Yooka-Laylee Standard Edition - Xbox One

I spent countless hours playing these collect-a-thon platform games back in the day. Mario, Banjo, Spyro, Crash etc. I was excited to hear that ex rareware employees were making a spiritual successor to banjo ( i actually bought an xbox one the day that rare released rare replay). Anyways onto the game. I am about 6 hours in and the best way to describe it as a classic platformer. Classic boss fights, mini games and puzzles, beautiful, colorful wolds! Cheesy voice actors ( or lack there of) I know some places gave this game low scores for this reason, its not going to redefine the genre, i am not even sure if that is possible. i also read that there were frame rate issues with the X1 version. I have not ran into any issues yet or perhaps the update fixed these issues. If you are looking for a solid plat forming game check it out. Hopefully this will start the revival of the genre

As a xbox owner - this game was a nice change of pace, a breath of fresh air amid the mature RPGs, FPS, and even racing sims. It is a bright and colorful adventure that clearly aims to repeat the success of N64/Playstation heydays of character platformers - specifically Banjo. For the most part, the level design, the puzzles, the enemies, colors, music, SFX, etc - nail the nostalgic feeling you may be looking for. Unfortunately, this also means you get a poor camera and touchy controls that often leave you screaming "no, not that direction!" or "but I pressed jump!". Setting that aside, if you're looking for a colorful experience of classic platforming games, then you'll get a kick out of this. It wont be for everyone though - as the challenge does come from the controls/physics more then it does from the enemies.

Yooka-Laylee sounds, plays, looks, and acts exactly like its spiritual predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie. The only difference is that the objects are detailed with today's standards, the music is high quality, and the bear and bird duo have been swapped out with two new characters, Yooka and Laylee. If you disliked Banjo-Kazooie or Banjo-Tooie, you will dislike Yooka-Laylee. It is full of the platforming fun we knew back in the late 90s. For $40, this is a wonderful trip down memory lane while still being a new game. It's easily worth the normal full retail price of a new game ($60).

I'm was kid of the NES age and when the N64 and Banjo Kazooie rolled out it was like a dream come true. I still play it(and it's sequel) at least once every couple of years. That said, this game had a lot to prove for the creators of a glorious genre now all but dead. Everything is here from the music that almost sounds cut and pasted to the silly cast of character and borderline lewd humor right down to the move-set which is also just a few additions away from remaining 100% true to the classic BK. I give the game five stars because it's simply the best that this genre has seen in a long time but I will say it doesn't quite capture that special *something* BK had. It could just be the "You can't go home again" nostalgia of it all, but I've heard a lot of people say the same and I agree. It's a fantastic game, especially at a lower than retail price that everyone should play. Just don't go in thinking it will trump BK because it probably won't.

Created by the ex employees from Rare of which were involved with the Donkey Kong Country series, Banjo-kazooie series, and Conker's Bad Fur Day come together to create Yooka-Laylee. A true spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series. In my opinion, this game has been great so far. I've put so many hours already in to it. A great nostalgic throwback to any fan of classic platforming collect-a-thons from the 90's Nintendo 64 era. I was super hyped when I first heard of this game. It's such a great welcome from the many first person shooters, and serious games that flood the market these days. A very welcome addition that newcomers and veteran gamers will be sure to enjoy. Can be challenging at times, which remind me of some pesky mini games especially from Donkey Kong 64, but very much fun and to reminisce of the challenges from games in the past is very awesome. I highly recommend this game to anyone that was a fan of patforming games in the past, and to newcomers who may be interested in experimenting the enjoyment to come from games like this

For those who don't know, this game began as a Kickstarter project by former members of Rare who worked on Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie. Their goal with this game was to make a very similar style title that feels like another game of the N64 era but with modern graphics. As such there's nothing really revolutionary about it, but it plays well enough and features several totally unique feeling worlds to explore with new powerups to acquire along the way. The music is also done by David Wise, who made a lot of the music for Rare's games in the 90's and more recently the music for Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze on Wii U.

Recapturing memories of games like the Banjo-Kazooie franchise, with a bit of Donkey Kong 64 thrown in there for good measure. Some of the mechanics in the game are not perfect but if you can get for a good price its worth checking out

Yooka-Laylee is a very welcome entry into an almost forgotten genre. Level design was solid though void or lacking im some regard. Mechanically I feel it held up well with what it sought out to do, which is a complete nostalgia overload of past games...namely Banjo-Kazooie! I feel this game will frustrate those unprepared for the type of game that this is...a 3d platformer in which you learn moves and abilities that allow you to earn or collect items and solve puzzles in order to progress! Not every move or skill is available right away or for the case of some explained clearly enough as to what the move complety allows you to do. With this in mind it is encouraging in a way for you to have fun and just mess around with the controls and discover these for yourself! This game can be unforgiving at times but perseverance will go a long way if you aim to 100% the entire game! Heres to hoping for a follow up sequel or a rekindling of the genre for more games!!!