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…
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 very much like a Donkey Kong Country or New Super Mario Bros game in feel, style, and-thankfully-quality, too. But what really differentiates Yooka-Laylee ATIL is the wealth of gimmicks-or innovations, if I’m being kind-it brings to the table.
[1] 2D (not 2.5D, forget that nonsense, this is two dee, there’s no such thing as half a dimension!)
Since Yooka-Laylee ATIL’s gimmicks are such a defining feature, I’m going to look at the most significant, gimmick-by-gimmick, rating each along the way.
Gimmick #1: the Impossible Lair
Right at the beginning, after a brief tutorial explaining how bees can help you, the game introduces the titular Lair, which is also the final level. However, it turns out that…
