REVIEW : Yooka-Laylee (PC)
“We really hope you have a blast
‘Cos this friendship is built to last!”
Developed by Playtonic Games , Yooka Laylee is a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie that takes its players down the memory lane to old school gaming. It reawakens the days of 3D-platformers with no maps taking over the most of the screen and no arrows instructing the players to move in a particular direction. Once , one is out in the utopian world along with Yooka-the male chameleon accompanied by Laylee- the female bat , they are free to explore in their own space the adventure of the game. Before mentioning what the game play is , it wouldn’t be wrong to point out a tiny fallacy. Yooka who has been described as “sensible” , seems to ‘control’ Laylee who is ” a little bit crazy” , as they say. This , is a little turn off for the plot itself tries to convey how a “man” is required to guide a woman. It’s almost ironical since they haven’t spared the world of utopia from setting a “manly” mark reflecting nothing but patriarchal beliefs.
Moving on to what Yooka Laylee’s story is , its project was named ukulele, hence the name. The player controls two characters simultaneously as he ventures out from the protected world of ‘Shipwreck Creek’ to enter what is called ‘The Hivory Towers’ in order to find “pagies” (it’s interesting how they’ve played with the names to capture the essence of the game ) required to explore the enigmatic Grand Tomes. The purpose- to stop Capital B and Dr. Quack from absorbing the world’s literature and turning it into profit.
A collect-a-thon , Yooka Laylee lets its players reminisce playing the characters of a bear and a bird in what one refers to now as the past. Yooka and Laylee together explore different planets contained within magic books to accomplish challenges in order to collect pagies.
Their abilities are pretty much those of a chameleon and a bat i.e. tongue whipping, sky soaring and sonar blasting. They eat berries of temporary power that may include breathing out fire and a ‘fart bubble’ for breathing underwater.
The plot explanation goes on with a dialogue between the characters of the game that include Trowzer , a pant wearing snake who sells butterflies in exchange of quills , those of which can be eaten to restore health. There are atoms known as ‘mollycools’ (the etymology behind the same is quite adorable) , that help Dr. Puzz , an octopus scientist who in turn provides Yooka and Laylee with various transformations letting them have exclusive abilities. Mentioning the chameleon traits of Yooka , he briefly attains abilities such as licking objects in his surroundings to absorb their qualities , say licking honey to become sticky and work his way through glossy surfaces. Other additions include Play Tonics that are purchased from Vendi – the vending machine to enhance or modify player’s ability stats , Play Tokens that have their own importance. The game has a plethora of characters that help create a colourful course of story waiting for its players to explore and enjoy. The course of the game , however, gets a little tiring when one needs to go through the narrative (it’s witty and humorous though)to know what exactly is going on. It however can be skipped too.
The game’s backdrop is pretty amazing and its uber cool never ending quest makes one always seek for more. The soundtrack is what all gamers will appreciate as it brings back the feel of 90’s when the games never failed to leave their impression when they were played. Good old days, indeed.
As the player explores and meets interesting characters such as Nimbus the depressed cloud who is sad because his wife left him for a typhoon ( that cutie makes your heart melt) , one might feel a little tiresome and unsatisfied after a point because they need to give up on some pagies to level up and collect even more of them to give up the next time.
The game , as they say is a ‘major throwback’ , for old school gamers reminding that this genre will never fade into nothingness. With Dr. Quack the antagonist who rides a gumball machine , it almost becomes impossible to fight him for his cute appearance and tough demeanour ( he’s an oxymoron, people) .
“The Pagies, in Cagies
Who’ll Set Them Free?
Just Take A Look
A Duo Called Yooka-Laylee!”
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