Yooka-Replaylee - Switch 2 Review

Have you been missing a stupid bear and dumb bird brain? Because fear not, a chameleon and bat are here to take the reins! Yooka-Replaylee is a remaster of Playtonic's love letter to Banjo Kazooie, Yooka Laylee. On an adventure to find treasure, Yooka and Laylee crash the Bat Ship Crazy and end up marooned. They soon find a magical tome that can rewrite the world before it gets stolen from them. It's now their task to collect all the missing pages and rescue the magic tome before the ebook Capital B takes over.

The Good

Playtonic has vastly expanded on what is available to you in every world. It feels like you're able to find a Pagie everywhere that you go in the world, while quills will lead you around the level and allow you to purchase upgrades from Trowzer. The ghost writers are such a fun take on the Jinjos from Banjo-Kazooie, where each type of ghost has a unique way to collect them.

One of the biggest upgrades Yooka-Replaylee has over the original is the expanded levels are unlocked from the start now. No more leaving a level, expanding it, then going back in to complete it. You're able to complete a level in a single run now, well, assuming you're able to complete the green coin challenges. Also, manoeuvring around the level while rolling on Laylee no longer takes stamina, which is a lifesaver for quick movement across the large maps. 

While on the topic of quickly moving across the maps, there are now fast travel points you can unlock as you explore around. The camera controls are also just a massive improvement and feel a lot more natural in the way you control them. The visuals and performance also have been touched up in the remaster, with character models receiving more details, and everything overall just running significantly smoother.

TL;DR

• Lots to do
• Fixes issues from the original
• Overall improvement

The Bad

3D platformers have had a resurgence lately with the likes of Astro Bot and Donkey Kong Bananza, which has highlighted that Yooka-Replaylee feels dated. While it is a callback to Banjo-Kazooie, this was a solid opportunity to modernise the systems. That's not to say it's a bad experience; there are just more options out there now that are a worthwhile investment of your time.

You unlock every ability from the beginning of the game now instead of unlocking them as you go around each of the worlds. This decision does have its upsides; however, it's also just a bit overwhelming for newer players. Once you get used to all the options available to you, it works out, but as a result of this, you spend less time with Trowzer the snake, who used to be the one who sold you the skills.

TL;DR

• Struggles to stand out
• Overwhelming for new players
• Less Trowzer

Final Score: 8/10

This is the definitive way to play Yooka-Laylee and it's such a nostalgic dream experience for 90s 3D platformers fans. Starting each world off on their expanded edition, while adding more to do, has made Yooka-Replaylee flow significantly better. With more high-quality competition in the genre, I feel like Playtonic has done a lot to improve on what was already there; just maybe a new entry will build upon their work and place Yooka and Laylee on equal footing with the giants.

Thank you for checking out our Yooka-Replaylee Switch review, thank you to Playtonic Games for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

• Andrew Caluzzi (Inca Studios / Camped Out)
• Bel Cubitt
• Bobby Jack
• Jack Caven
• Nintendo Maniacs
• RedHero