  3. Fluffito
    Feb 28, 2021
    0
    Regarding the Switch version - the controls are insufferable. < 2 hours on record, and I had to call it quits. Huge regret-purchase.
  4. coolgamer123
    Apr 28, 2021
    6
    Alright. This game is not super good. Kids will like it, and most people who dont play video games will enjoy it. Its kinda like a very bad sonic game mixed with gex. The 2d gameplay isnt bad, but the 3d gameplay is very slow and tedious. The beetalion idea is cool, but it gets old after a while. The gameplay itself is okay, but i hated those paywalls when you needed to collect the hiddenAlright. This game is not super good. Kids will like it, and most people who dont play video games will enjoy it. Its kinda like a very bad sonic game mixed with gex. The 2d gameplay isnt bad, but the 3d gameplay is very slow and tedious. The beetalion idea is cool, but it gets old after a while. The gameplay itself is okay, but i hated those paywalls when you needed to collect the hidden coins, took me forever.… Expand
  5. MMPP99
    May 29, 2022
    7
    It's a descent game to play, however, it just looks like a Mario 64's generic game. So, don't expect a something extraordinary. The good aspects I would point out are the controls and the graphic, considering the switch's hardware.
  6. hawkeye369
    Dec 16, 2017
    6
    Yooka Laylee is an enjoyable experience that feels uncertain on what it desires to be. It seemingly relies on its predecessor, Banjo, more than it should really. Disclaimer, I have never played any Banjo game and rating this game on its own merit.

    To begin, I'm going to start out positive. I just adore Yooka and Laylee together. I love how they're animated and their relationship to one    Yooka Laylee is an enjoyable experience that feels uncertain on what it desires to be. It seemingly relies on its predecessor, Banjo, more than it should really. Disclaimer, I have never played any Banjo game and rating this game on its own merit.

    To begin, I'm going to start out positive. I just adore Yooka and Laylee together. I love how they're animated and their relationship to one another. Yooka is pretty level headed while Laylee is a bit of a **** sometimes, which I love. Bad puns are thrown left and right along with 4th wall breaks that'll make you chuckle. The collectibles are satisfying to collect; the pagies, quills, ghosts, and other unique collectibles. These aren't just given to you, sometimes you'll have do a little side quest, a race course, a mini game, and puzzle solving. With each world you unlock, you unlock a new move that can not only be used to get to the world, but also be used in previous worlds to collect other collectibles you couldn't before. There is a strong sense of progression and for each world is a boss that isn't a three hit knockout (except for one). These bosses and how you defeat them vary tremendously from one another, which is a lot of fun.

    However, this game has many faults. For instance, the camera doesn't go through walls meaning if there is a rock in the way of your camera, it isn't going anywhere. You will be fighting the camera through the whole game and be forced to work around the problem to make it work. I've missed a few jumps before because I couldn't get the angle I wanted. Furthermore, characters from previous worlds are reused in others and the new characters you do meet aren't fleshed out as little as not at all. Earlier I said you will unlock new abilities that can be used to collect other pagies and such in previous levels. This would be fine, however, the game doesn't tell you if a particular pagie or other collectible is out of your reach! You may find yourself wasting time on a particular part without realizing it's something to collect for a later time, which really can be infuriating. And the quiz levels, oh how I abhor the quizzes... There are sections in the game when you are progressing through the next world, Mr. Quack will stop you in your tracks and force you to answer at least 10 questions right (5 if you answer the questions fast enough) and I can't help wonder if they had made a boss fight in these sequences instead. The quizzes usually come down to how many collectibles do you have, what's this character's name from the previous one or two worlds, etc. These quizzes are just boring and goes back to what I said about this game not knowing what it wants to be, because apparently Banjo had quizzes, too. Naturally, the devs felt compelled to do the same, but in reality, they would be off so much better without them. Also, the soundtrack is the most inconsistent I've ever heard. Either it's underwhelming or overwhelming according to where you are and what you're doing. The hub world, for example, is overwhelming. The music is loud af and you're not doing anything. You're in the hub world for crying out loud! Tone it down two notches or something.

    Overall, this game is slightly above average. HOWEVER! Despite your perception of how you view 6's, I recommend playing this game. Like I said in the beginning, I 100% this game. I didn't do it because I just wanted to say I did it. I played through and saw everything because I was having fun. I felt accomplished clearing a world of all it had to offer. I genuinely enjoyed playing the game and I really wanted to give this game a 7, but with all its faults, I couldn't do it. If you're wondering whether you should buy this game or not, you should ask yourself if you can deal with the issues I presented like I've dealt with them. There really is an enjoyable experience to be had here, and considering it's $40 instead of $60, I can tell myself it was money well spent without a shadow of a doubt. I may play it again after a little while when I forget where everything is. I hope you've found this review helpful.    … Expand
  7. KevoKazooie
    Feb 18, 2018
    5
    Yooka-Laylee is the biggest disappointment I've ever felt for a game. Banjo Kazooie is my favorite game of all time, so I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, they made it more like Banjo Tooie instead of learning from their mistakes. It's not outright terrible, just mediocre. But being mediocre feels much worse for a game with high expectations, made by a team with a highYooka-Laylee is the biggest disappointment I've ever felt for a game. Banjo Kazooie is my favorite game of all time, so I was really looking forward to this. Unfortunately, they made it more like Banjo Tooie instead of learning from their mistakes. It's not outright terrible, just mediocre. But being mediocre feels much worse for a game with high expectations, made by a team with a high pedigree. The classic charm, humor, and music are all still there, but the fun wasn't.

    Right from the outset, I was rubbed the wrong way. Instead of 9 small, tightly-designed worlds that are still sizable and fun to explore like in BK, they went with 5 gigantic levels, even bigger than BT's. This is not a good thing. And every world is expandable, so they go from huge to mega-huge. I popped into the first level and felt immediately lost with no clue where to go or what I could even interact with. The hub overworld is especially labyrinthian and confounding to navigate. My confusion and discombobulation got better as the game went on, but every level wore out its welcome real fast with so many pagies concentrated in each world instead of being spread out. The joy of BK wasn't just completing challenges and solving puzzles, it was in exploring fun worlds. In this game, I didn't really enjoy exploring the worlds very much. They were so huge it just felt like a confusing chore, nor did most of them have much charm. Galleon Galaxy felt like the only fresh, original world. Three worlds were all pretty bland rehashes of Mumbo's Mountain, Freezeazy Peak, and Mad Monster Mansion. Capital Cashino is unique but easily the worst videogame level in history. Not only is it a gaudy, tacky, banal casino, but almost all the challenges are annoying and not fun at all. What were they thinking?

    That brings me to the next big problem: many of the challenges in the game are tedious and annoying without being fun. It often felt like the developers just asked themselves, "what would be a challenge," without bothering to ask themselves if it would also be fun. Rextro's arcade games, in particular, are terrible. Not only are they not remotely fun, but they get frustratingly hard because the controls and hit-boxing are awful. They're half-assed, poorly thought-out, and poorly tested pieces of crap.

    Another big complaint, admittedly very subjective, is that you can't get all the pagies and collectibles in each level from the outset, as some require moves you only acquire in later levels. This forces you to backtrack instead of being able to complete each level as you go, and that's a playstyle that doesn't jibe with everyone. BK never forced you to go back, and they should never have gotten away from that. It's also frustrating because you end up wasting time trying to figure out how you can earn a pagie or access an area, not knowing you can't until later. They could have at least had some mechanism for letting you know you can't access certain areas/pagies until later.

    There are also lots of lazy, bad design choices. If you die and have to face a boss again, you have to sit through dialogue and intro animations all over again instead just spawning right into the fight. You get a flying ability late-game, but there's no way to know what areas you can reach and which you're invisibly blocked from. There's no way to speed up the speed of the dialogue scrolling, and the pace at which it comes on screen is slower than an elderly driver. So many ill-thought out design elements like this make the experience unnecessarily cumbersome and frustrating.

    The game design is also maddingly unmodern and stuck in design choices of the past when it absolutely shouldn't be. There is no map to check your whereabouts which is just insane in this day and age, especially considering the size of the worlds. There's no list of which pagies you've acquired, ala Super Mario Odyssey, which makes it hard to figure out what the heck you missed. There's no retry button to quickly get back into a boss fight. I get that they're making a throwback to the Banjo classic style of platformers, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't integrate modern design/accessibility into the classic gameplay.

    This isn't to say it's all bad. The old charm is still alive and well, and I did enjoy myself at times, just not nearly enough. I finished the game (minus 2 pagies because the final Rextro game is just absurd and not worth it), but it felt like a slog that I only put up with because I so desperately wanted to like it and hoped it would magically get better all the sudden. It didn't; it remained mediocre all throughout, and that was a bitter disappointment.

    I hope Playtonic does keep making games and I do hope they make a sequel. I just hope they listen to their fans and critics to fix the issues while still remaining true to BK roots. Playtonic, if you're reading: I love you and I appreciate it you. But please, please, please use Kazooie as your model, not Tooie.    … Expand
  8. Arfon
    Jan 26, 2021
    7
    Fun game. It feels too much like Banjo-Kazooie, but it's not as good as it could have been. Some maps are too big and feel empty. Bosses are cool though.
  9. Coolamanen50
    Dec 14, 2017
    9
    Yooka laylee is the Banjo Threeie i have always waited for but my problem is that it feels like a small budget game.

    Let's start with the good parts, controlls are good i love the characters. The rare charm is still there and i like the dialouge. The only problem is with the dialouge is that they spoil many stuff in the game with 4th wall jokes. I like the expand mechanic. Overall the    Yooka laylee is the Banjo Threeie i have always waited for but my problem is that it feels like a small budget game.

    Let's start with the good parts, controlls are good i love the characters. The rare charm is still there and i like the dialouge. The only problem is with the dialouge is that they spoil many stuff in the game with 4th wall jokes. I like the expand mechanic. Overall the game is Banjo kazooie and it's really fun.

    But i can't avoid to realise how low budget the game feels compared to Banjo kazooie. Like you can go to many areas which you are not even supposed to be in and experience some weird glitches.

    I'll give the game a 8.5/5 which makes the metacritic score 9/10    … Expand
  10. SporadicDeviant
    Mar 29, 2020
    10
    I finally took the time to 100% this game. I earned every pagie, found all the quills, round up all ghost writers, and even collected the hidden pirate treasures. An I did it all without any help from a guide, wiki, or any other outside help. The game's intention was to recreate the style and feel of games like Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, and Donkey Kong 64 while also having an identity ofI finally took the time to 100% this game. I earned every pagie, found all the quills, round up all ghost writers, and even collected the hidden pirate treasures. An I did it all without any help from a guide, wiki, or any other outside help. The game's intention was to recreate the style and feel of games like Banjo Kazooie, Banjo Tooie, and Donkey Kong 64 while also having an identity of its own. After spending 21 hours completing the game, I can say, from where I'm standing, Yooka Laylee more than accomplishes its goal.
    The game controls smoothly. Navigation is more open than most platformers of the past. The music and art style is amazing. The characters are charming with clever (if somewhat cheesy) writing. Collecting the majority of the various macguffins feels rewarding to do with how each world changes the pace so that the game doesn't get stale. The overall package is a great experience.
    The fact that the game got a relatively mixed reception from critics and certain fans just baffles me to no end. It's not that I think that everyone should like the games that I like, it's that the majority of criticisms thrown this game's way either, don't apply to the game anymore after the patches (camera and framerate), are mostly false (how are worlds with this many collectibles/challenges "empty" to some?), or stem from a misunderstanding of the genre of collect-a-thon 3D platformers. Games like Yooka Laylee are designed to test the player's knowledge of the layout of each world and how to navigate them. The fact that a lot are complaining that they get lost shows that the game is succeeding in challenging the player in that aspect. Saying that a 3D platformer like Yooka Laylee should have features like a mini-map, or any kind of map, is like saying that a RPG like The Elder Scrolls should only provide the player with a prebuilt character to play as.
    That's not to say the game is perfect (no game truly is if we're being honest here). The Rextros minigames are hit and miss and the fact that each world makes you repeat each minigame for the full completion feels like padding. The pagies earned with Kartos felt very much like trial and error, although it never got to the point of irritation but I understand if it was frustrating for others.
    If I were to compare Yooka Laylee to the collect-a-thon platformers that Rareware made for the N64, I would say that Yooka Laylee isn't AS good as Banjo Kazooie and Donkey Kong 64, but I think it's just a tad better than Banjo Tooie.
    My overall score for the game is between a 9 and 10, however, due to the game succeeding in recreating the feel of old school 3D platformers of the late 1990's/early 2000's, I'll bump up my User Score slightly and give Yooka Laylee a 10/10.    … Expand
  11. Brotchen
    Dec 15, 2019
    3
    War ein absoluter Fehlkauf. Liegt vielleicht daran, dass ich mit Mario Odyssey verwöhnt bin, aber das Gameplay ist vor allem wegen der Kameraführung absolut ungenießbar. Habe nach dem ersten Lvl keine Lust mehr gehabt zu spielen, weil man ständig deswegen stirbt oder noch mal von vorne anfangen kann.
    Für Kinder unter 12 ist das Spiel zwar in Ordnung aber jeder der älter ist, sollte sein    War ein absoluter Fehlkauf. Liegt vielleicht daran, dass ich mit Mario Odyssey verwöhnt bin, aber das Gameplay ist vor allem wegen der Kameraführung absolut ungenießbar. Habe nach dem ersten Lvl keine Lust mehr gehabt zu spielen, weil man ständig deswegen stirbt oder noch mal von vorne anfangen kann.
    Für Kinder unter 12 ist das Spiel zwar in Ordnung aber jeder der älter ist, sollte sein Geld hier sparen    … Expand
  12. GagzGaming
    Feb 23, 2018
    10
    Excellent game. Game did exactly what developers promised, which was to be a spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie. While it would have been better to have a couple of additional worlds, the world's there were absolutely gorgeous and well designed. There were complaints that the game felt too empty; I think this criticism is misplaced. The game's world's were massive with a ton to do. WhileExcellent game. Game did exactly what developers promised, which was to be a spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie. While it would have been better to have a couple of additional worlds, the world's there were absolutely gorgeous and well designed. There were complaints that the game felt too empty; I think this criticism is misplaced. The game's world's were massive with a ton to do. While Banjo Kazooie had 10 jiggies per world, and 100 notes, these game world's had 25 pagies (equivalent of jiggies) and 200 quills (equivalent of musical notes). Interestingly, the game had a lot of influence from Banjo Tooie as well. For example, in Banjo Kazooie, you have to collect many "mumbo skulls" for each transformation, whereas in Tooie, it was just one Glowbo (similarly, in Yooka, it was one DNA molecule thingy). The music was very fitting, and the presentation was crisp, with a lot of attention to detail to the characters. I would have preferred more variety in terms of enemies, but again, just a little nuisance. In my 55 hours of gameplay, I probably had a total of 2-3 minutes cumulatively where the camera gave any issues (and even then, nothing big, just annoyances). Overall, the game truly was a successor to Banjo Kazooie (and Tooie) and it delivered on all fronts. The quizzes that people complained about literally lasted a couple of minutes. Kartos minecart sections were tough, but doable and the music was great. The one area I probably would have eliminated or gone differently was the mini games from Rextro. The controls on those were clunky and it just didn't add any value. But they're not mandatory, hence, they won't affect score. Overall, excellent game with great level design and music and characters.… Expand
  13. Krankstar2K
    Dec 21, 2017
    8
    Amazing game. I am giving a 8/10 and here is a breakdown of why.
    + Did you like classic Rare IP's before Microsoft destroyed that dev company.. This game is a true advancement from Banjo Kazooie.
    + World is nice and colorful with interesting side missions such as RCPro Am classic games that are run from a 64-Bit T-Rex + Music is composed from the same guy who did Banjo.. also the team    Amazing game. I am giving a 8/10 and here is a breakdown of why.
    + Did you like classic Rare IP's before Microsoft destroyed that dev company.. This game is a true advancement from Banjo Kazooie.
    + World is nice and colorful with interesting side missions such as RCPro Am classic games that are run from a 64-Bit T-Rex
    + Music is composed from the same guy who did Banjo.. also the team behind the game is largely from classic Rareware.

    Now some negatives.. IMO the characters of Yooka and Laylee are not as good and one of the weaker designed characters in the game.
    Before the huge quality patch that came a couple months after games launch on PC,PS4,Xbox.. this game would have received much lower scores so take that into account when reading old reviews. They fixed camera angles, chat, fall damage, and many many others.

    This version while in side by sides is slightly downgraded.. Yooka looks great and having this title portable and on a Nintendo console makes this the definitive edition. A price drop is needed though as all other versions can be purchased for 20 bucks and that gets you a physical edition on other consoles,.    … Expand
  14. adamlewis
    Jan 17, 2018
    5
    Maybe Yooka-Laylee for Switch is the "Defenitive Edition".
    But it does not stop being an empty game, lifeless and a little boring game.
    Its not a very bad game, but disappointing a lot.
  15. Digibutter64
    Mar 24, 2019
    8
    A pretty great platformer. Aside from the obvious Banjo-Kazooie comparison, if you like Donkey Kong 64, you'll probably like this. This genre that was largely seen in the 1990s still has potential, and Yooka-Laylee, with its fun gameplay and fantastic humour, proves that.
  16. joehi1
    Jan 11, 2018
    7
    Yooka Layley is the game I have been waiting for since Banjo Tooie and it serves as a fantastic spiritual successor, and while the Switch may be the definitive way to play the game it unfortunately as quite a few shortcomings. Yooka Layley plays great on the Switch and even though in handheld mode it doesn't quite make it to 720P (600P is the resolution in handheld mode) the game stillYooka Layley is the game I have been waiting for since Banjo Tooie and it serves as a fantastic spiritual successor, and while the Switch may be the definitive way to play the game it unfortunately as quite a few shortcomings. Yooka Layley plays great on the Switch and even though in handheld mode it doesn't quite make it to 720P (600P is the resolution in handheld mode) the game still looks great. Yooka Layley gives a great feeling of Nostalgia that fans of the Banjo Kazooie series have yearned for, for so long. The game plays exactly like it with a similar soundtrack style to a similar overworld to similar gameplay, it's easy to see that this game is essentially Banjo Threeie reskinned. The presentation of Yooka Layley is great, the new moves you are constantly learning aid in spicing up the gameplay, and the worlds give off such an amazing atmosphere that may be even better than the worlds in Banjo Kazooie (remember I said may). Overall Yooka Layley is drowning in character from the wonderful cast to the vibrant worlds it makes you wonder how this game could have any problems with it, and then you begin to see the technical problems. The Switch version of Yooka Layley is plagued by awful load times, switching worlds has taken me up to a full minute of load time in order to start playing again which is just insufferable to say the least. Yooka Layley also loses a lot of graphical power compared to other systems although Playtonic did do their best to prevent it from being exceptionally noticeable. The frame rate in Yooka Layley is my main concern because sometimes it is all over the place. I have suffered major frame rate problems in docked and handheld mode and while they don't last for long they happen frequently enough to ruin some of the immersiveness of the game. While I do agree that the graphical downgrade is acceptable considering the Switch is less powerful then other home consoles, the awful load times and frequent frame rate problems cannot be excused. Yooka Layley is a wonderful tribute to the 3D collectathon genre and is truly a very entertaining game. It pays tribute to its roots very well and it's easy to see the immense amount of work Playtonic put into it. Unfortunantly this game loses some of its appeals due to its technical shortcomings, however, that still doesn't mean Yooka is not an amazing game. Instead it's a flawed masterpiece.

    Cons
    Frame rate issues in both Handheld and Docked mode
    Crippling load time between worlds
    Graphics feel a little too blurry in some of the environment    … Expand
  17. Carlinhos
    Apr 20, 2018
    8
    This game succeeds beautifully in accomplishing the developers's envision of revisiting the 90's 3D collectathon platforming genre. I can only hope this genre flourishes again, and Yooka-Laylee is certainly a great step toward this goal. I wish for an eventual sequel to have a bigger budget and development team, so it can be bigger, harder, and more ambitious overall (I mean, I neverThis game succeeds beautifully in accomplishing the developers's envision of revisiting the 90's 3D collectathon platforming genre. I can only hope this genre flourishes again, and Yooka-Laylee is certainly a great step toward this goal. I wish for an eventual sequel to have a bigger budget and development team, so it can be bigger, harder, and more ambitious overall (I mean, I never played Banjo Nuts & Bolts, but it clearly has better art direction and sound effects compared to Yooka-Laylee). Despite it's flaws, as the long loading times and some framerate and camera hiccups, I highly recommend this game. If you're a fan of Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, then you're in for a treat!… Expand
  18. verdammte
    Sep 2, 2019
    10
    This is an excellent game in numerous ways. The game is a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series and developed by the studio that succeeded Rare, the creators of Banjo-Kazooie. There are not many worlds to explore, but you expand each of the worlds as you explore further. The music, characters, and environment are colorful and unique. The graphics on PC, Switch, and PS4 are allThis is an excellent game in numerous ways. The game is a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series and developed by the studio that succeeded Rare, the creators of Banjo-Kazooie. There are not many worlds to explore, but you expand each of the worlds as you explore further. The music, characters, and environment are colorful and unique. The graphics on PC, Switch, and PS4 are all excellent and there's no poor choice of platform.

    I've bought this game on PC, Switch, and PS4 and would happily support the devs further if the opportunity presents itself. I highly recommend this game and consider it a must-have on any platform.    … Expand
  19. kreegan64
    Aug 23, 2018
    10
    The graphics look great and the gameplay is a blast to the past. It's clear that the devs really love their Banjo & Kazooie games that they've haven't been able to work on for decades now due to it belonging to Microsoft now. It's very cute and fun, a love letter to those who grew up playing games like B&K and Mario 64. The best part is that the Switch version is the definitive version,The graphics look great and the gameplay is a blast to the past. It's clear that the devs really love their Banjo & Kazooie games that they've haven't been able to work on for decades now due to it belonging to Microsoft now. It's very cute and fun, a love letter to those who grew up playing games like B&K and Mario 64. The best part is that the Switch version is the definitive version, it's right at home along with Mario Odyssey. Since their updates it's only gotten better and this is a recommendation to anyone who likes cute games, Mario Odyssey, platformers, fun games, and the like. Do yourself a favor and get the physical version that's on Limitedrungames, it'll be worth it.… Expand
  20. Klaww25
    Oct 10, 2020
    9
    I am just appalled how underrated this game is. 3d Platformers are like traditional Action Adventure games, my favorite genres in gaming has become so rare that every year, we're getting too few of them since 2d platformers developed by indie developers are just as common as open world games. This game has great graphics, sound design, and tons of content for a low budget game. This game,I am just appalled how underrated this game is. 3d Platformers are like traditional Action Adventure games, my favorite genres in gaming has become so rare that every year, we're getting too few of them since 2d platformers developed by indie developers are just as common as open world games. This game has great graphics, sound design, and tons of content for a low budget game. This game, reminds me of the first Ratchet and Clank game it doesn't hold your hand. Which is a welcome break since handholding ruined modern Jrpgs and open world games since, the market is oversaturated with those types of games. I hope in the future we get more 3d Platformers, and traditional action adventure games because those genres can only be experienced on older consoles. On newer consoles they just focus on open world games, RPGS, and shooters which has ruined modern gaming for me. I just want traditional action adventure games such as, Zelda and GOW and 3d Platformers more. Because those types of games are a goldmine in the Ps2/Xbox/GameCube era which was the golden age of gaming. Gaming started getting bland after 2010, just like the main series Pokemon games got boring after gen 4 since, the 5th gen of Pokemon is more overrated than all the Uncharted games combined. It has a default installment called Pokemon Bw which is overrated by professional critics and it was equally as dull as RBY because of the region is bland and
    the game has a lack of innovation. I want to Play Pokemon Shadows of Almia because Pokemon BW are, one of the worst games I have played in modern gaming for copy pasting it's predecessor, and holding your hand like Zelda Skyward Sword.    … Expand
  21. Grovy_Sparky
    Mar 28, 2019
    9
    I Want to put a 8.5 note, but is better to give a hand. Yooka-Laylee is a really nostalgic trip back to the late 90's, where Games like Banjo-Kazooie and Spyro Original Trilogy, Mades a very nice Collectaton Experience... It try to focus on that nostalgic trip, Colorfull Main Characters, Beauty and Fantastic Worlds, Many Objects to collect, Challenges to Do... Quest to Find, and Bosses toI Want to put a 8.5 note, but is better to give a hand. Yooka-Laylee is a really nostalgic trip back to the late 90's, where Games like Banjo-Kazooie and Spyro Original Trilogy, Mades a very nice Collectaton Experience... It try to focus on that nostalgic trip, Colorfull Main Characters, Beauty and Fantastic Worlds, Many Objects to collect, Challenges to Do... Quest to Find, and Bosses to Defeat.

    As a game idea, is almost a nostalgia Trip, But the Expanding World idea is a really interesting concept, but also a Double-Edge idea. Beacuse the Lenght of these Expanded Levels, After the 1st arrival, you could get lost and bored for not find the collectables; Fortunately With the Habilities you obtain in later game, and one or other Tonic, you can enjoy a bit more the experience

    Technically, i felt so well running on the Switch; Maybe, in certain parts you can experience bit laggy moments, it's potentially caused by the expanded worlds idea, but it doesn't affect gameplay really    … Expand
  22. Jefflocher
    Mar 9, 2018
    9
    You want a game to recapture the 90's AND compete with modern platformers? Make up your mind with what you want. You want a modern platformer? Play Mario Odyssey or Splatoon's story mode. You want to play a 90's game? Play Yooka-Laylee. That was the entire point of this game being made in the first place. The controls are tight, controlling the camera is smooth, music is charming, theYou want a game to recapture the 90's AND compete with modern platformers? Make up your mind with what you want. You want a modern platformer? Play Mario Odyssey or Splatoon's story mode. You want to play a 90's game? Play Yooka-Laylee. That was the entire point of this game being made in the first place. The controls are tight, controlling the camera is smooth, music is charming, the "voice acting" and dialogue will make you smile and laugh. Platformers are relatively simple games. Don't let your nostalgia and the Rareware team getting back together hype set your expectations unrealistically high.… Expand
  23. ssgibson
    Oct 24, 2019
    8
    It's good but not great. It does have its problems. Some of them were definitely pissing me off. Also you have to do a lot of backtracking which is something I've always hated in video games. No its not Banjo-Kazooie but its still a good game and would recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it.
  24. Phuz
    Apr 3, 2021
    0
    Played the demo. The whole play on words got on my **** from the get go. It lacked character and charisma and I just thought I would rather be playing anything else right now.

    Is it bad, no but it is also not remotely good in a world with 10's of 1000's of video games to choose from. Honestly, a game of Solitaire would have been more fun.
  25. mokr90
    Aug 27, 2018
    9
    It really feels like a rare game, specifically as a banjo game. The graphics, physics, game-play is enjoyable
    The only thing I really hated was the flying mechanics, it is very hard to aim with precision the direction of your movements
  26. greninjaX
    Dec 1, 2018
    8
    this game has gotten a bit of a bad reputation online, but this is NOT another mighty number 9. yooka laylee is not a bad game, and if you've already gotten 100% completion in Mario odyssey but you still want more 3D platforming action on your switch, this is the game to buy.
  27. RawserJr
    Nov 19, 2019
    9
    Buen juego con mucha nostalgia, se siente por completo la inspiración de Banjo Kazooie y es realmente entretenido
  28. Saselpipero333
    Oct 8, 2019
    2
    Yes. It´s another generic Nintendon´t game. The switch version is capped. Already the other versions stinks like a ******* ****. Sega is much better man. Play with Sonic or Mari instead.
  29. TheVirtualDude
    Feb 24, 2020
    10
    Any kid that grew up with an n64 will love this game. This game helped me get back into adventure games and platformers instead of just playing sports games. I completed it 100% on switch and Xbox one. This is a game that I was thankful to play because it reminded me so much of growing up with banjo kazoo I’ve and Mario 64. The camera is amazing compared to the older style games on 64
  30. Simoss13
    Sep 17, 2020
    8
    I am catching up on my backlog and excited to try this as being a fan of 3d platformers.
    Firstly, the camera may of been awful at launch but what I have played it seems solid. The way it works seems like its from the GameCube era. The camera may freeze or move around objects but moves very well which is important.
    How Yooka-Layee moves: although not as tight as Mario, isn't as floaty as    I am catching up on my backlog and excited to try this as being a fan of 3d platformers.
    Firstly, the camera may of been awful at launch but what I have played it seems solid. The way it works seems like its from the GameCube era. The camera may freeze or move around objects but moves very well which is important.
    How Yooka-Layee moves: although not as tight as Mario, isn't as floaty as Hat Girl. It's somewhere in between being more floaty then tight but easy to get used to. Your character has a great move set and like the idea that new moves are taught gradually. The interaction of the vendor in buying the moves is querky and fun to say the least. In fact all the diverse and qwerky characters add alot of charm to the game.
    I found Pagies (the main collectible) to be a fair challenge. Not just lying around and not a chore to obtain. They are very well placed.
    The graphical style and performance runs really well on the Switch. There is pop-in if you pay attention. Nothing game breaking when running around having a good time.
    A few things that irritated me;
    There is no map to explore and see the overworld. Sometimes you don't know where to go as the worlds are quite large
    Speaking of worlds. They can be a little too big with not alot to do. Nothing too bad but with more and can done with a few more enemies and enemy types. There are only like 4 enemy types reskinned in the game.
    My second biggest issues with these large world is no checkpoints and fast travel. if you fall or die its back to the last door you walked in which means some travel in the large world.
    This game is recommended in my books if you enjoy 3d platformers. You can tell there is alot of love in making this game. The music has a strong Mario and Rabbids vibe, wonder if it's the same composer. If there is a some quality of life improvements made this could move from a very good game to a great game.    … Expand
  31. anonymous1112
    Sep 5, 2021
    9
    I really enjoyed this game, a nice platformer game.

    Positive :
    - no bugs
    - graphics OK for switch
    - a lot of hours of game to finish it at 100% !
  32. sinetic
    Feb 14, 2022
    4
    Horrible game design. Tha game just feels wrong and rushed. The sequel is way better with a 2D approach
  33. Mattdark
    Sep 20, 2021
    6
    Yooka Laylee tries to recapture the feel of old Rare titles like Banjo Kazooie. But in its attempts to relive the teams glory days, the game suffers from more issues than it replicates old fun.

    The game itself starts off fairly strong. Controls mostly seem responsive, the characters are well animated. But a few worlds in, and you quickly start to notice issues come in. A janky    Yooka Laylee tries to recapture the feel of old Rare titles like Banjo Kazooie. But in its attempts to relive the teams glory days, the game suffers from more issues than it replicates old fun.

    The game itself starts off fairly strong. Controls mostly seem responsive, the characters are well animated. But a few worlds in, and you quickly start to notice issues come in. A janky camera that can get stuck on the environment, unsual hit-boxes or collision detection when can have you taking damage for no real reason or falling off platforms you were easily within reach of.

    While this has the look and feel of an old Rare game, it had none of the heart and soul.    … Expand
  34. Onioncreature
    Jan 27, 2022
    7
    A flawed but still generally pleasant spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. My biggest complaint is that the worlds lack the level of density that the made the game Yooka-Laylee is based on so enjoyable, and as a result finding collectibles can become a bit of a slog. The controls are passable, but not nearly as smooth as you'd want in a modern 3D platformer. Fortunately, theA flawed but still generally pleasant spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. My biggest complaint is that the worlds lack the level of density that the made the game Yooka-Laylee is based on so enjoyable, and as a result finding collectibles can become a bit of a slog. The controls are passable, but not nearly as smooth as you'd want in a modern 3D platformer. Fortunately, the game has a very enjoyable art direction and comedic tone, which helps to make up for it's various shortcomings. The music is also quite good, though not quite at the level of Banjo-Kazooie. While the end result isn't the most impressive product, the passion from Playtonic, the development team, is quite evident, and they've proven to be committed to improving the quality of the series through quality of life updates to the Switch version and a far superior 2D spin-off. I hope to see more from the series moving forward, as there's quite a lot of potential here that sadly wasn't realized with this original release.… Expand
  35. GreenMenace
    Jun 17, 2022
    5
    I loved Banjo Kazooie growing up as the eccentric characters grabbed my attention. I was suspicious of an undisguised clone of the game. This is a late review because, well, I took my time buying this one. Yooka Laylee is a cute game that feels a lot like the game I loved as a kid.

    Pros Fun abilities Solid Formula Beautiful themes Cons Camera issues Levels could be a little    I loved Banjo Kazooie growing up as the eccentric characters grabbed my attention. I was suspicious of an undisguised clone of the game. This is a late review because, well, I took my time buying this one. Yooka Laylee is a cute game that feels a lot like the game I loved as a kid.

    Pros
    Fun abilities
    Solid Formula
    Beautiful themes

    Cons
    Camera issues
    Levels could be a little tighter
    Bland music

    Yooka Laylee offers a coop mode (in case a little child would want to join you) and it even offers a few simple minigames you could play with others. It also confused me by the way it managed to consistently tell adult potty jokes that would surely go over a kid’s head. I can’t tell you who this game’s for. I would guess the game is for children from the art, but there are references to the way games used to be and the progression into the modern era…something that Banjo Kazooie fans would appreciate. Some abilities straight up copy Banjo and Kazooie of old, while others allow you to skip the majority of puzzling/platforming. All were appreciated, however.

    Levels are bigger than I would like, but it was doable. I managed to find workarounds by exiting to the hub after getting a Pagie to avoid traversing the world. I was really disappointed by the music. I don’t have high expectations for this sort of game, but at least Banjo Kazooie aimed to make music that was catchy. I liked the hub world. Expand or explore a new world sounded fun, but it fell short as it was always best just to explore a new world.

    The game’s price tag is unjustified. The game isn’t big enough, nor is it fun enough, nor is it tight enough to charge sixty dollars. The only reason I got it was because it was eighty percent off, and the game exceeded expectations just because it was cute. The themes are what make this game. Period. For once, I liked fighting the same enemy over and over because they were dressed to the world. Without the themes, the game wouldn’t have been fun. What would make the game worth sixty dollars? Fixing the flaws I mentioned, namely the camera. The camera issue has plagued generations of 3d world games like Mario. Fix it, allow the player to be more immersed in your world, and that alone would justify the price. At the very least, make the game feel a lot more sleek than Banjo and Kazooie. This game felt like it could have came out on the Gamecube (yes, I know it was made by an independent company) or the Wii.

    Really random, but I would have also liked the game more if Yooka was female. I know he’s a replacement for Banjo, but really, I would have liked the game more with a female duo.

    I can't give this a higher score because I wanted to like this game for nostalgia's sake. But in today's day in age, I think it's reasonable to expect more in terms of gameplay (the themes were great--I was happy enough with the art). Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself since this game has its own collect it all niche on the switch roster, but I wouldn’t be able to recommend this game to someone unless they wanted a Banjo Kazooie fix.    … Expand
  36. JAG7
    Sep 22, 2022
    0
    Terrible game! It’s on my top 5 worst games that I’ve ever played!! Can’t figure out the people who gave 7’s much less the ones that give 10’s!!
    Where to start:
    1. Has serious frame rate issues. Terrible! 2.Boring, frustrating, irritating and tedious gameplay Becomes a chore to play. I got totally fed up , angry and frustrated. 3.Don’t be fool by the cute visuals, that’s all that this game    Terrible game! It’s on my top 5 worst games that I’ve ever played!! Can’t figure out the people who gave 7’s much less the ones that give 10’s!!
    Where to start:
    1. Has serious frame rate issues. Terrible!
    2.Boring, frustrating, irritating and tedious gameplay Becomes a chore to play. I got totally fed up , angry and frustrated.
    3.Don’t be fool by the cute visuals, that’s all that this game has . The rest is bad design and bad plataforming. Horrible execution of the ideas.
    3.No direction at all. You don’t know if you can do or not a quest on a certain time.
    4. Extremely vague puzzles, no clues or hints.
    Had to play with a guide and even doing that ,I ended up quiting the game.
    5. Very annoying and irritating wakka-wakka voices ( had to turn down the voice volume or went nuts) even the music score becomes annoying and repetitive after a while.
    6. Confusing level design. Horrible design , you need to backtrack a lot. It gives you a lot of moves but doesn’t tell you where to use them. Terrible guidance!!
    7. Every task becomes and endless trial and error because of the horrible designs and lazy controls.You spend too much time trying to do one task or quest because of the controls and the unfair mechanics.
    7. There’s no map system. Oh my God!! For a crap of a confusing game like this ,this would have been necessary. 8. Platforming is not good. It has a floaty jump mechanism and lazy controls.
    The devs made lazy, bad design choices and terrible and clumsy control mechanics .
    9. Target system is wrong
    10. Devs tried to be funny and they’re not ! Stupid and silly jokes!
    11. Irritating and unnecessary segments like the quizz test. I hate so much that part!
    12. The cutscenes of the boss fights can’t be skip.
    It infuriates me how cheap and unfair some task are in this game. This is not a game made for people to enjoy.
    I HATE THIS GAME!!! I regret buying it and playing it! I wish for a refund!
    I quit !! I’m never coming back! Don’t buy this crap please!    … Expand
  37. Online_NPC
    Oct 29, 2021
    8
    Yooka-Laylee is a tribute to 90's 3D platformers from the N64 era. There's dons of puns and easter-eggs refrencing other franchises and other games that inspired this modern take on classic platformers. The graphics are solid, complete with the occasionally awkward cameras abundant in 3D 64-bit games. The music is good, and the only sounds that were a little annoying is the "beep speech"Yooka-Laylee is a tribute to 90's 3D platformers from the N64 era. There's dons of puns and easter-eggs refrencing other franchises and other games that inspired this modern take on classic platformers. The graphics are solid, complete with the occasionally awkward cameras abundant in 3D 64-bit games. The music is good, and the only sounds that were a little annoying is the "beep speech" from characters gets kind of old pretty fast. There's tons of challenges and min-games that allow you to choose your own path through the game playing the types of quests you like best, unlocking ne areas with new abilities and moves. YL and the sequel YL and the Impossible Lair sometimes go on sale in the eshop for $9.99 or less, and you absolutely must pick them up at that price.

    Graphics: 8.5
    Gameplay: 9.5
    Audio: 7
    Story: 8    … Expand
  38. OmegaJ17
    Jan 13, 2023
    9
    When I first encountered this game, I hated it for being a bootleg Banjo kazooie. But when I got more exposure too it, I started growing a soft spot for it. When I finally finished the game, I Found it to be downright marvelous.

    Playtonic really put a lot of effort and love into this. They recycled all the good Banjo mechanics while introducing lots of fun new ones. Take Trowzer, This    When I first encountered this game, I hated it for being a bootleg Banjo kazooie. But when I got more exposure too it, I started growing a soft spot for it. When I finally finished the game, I Found it to be downright marvelous.

    Playtonic really put a lot of effort and love into this. They recycled all the good Banjo mechanics while introducing lots of fun new ones. Take Trowzer, This game’s equivalent to bottles the mole. Trowzer is in one location, but you can get all the moves he has from one spot, removing the pointless tedium bottles had. A new feature that’s been added are arcade machines that host mini games. The character that hosts them is funny and likable, he often pokes fun at mobile games and micro transactions. I wish games did that, roast the mobile industry.

    The Worlds are creative and fun. Nothing looks the same (except in the castle level; that’s the only reason this is not a 10), and if you get lost, you can look for landmarks to find your way to your next objective. The hub world’s great too; nothing else would fit “evil bee that wants to steal every book in the world” better. You can also expand said worlds at any time, leaving you with a choice: do I expand now and backtrack, or expand once you have all the moves and complete it in one go?

    The collectibles are so much fun to collect. Take the ghosts for instance, instead of finding 5 jinjos like in Banjo, each one requires a different strategy, like to catch the red ghost you have to beat him in a mini boss fight. Another collectible I like to mention are the health and stamina boosters, instead of tediously finding honeycombs scattered in banjo, you now have just one to find that instantly increases the aforementioned stat. I could talk about all the others, but that would fill the 5,000 character limit.

    As I said before I LOVE this game. I don’t understand where the hate’s coming from, this game is amazing! If they’re kickstarting Tooka-Laylee, I’m donating every penny!    … Expand
  39. AshuraZoro
    Feb 13, 2023
    6
    the final stage sucks. the rest of the game isnt bad, its a 8/10 withoute the final stage

Awards & Rankings

81
#81 Best Switch Game of 2017
39
#39 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2017
66
#66 Most Shared Switch Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. FNintendo
    Feb 26, 2018
    70
    Yooka-Laylee brings back some of the action platforming magic that was so successful in the late 90s in an effort that is full of nostalgic bliss. Being more of a retro-looking work than a trailblazing new platformer, it could use some improvements regarding certain sections that turn out to be too frustrating for its own good, as well as its combat mechanics and the way the camera moves but none of this prevents Yooka-Laylee from striking a chord with the fans of classic 3D platformers.
    Read full review
  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 26, 2018
    75
    Playtonic's decision to hew so closely to '90s platformer conventions works both in Yooka-Laylee's favor and to its detriment. [Issue #32 – March/April 2018, p. 17]
  3. DarkStation
    Jan 16, 2018
    80
    Yooka-Laylee doesn’t branch too far from its obvious Banjo-Kazooie roots. It simply takes a bigger is better approach that doesn’t always work in its favor. Despite the flaws, it's a joy to explore the worlds and collect every goody. Yooka-Laylee may not be the most polished platformer around, but Playtonic Games has created an enjoyable love letter to 90's collectathon platforming. Hardcore fans of the genre will want to set their googly eyes on this one.
    Read full review
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