079REVIEW
INFO
FORMATPS4
ETAOUT NOW
PUBTEAM 17
DEVPLAYTONIC
GAMES
YOOKA-LAYLEE AND THE
IMPOSSIBLE LAIR
Batty platforming you won’t bee-lieve
E
ver get so stuck hitting your scaly head
against a difficult part of a game that
you go and do everything else possible
before you come back and have to take
it on? That’s the entire idea behind Yooka and
Laylee’s sophomore adventure. You’re thrown
into the Bee Stingdom to take on Capital
Bee once again, and pursue him through
his Impossible Lair. Quite early on, you’ll
(probably) meet a sticky end, and be thrown
out into the game’s overworld.If, by some miracle, you didn’t fail... then
congratulations! For you, the game is a single
level long. The rest of us, however, have to travel
through the scattered chapters of a book across
the overworld, reassembling the Royal Beettalion
Guard. With each guardsbee collected, you’re able
to take another hit within the Impossible Lair- which is tough enough that you’ll want every
helping stinger you can get your mitts on.
Given how much platforming you do, the game
unfortunately falls down a little. It’s functional,
but not particularly brilliant.
Mixed with the demanding
nature of the titular lair (and
its length), it can lead to some
frustrating moments.
You need to explore a 3D
overworld, shown from a
top-down perspective, to get
to each new 2D platforming
chapter. Solving puzzles to
access more of the map always
remains engaging, and there
are plenty of hidden secrets to
find along the way. Some of
these are tonics granting you
new powers or changing the
game aesthetically. However,
the most beneficial skills
reduce the amount of quills
you earn in-level, and you
can’t take the abilities into
the Impossible Lair anyway –
which ultimately deincentivises
any experimentation.CRY ME A RIVER
What’s brilliant is that the
overworld isn’t just how
you get from one chapter to
the next, your actions therecan also change the levels
themselves. Each chapter is
actually two levels: a basic level,
and a level that activates when
you alter the chapter’s physical
location in the overworld.
Divert a river over the chapter,
for instance, and the level may
become flooded, or one where
the greenery is much more
lush. Open a bridge with a
chapter on it, and you discover
the level is now sideways.
Feed someone sticky honey
and they’ll be so excited they
spill it on the chapter and...
now it’s covered in honey. It’s
wonderfully inventive, and the
altered versions of chapters
are completely distinct levels- and visually and musically
gorgeous to boot.
LIZARD WIZARD @MrOscarTK
VERDICTEach stage has its own
gimmicks for you to roll
and jump around collecting
quills and hidden coins.A cartoony feast for the
eyes and ears, with a great
overworld and lovely design. The
platforming could be better, but
it’s engaging enough to be worth
your time. Oscar Taylor-Kent“CHANGING THE OVERWORLD
CAN ALSO CHANGE THE
LEVELS THEMSELVES.”