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Yooka-Laylee

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Yooka-Laylee
Developer(s)Playtonic Games
Publisher(s)Team17
Director(s)Chris Sutherland
Producer(s)Andy Wilson
Designer(s)Gavin Price
Gary Richards
Artist(s)
  • Steve Mayles
  • Steven Hurst
  • Kevin Bayliss
  • Mark Stevenson
  • Dean Wilson
Writer(s)Andy Robinson
Composer(s)
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
Release
  • WW: 11 April 2017
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: 2017
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Yooka-Laylee is a platform video game developed by Playtonic Games and published by Team17 for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.[1] It was originally also in development for Wii U, but was later cancelled in favor of the Switch version due to "unforeseen technical issues".[2]

Yooka-Laylee was developed by Playtonic Games, a group of several former key personnel from Rare during the Nintendo 64 era, as a spiritual successor to their game series Banjo-Kazooie and other works. Among them, Banjo-Kazooie staff Chris Sutherland, Steve Mayles, Steven Hurst, and Grant Kirkhope reprised their respective roles.[3] Similar to the title of Banjo-Kazooie being a play on the banjo and kazoo musical instruments, the title of Yooka-Laylee is a play on the ukulele.

Gameplay

Yooka-Laylee features gameplay similar to spiritual predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie, where the player searches for and collects items in an open 3D environment.

Gameplay bears resemblance to Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel, Banjo-Tooie, featuring items and characters that play similar roles to those found in these games. One player controls two characters working together simultaneously, a male chameleon named Yooka, who is being described as "sensible",[4] and likewise controls a female bat named Laylee, who is being described as "a little bit crazy".[1][3] The game is intended as a resurrection and modernization of the "collectathon" 3D platforming game genre of the late 1990s and early 2000s, with an emphasis on progression by collecting various different items.[5] During their adventures, Yooka and Laylee explore worlds contained within magical books and complete challenges to collect "Pagies": golden book pages that act as the main currency in the game. Players can use their Pagies to either unlock new worlds or expand those which have already been unlocked.[6]

The characters' abilities include "sonar blasting", "tongue whipping", "sky soaring", eating berries for temporary powers such as fire breath, and a "fart bubble" for breathing underwater. Most of these abilities use a power meter that is filled by collecting butterflies (which can be eaten instead to restore health). Butterflies are earned by collecting enough quills to purchase them from Trowzer, a snake salesman who wears pants.[7] Atoms known as Mollycools are used in order help an octopus-like scientist named Dr. Puzz give Yooka and Laylee various transformations that grant them exclusive abilities. Play Tonics are RPG-style ability modifiers that are purchased from Vendi, a living vending machine, and equipped to modify or enhance players' ability stats.[8] Also found in the levels are Ghost Writers, collectible characters who provide various challenges like catching or fighting them for more activities, and Play Tokens, which are used to play the secret arcade games that are found once per level, hosted by a low polygon T. rex named Rextro Sixtyfourus, a homage to the Nintendo 64. There is a "quiz show challenge" featured before the final boss, similar to the Banjo-Kazooie games. Furthermore, 2D and 3D "mine cart" sequences are also included, similar to those of Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64.

The game features a local cooperative multiplayer mode for two players. There is also a 2–4 player adversarial local multiplayer mode, with eight different minigames.[1]

Plot

Yooka and Laylee venture out from the safety of their home in Shipwreck Creek to explore deep inside the work halls of a baneful business known as the Hivory Towers, to find the "Pagies" needed to explore the mysterious Grand Tomes as the buddy-duo battle to stop Capital B and Dr. Quack from absorbing all the world's literature and converting it into pure profit.[9]

Development

On 8 September 2012, a group of former Rare employees announced their intent to create a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. They joined under the Twitter handle Mingy Jongo, a boss from the game Banjo-Tooie, with cooperation from ex-Rare developers, such as Grant Kirkhope. The account was left abandoned and the project confirmed to be on indefinite hiatus by Kirkhope in a Reddit AMA.[10] Later, the account was revived under its current name Playtonic Games. Playtonic then announced that they were planning a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie franchise titled Yooka-Laylee, formerly codenamed Project Ukulele.[11] Yooka-Laylee is believed to have been the result of Mingy Jongo's work, which was similarly based on the Unity game engine and was intended to be crowdfunded through Kickstarter.

The game's funding project was announced on Kickstarter on 1 May 2015. It reached its initial crowdfunding campaign goal of £175,000 within thirty-eight minutes[12] and its initial highest goal of £1,000,000 in 21 hours,[13] at the time becoming the fastest video game in Kickstarter history to reach US$1 million.[14] Playtonic Games later sent out a public statement thanking all their supporters and promising more updates in the future.[15] The campaign added four additional stretch goals, all of which have been reached. Those who contributed predetermined amounts to the campaign received special rewards related to the game's release. It is currently the highest-funded UK video game in Kickstarter history, passing the previous record held by Elite: Dangerous,[16] earning £2,090,104. Yooka-Laylee is set to be released on Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One,[17] with success in the crowdfunding campaign allowing a simultaneous April 2017 release for consoles. A Wii U version was also in development but cancelled in December 2016, with a Nintendo Switch version taking its place.[18] Playtonic announced that there would be no physical release for Yooka-Laylee on the Nintendo Switch.[19]

The game features 3D worlds by environment artist Steven Hurst, whose credits include the Banjo-Kazooie series and Viva Piñata. Some characters were designed by Kevin Bayliss, who helped design the modern Kong characters in the Donkey Kong Country series, and Ed Bryan, who designed characters in Banjo-Kazooie. Former Rare composers David Wise, Grant Kirkhope and Steve Burke collaborated to compose the game's orchestral score. A soundtrack CD was released and rewarded to certain supporters of the crowdfunding campaign. The game also features an optional "N64 shader" mode, which imitates the graphical appearance of Nintendo 64 games.[1] Additional post-launch downloadable content is planned, which began production following the game's release, and players who participated in the crowdfunding campaign will receive this content for free.[20][21] The game's native language is featured in English, but it will also feature professional French, German, Italian and Spanish translations. Wil Overton, a former artist for Rare, illustrated the game's instruction manual.

The game was published by Team17.[22] In June 2016, Playtonic announced that they had delayed the game to early 2017 in order to give the team additional time to polish the game.[23] Additionally, it was confirmed that Playtonic Games were focusing their development efforts on the PC and Wii U versions, and originally giving the latter platform "the right attention" due to greater demand from Kickstarter backers, as well as nostalgia factors. Publisher Team17 assisted porting the game to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[24]

A sandbox version of the game, also known as the "Toybox demo" was released on 28 July 2016 for backers of the game who contributed a certain amount.[25] The title character of the indie game Shovel Knight also made an appearance as a non-playable character; the character's model was designed by Shovel Knight studio Yacht Club Games, with game director Sean Velasco providing the character's voice.[26] In October 2016, Playtonic Games confirmed to their Kickstarter backers that the game would have a physical retail release alongside the digital release, and promised backers who earned the digital version the choice of physical media.[27]

In December 2016, Playtonic Games confirmed the game would be available both digitally and at retail worldwide on 11 April 2017 for all platforms. Those who pre-order the game gain access to the Toybox, which Playtonic is working to make available on the console platforms. In the same update, Playtonic Games announced that the Wii U version had been cancelled, with development duties moved to the Nintendo Switch. The announcement cited "unforeseen technical issues" as the reason for cancelling it. Playtonic offered Kickstarter backers who pledged for the Wii U version choices of refund or moving their pledge to any other platform at no additional cost. Playtonic stated that additional details regarding the game's Nintendo Switch version would be announced in January 2017.[28] It was later explained that the decision to cancel the Wii U version is unrelated to the console's poor commercial performance, and that some of the developers expressed reluctance to do so.[29]

In March 2017, Playtonic announced that YouTube personality Jon Jafari, better known as JonTron, who was originally set to voice a character in Yooka-Laylee, would be removed from the game due to racist commentary he made the same month on immigration, ethnicity, and nationalism.[30][31][32][33][34] Jafari was first revealed to be playing a minor character in the game in February 2015.[35][36]On the same day, Jafari commented on his removal by stating "Unfortunate to see Playtonic remove me from Yooka Laylee, but I understand their decision. I wish them the best with their launch!" on his Twitter.[37]

On 1 April 2017, Playtonic released The Yooka-Laylee Rap!, which was a stretch goal on Kickstarter. It pays homage to the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64, with Kirkhope reprising his role as the rap's composer.[38]

Reception

Yooka-Laylee received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[39][40][41] Critics generally agreed that the game recaptured the feel of a classic 3D platformer, but they divided over whether this made the game successful or simply made its gameplay and design feel outdated.[51]

Many critics praised the game as a successful follow up to the original Banjo-Kazooie games. Steven Bogos of The Escapist positively referred to the game as "Banjo-Threeie", calling it "a nostalgic ride through time, bringing the collect-a-thons from the N64 era into the modern age".[50] Reviewing for The Guardian, Simon Parkin enjoyed the nostalgic feel of the game similar to 1990s games such as classic Rare titles and Super Mario 64, calling it "not so much a love letter... as a full exhumation of the late 90s platformer." Parkin praised the variety of gameplay styles, collectibles and approach to unlocking and level progression.[52] James Kozanitis of Game Revolution felt that Yooka-Laylee improved on the gameplay and structure of classic titles, in particular the relevance and importance of the collectables.[44] Chris Carter of Destructoid praised the expansive levels and the colorful design, while noting instances of what he felt were "a creeping sense of budgetary concerns" due to the varying quality between them. While Carter himself was favorable towards the game, he concluded that due to the throwback designs, it would not be for everyone.[42]

Marty Sliva of IGN called Yooka-Laylee "a good reminder that this genre, once thought to be dead, still has some life left in it". Sliva noted different aspects of the game that felt authentic to games from the 90s, praising the level design, soundtrack and characters while also criticizing how the game controlled at certain points and stated it was "not 1998 anymore" regarding frustrating camera movement.[47] Kallie Plagge of GameSpot similarly praised certain aspects such as the collectibles and non-linear structure while also criticizing the uncooperative camera. Plagge conversely was critical of what she felt was convoluted level design and outdated gameplay.[46] Reviewer Jim Sterling was negative towards the game, criticizing outdated gameplay, design, and controls while also commenting that it failed to retain what also made classic 3D platformers successful.[53]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Yooka-Laylee - A 3D Platformer Rare-vival!". Kickstarter. 1 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Yooka-Laylee Has Been Cancelled On Wii U, Moving Switch". Vooks. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Introducing Yooka-Laylee". Playtonic Games. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  4. ^ "The Man Behind Yooka and Laylee". Playtonic Games. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  5. ^ Hein, Daniel (9 December 2014). "The Nintendo Collectathon: A Genre of the Past". The Artifice. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. ^ Reseigh-Lincoln, Dom (17 May 2015). "Yooka-Laylee's world is made of books you unlock by collecting pages". GamesRadar. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  7. ^ Wouk, Kristofer (12 May 2015). "Meet Banjo-Kazooie Successor Yooka-Laylee's Newest Character: Trowzer the Snake". Digital Trends. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  8. ^ Campbell, Collin. "Yooka-Laylee isn't going to be a Banjo-Kazooie copy". Polygon. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Raising the Curtain". Playtonic Games. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  10. ^ "I am Grant Kirkhope, composer of Banjo and DK 64, along w/ developers Prismatic Games of the Party-RTS, Hex Heroes, for Wii U/PC". Reddit. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  11. ^ Macy, Seth (10 February 2015). "Former Rare Developers Working on Banjo Kazooie Spiritual Successor". IGN. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  12. ^ Sheridan, Connor (1 May 2015). "Banjo-Kazooie devs' Yooka-Laylee funded in 38 minutes". GamesRadar. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  13. ^ @Playtonic (2 May 2015). "£1 MILLION! #YookaLaylee will release day-one on Wii U, PS4, Xbox One, Mac, Linux and PC!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Hannley, Steve (1 May 2015). "Fastest Video Game Kickstarter to Hit $1 Million". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  15. ^ "1 Million & More Stretch Goals!". Kickstarter. 2 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  16. ^ Lemne, Bengt (14 May 2015). "Yooka-Laylee breaks records on Kickstarter". Gamereactor. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  17. ^ Krupa, Daniel (30 April 2015). "Spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie reveals its lead characters". IGN. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  18. ^ "December 13 Kickstarter FAQ - Playtonic Games". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Yooka-Laylee Won't Be Getting A Physical Release On The Nintendo Switch". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  20. ^ "New Stretch Goal: Payback Time!". Kickstarter. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  21. ^ "£2 Million Reached! You did it!". Kickstarter. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  22. ^ Dring, Christopher (30 July 2015). "Team17 will publish Yooka-Laylee and eyes retail release". MCVUK. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  23. ^ Orray, James (6 June 2016). "Yooka-Laylee delayed to 2017". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
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  25. ^ "Open the Toybox". Playtonic Games. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  26. ^ "Shovel Knight Joins Yooka-Laylee - Yacht Club Games". Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  27. ^ "Boxed Version Update!". Kickstarter. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  28. ^ "Yooka-Laylee Rattles Towards Release!". Playtonic Games' official website. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  29. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (13 December 2016). "Yooka-Laylee's Wii U Cancellation is Only Due to Technical Challenges, Not the System's Woes". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  30. ^ Sarkar, Samit (23 March 2017). "JonTron being cut from Yooka-Laylee after spouting racist views". Polygon. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  31. ^ Tucker, Jake (24 March 2017). "Playtonic remove controversial YouTuber JonTron from Yooka-Laylee". Develop. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  32. ^ Grubb, Jeff (23 March 2017). "Yooka-Laylee developer removes voice of YouTube personality JonTron after racist statements". Venture Beat. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  33. ^ Amato, Peter (23 March 2017). "Yooka-Laylee Dev Removes JonTron's Voice Acting After Racism Controversy". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  34. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (27 March 2017). "This Week In The Business: Lengthy Switch Shortages". Kotaku. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  35. ^ Gajanan, Mahita (23 March 2017). "JonTron Removed From 'Yooka-Laylee' After Inflammatory Comments". Time. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  36. ^ Dring, Christopher (23 March 2017). "Playtonic removes controversial YouTuber JonTron from Yooka-Laylee". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  37. ^ "Jon Jafari on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  38. ^ Frank, Allegra (3 April 2017). "The guy behind the DK Rap is back at it again (update)". Polygon. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  39. ^ a b "Yooka-Laylee for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  40. ^ a b "Yooka-Laylee for Playstation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  41. ^ a b "Yooka-Laylee for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  42. ^ a b Carter, Chris (4 April 2017). "Review: Yooka-Laylee". Destructoid. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  43. ^ Shea, Brian (4 April 2017). "Reviving A Classic Genre - Yooka-Laylee - PC". Game Informer. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  44. ^ a b Kozanitis, James (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee Review". Game Revolution. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  45. ^ Houghton, David (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee review: "A good-natured platformer that all too often trips over its own dated clumsiness"". GamesRadar. Future plc. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  46. ^ a b Plagge, Kallie (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee Review". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
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  48. ^ Marks, Tom (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  49. ^ Stark, Chelsea (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee review". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  50. ^ a b Bogos, Steve (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee Review - Banjo-Threeie". The Escapist. Defy Media. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  51. ^ Sheridan, Connor (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee: Why are critics so wildly divided by 2017's most love-hate game?". GamesRadar. Future Publishing. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  52. ^ Parkin, Simon (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee review: wide-eyed wonder for nostalgic 90s kids". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  53. ^ Sterling, Jim (4 April 2017). "Yooka-Laylee Review – Yooka-Failee". The Jimquisition. Jim Sterling. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
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