Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair

A Nintendo Switch review

The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks.

— Douglas Adams

When Playtonic Games dubbed the final level of this game “Impossible”, they weren’t kidding. Well, obviously they were to an extent-the game literally can be finished. But the step up in difficulty for this final challenge feels a bit like taking on Super Meat Boy’s hardest level after sauntering through a run of Kirby. Actually, I wouldn’t quite know since I haven’t finished Meat Boy yet; that must be even more impossible…

The game’s intro features a tutorial level packed with explanations of the mechanics. It also sets up the plot and introduces you to the concept of the Beettalion.

Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair—which I will have to call Yooka-Laylee ATIL from now on—is the not-really-sequel to the more succinctly-titled Yooka-Laylee. That was an homage to the 3D platforming series Banjo-Kazooie, developed at Rare by many of the same people now responsible for the Yooka series under the Playtonic name. This spin-off is a 2D platformer, more akin to the Donkey Kong Country games, also developed by Rare. Clear? A GoldenEye tribute starring Yooka and Laylee must surely be on the horizon.

So, on paper, Yooka-Laylee ATIL is a fast-paced, 2D¹ platformer with mainly left-to-right levels, and a big boss level at the end. Collectibles, spiky hazards, secrets; all the typical stuff is here. This is…