Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

 Xbox One
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 52
  3. Negative: 14 out of 52
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  1. Delboy187
    Nov 16, 2019
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Great game , full of awesome quests ans mystery, even after 6 hours of gameplay wanted more.… Expand
  2. ProfAmateur
    Dec 15, 2021
    6
    The game is a mixture of Yoshi, Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda (Link between Worlds on 2DS/3DS).
    It gets challenging relatively quickly. Therefore, there can be some frustrating moments, unless you are already very experienced in such games.
    The levels are nicely done. However, the graphics and effects are not up to date. From about 50% progress it becomes quite grind-heavy, because you    The game is a mixture of Yoshi, Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda (Link between Worlds on 2DS/3DS).
    It gets challenging relatively quickly. Therefore, there can be some frustrating moments, unless you are already very experienced in such games.
    The levels are nicely done. However, the graphics and effects are not up to date.
    From about 50% progress it becomes quite grind-heavy, because you need a lot of coins for the paywalls. The paywall itself I find a funny idea, but since you have to play through many levels several times after a certain point (so you have enough coins), it gets annoying. That was also the point where I stopped playing.    … Expand
  3. PikachuRebelde
    Oct 9, 2019
    5
    While this game can be very fun in some parts, it´s too frustrating found glitches in every level. You can pass time with this, but this "little fun" goes away after a while. Recommended only if you are a platformer fan.
  4. BlueReview
    Feb 1, 2021
    5
    The core of this game as a platformer is great and most of the overworld stuff really enhances the experience that brings back some great nostalgia from older SNES platformer games with hub worlds. Unfortunately though, there's a lot of major issues with the hit boxes in this game. I believe a lot of the hitbox problems are built around the reliance on creating tonics as collectibles,The core of this game as a platformer is great and most of the overworld stuff really enhances the experience that brings back some great nostalgia from older SNES platformer games with hub worlds. Unfortunately though, there's a lot of major issues with the hit boxes in this game. I believe a lot of the hitbox problems are built around the reliance on creating tonics as collectibles, having to balance a game around a collection of Tonics that increase speed and rolling and enemy health seems lacking as parts of the games can feel broken with certain tonics on or off. Early on in the game, I put a tonic on that made enemies take 2 hits which made some future collectibles nearly impossible to collect, doubly so when 75% of the games hitboxes feel off. The overworld gimmicks are awesome but the fact that every level has one felt like it took away some of that special feeling of finding them. I believe the game would have benefited from more unique levels and making the alternate levels more scarce especially when you sometimes feel like you are spending more time on the overworld than in actual levels. A lot of this is nitpicky but in the long run, that is because I really like the basic aspect of the game but the little things here and there add up but ultimately this game would be a solid 8/10 if the hitboxes and occassional jump momentum shifts didn't feel off so frequently.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best Xbox One Game of 2019
58
#58 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Cubed3
    Jan 21, 2022
    90
    A love letter to the Donkey Kong Country series, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair goes beyond a standard homage, and crafts something beautiful of its own. Fantastic challenging platforming, spanning across 40 imaginative levels, and a charming graphical art style. This is an essential 2D platformer that should not be missed, even more so by the fact that it is being sold for budget point.
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  2. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Nov 18, 2019
    90
    Yooka-Laylee smartly ditches 3D to instead focus on perfecting 2D platforming. [Issue#184, p.77]
  3. IGN Spain
    Nov 3, 2019
    90
    Yooka-Laylee and The Impossible Lair manages to surpass its predecessor in almost every aspect. The change to the two dimensions has been great.
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