Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

 Xbox One
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 152 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 118 out of 152
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 152
  3. Negative: 13 out of 152
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  1. Visali
    Nov 26, 2020
    6
    I feel so bad to give a Crash Bandicoot game a mediocre rating, but I feel this game became such a mess to me. :/ The new ideas, the new masks, the animations, the gestures, the characters are great and funny, but on the other hand, I feel this game fails on common designing problems:
    - The game is not instructive - I mean not in the challenging way
    - Default setting options are missing,    I feel so bad to give a Crash Bandicoot game a mediocre rating, but I feel this game became such a mess to me. :/ The new ideas, the new masks, the animations, the gestures, the characters are great and funny, but on the other hand, I feel this game fails on common designing problems:
    - The game is not instructive - I mean not in the challenging way
    - Default setting options are missing, such as setting brightness.
    - The directions I can move are not coherent or logic at many levels, the camera also turning sometimes without a sign, without logic so it kicks me out of the vibe
    - Handling is awful, I experience too many times that I hit the right button in the right place, the animation is played, but the game decides I would loose anyway with no right reason
    - The game is too hard, and this is leading to two main problems: Despite the amazing new ideas granted by quantum masks, the game fails to deliver up-to-date feature such as ability to set difficulty. I don't think they matched the right or the full audience. The childs who had plenty of time playing original Crash games are now working adults with deifinitely less time. I would like to have fun, and not stucking (and raging) for days at one single level.
    -Also, there are too less checkpoints, and in many cases not where it would fit the level design. Again, if the game was up-to-date, they would implement fast reloads to "modern" gameplay style, so I should retry just the recent challenge.
    - In "modern" gameplay, there is not enough reason to obtain apples, therefore I loose my motivation many times
    - They dropped the fantastic structure of Crash Bandicoot 2 & 3 where I could choose the order of completing levels at stages. It was such a good freedome, also granting me option to chill and regenerate when I stucked on other grounds.
    - It seems I can not pick up another tapes until I not finish the first/previous extra levels. This is a horrible designing soultion! In case, why should I replay the whole game If I decide to play them later? I should have to pick up every tapes, but being able to play them just in the right order.
    By the time I start enjoying the game and its funny animations, I run into a design problem killing the feeling.

    After Activision decided to discriminate players who prefer physical copies by making the demo available just for digital pre-orders, I decided not to buy this game for a whole price, and waited for the first discount. However, now I see It was rather a warning not to buy this game at all. :( I'm disappointed, disappointed because they messed up a game with such great new ideas by simple designig problems., and I'm disappointed because it is a Crash Bandicoot game, one of the first beloved games I have played as a child. When I'm thinking on selling a video game instead of beating it, it indicates something went wrong.    … Expand
  2. allheartnosoul
    Oct 17, 2020
    5
    did anyone have any fun trying to 100% this game? did anyone have fun getting trolled by toys for bob? asking for a friend
  3. SuperkenGaming
    Nov 3, 2020
    7
    Crash Bandicoot 4: Its about Time
    So close to being great
    I love the original crash trilogy just as much as anybody, but even I can look back and admit, crash has never been anything better than just good.. and playing through crash 4 had me asking myself ould this be it.. could this be the great game we all knew crash could be… I started out loving crash, the initial challenge, the    Crash Bandicoot 4: Its about Time
    So close to being great
    I love the original crash trilogy just as much as anybody, but even I can look back and admit, crash has never been anything better than just good.. and playing through crash 4 had me asking myself ould this be it.. could this be the great game we all knew crash could be…
    I started out loving crash, the initial challenge, the beautifully crafted levels, the nostalga of going through each level trying to break all of the boxes, getting to play with my girlfriend, I loved it.. but the glaring problems crash 4 possesses, stop it from ultimately hitting that definitive, wow.. this is a great game…
    For starters the structure here with the gems, you have a challenges of collect this many wumpa fruit, collect all the boxes, find the hidden gem, get through the level only dying this many times… all of this is great.. I love adding more challenge to levels, giving replayablity incentive.. but how these gems are handled is what tarnished this system.. they are for skins… but rather than getting as many gems as you can in a level to save them up for your favorite skins.. the game forces you to do every or near every challenge in a level to unlock its skin… and because of this I didn’t even bother… one of the main hooks of a crash bandicoot game for me, is its collectables aspect, breaking all of the boxes, searching for its hidden gem.. but if I miss one cheap box on a rail section im automatically disqualified from unlocking that levels skin unless I want to replay the whole level again.. a major respect of my time and effort.. there is literally no incentive to do anything but get to the finish line with a sytem like this… especially now that lives are no longer a thing… as crash 4 is more designed to be trial and error, bang your head against the wall difficulty that just stops being fun a little more than halfway through this 9 hour game… I don’t find annoying im going to try and kill you every step you take luck based obstacles to be fun, and this is all crash 4 ends up being by its end.. from a fun collectathon to straight up frustration and levels that eventually just become so dull and drag on forever… thanlfully Crash 4 is more good than bad.. it is full of so much content, new characters and bonus levels, again, so many skins to unlock if you care to take on its challenges… I just would’ve personally liked a more friendly approach to the gem system, turn it into currency rather than progress, so that someone like me and really anyone with not a whole lot of time on their hands can enjoy that aspect of at least trying to break all of the boxes and grab all of the fruit, because once you miss one box or you die right before a checkpoint after a long slog, you just don’t want to do it.. you don’t care about the boxes and exploring… this killed part of what makes crash bandicoot so special…
    but this is a special game, in fact while it has no memorable moments or levels like the previous games do..i believe crash 4 is the best game in the series… so much great foundation with the multiple masks adding new elements such as gravity or appearing and disappearing platforms, new characters with their own play styles… just work on the pacing. Let me breathe a little in between the constant im gonna kill you obstacles..give me incentive to collect even with a time crunch life.. and maybe. Just maybe.. crash bandicoot 5 can be this first great game in the series…
    I give Crash Bandicoot 4: Its about time
    a 7.5/10    … Expand
  4. FG_PS4
    Apr 21, 2021
    7
    My message to the company Activision: I have been offended by Crash Bandicoot, and we have loved it since Playstation 1 and its beloved parts, Part 1, 2 and 3, and the best among them is the third part. The important thing is Crash Bandicoot 3, the best among them, and thank you for nothing, Activision
  5. ViKabbu
    Aug 8, 2021
    7
    It's a good entry, but not a great one. Captures Crash in its most iconic form, but for some reason, doesn't really hold my interest. The trailer for this game is a masterpiece—the game... not so much.
  6. Mrjakl
    Dec 27, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. It was and is a very cool and is a good game but ya see the jumping is not good this is a platformers game but not much of a platformer if there's not much of a jumping mechanic though… Expand
  7. kuki_nuri
    Jan 15, 2022
    7
    Un crash bandicoot que te recuerda a los antiguos, con alguna pantalla muy muy difícil. Quizás lo veo demasiado infantilizado. Si te gustó en sus tiempos lo disfrutarás ahora también!
  8. jetthehawk
    Mar 2, 2023
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. jwuhewbdefibduhiwusbdssdhieinjQhuhu9efwhfhdfsewqijdfsnejhwnjdklghjfcsavgfdhnjkl… Expand
  9. TangenteKeks
    Jun 29, 2023
    7
    I love the new art style, the fantastic cutescenes, the unlockable skins, the classic map system and the smooth gameplay.

    Sadly the absurd difficulty, the way too long levels,the redundant gems, the annoyingly hidden boxes and the crazy completion requirements make this a game, I can never return to, because it just way too frustrating. I don't know why Toys for Bob decided that the most    I love the new art style, the fantastic cutescenes, the unlockable skins, the classic map system and the smooth gameplay.

    Sadly the absurd difficulty, the way too long levels,the redundant gems, the annoyingly hidden boxes and the crazy completion requirements make this a game, I can never return to, because it just way too frustrating.

    I don't know why Toys for Bob decided that the most difficult platforming I have ever played is part of the identity of Crash games now, but in my opinion they completely butchered the fun and easy going pick up and play aspect of this classic 3D Jump N' Run franchise because of it.

    If you commit to this game, you can get a lot out of it. But I don't think even then so much of this frustrating level and progression design was necessary or added anything of value to this game.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

17
#17 Best Xbox One Game of 2020
21
#21 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. ZTGD
    Oct 16, 2020
    85
    Crash Bandicoot 4 is a game that has been a long-time coming. Toys for Bob have really captured what made the original games special, while also modernizing it and delivering their own stamp on the franchise. Fans of the original finally get the sequel they deserved, and it feels good to live in this renaissance of PSOne-era games making a comeback. I hope Crash continues to live on and we don’t have to wait as long for Crash 5.
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  2. XboxAddict
    Oct 12, 2020
    87
    Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is the true sequel that fans have been waiting for. The Unreal Engine 4 powered visuals brings the series into 2020 while Toys for Bob has kept to the original source material while adding some new gameplay elements, a personal touch so to speak. What has also made the jump (no pun intended) to this sequel though is the difficulty and control issues of the past. I really do wish the game was more accessible to new and younger fans alike, as some people may be turned off by this, but I don’t think it’s fair to heavily penalize the game for this fact, as it still is what made the series what it is. Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is truly the best game in the series and I do hope we see another one on the upcoming next-generation consoles.
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  3. MondoXbox
    Oct 11, 2020
    84
    Activision and Toys for Bob successfully manage to deliver a proper and direct sequel to Crash's original trilogy, doing justice to the franchise's classical gameplay formula but also adding more gameplay variety and lots of content. A game to play, both for nostalgic players and new platforming enthusiasts.
    Read full review
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