"While Yooka-Replaylee improves upon the original in almost every way, it still lacks the evergreen appeal of golden era platformer franchises such as Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and Mario."
The biggest issue faced by The developers of Yooka-Replaylee, is very few people care about Yooka-Laylee, and I do not mean that as an insult, they are fantastic games, and clearly have been created by people who care very much about the genre.
The problem is however, many of the genres most ardent fans are now in their late 30s and older, and for many of us, the games and franchises we loved as a child hold a special place in our hearts and minds, and naturally comparison will be made between any “newcomer” and those titles.
Looking for proof of this problem requires looking no further than Yooka-Replaylee a truly excellent remaster of a very well made 3D platformer, that peaked at just 701 concurrent players on steam, and has just 178 concurrent players online right now, a mere 6 days after release.
Gamers who were alive in the 1990s were able to experience first-hand the birth of the 3D platformer.
While many would say that 2D platformers are mechanically and visually superior to their 3D counterparts, I feel that both 2D and 3D titles have much to offer the genre and have both enjoyed (and sometimes endured) periods of success and failure.
With titles such as Crash Bandicoot (1994), Spyro the Dragon (1998), and Banjo Tooie (2000) sharing the stage with iconic titles such as Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64, platformer fans in the 90s and early 2000s were eating well, until suddenly they were not, and a flood of less impressive and occasionally downright dismal 3D new titles, and poorly received sequels to established franchises left Nintendo almost the sole custodian of the genre, with Sega having been forced out of the console race after the Dreamcast failed to sell enough units and Sonic the hedgehog took his first steps towards a dark path which resulted in a decade of poorly received games that left many in the fanbase feeling that their faith in the blue streak was misplaced.
With many smaller developers opting to develop 2D platformers (and many are excellent) and AAA developers hesitant to invest in a genre that Nintendo has dominated for almost 20 years, very few quality 3D platformers have been released that were not either remasters of golden era titles, or poorly received attempts to revive long-dead franchises, such as Crash bandicoot 4, which while being an excellent title, was deemed by many in the community as lacking the charm that made the original trilogy so beloved.
Yooka-Replaylee is a great game, but not great enough to make me want to play it over any of the franchises I grew up with, which is a problem for developers like Playtonic who struggle to find a demographic, due to gamers young and old preferring to play titles from more popular and well known franchises.
Maybe if I had grown up playing Yooka-Laylee, I would have a greater desire to play Yooka-Replaylee, but as things stand, If I had to choose between playing Yooka-Replaylee or a Sonic or Mario game, there would be no question in my mind over which I would choose.
While I have very little interest in Yooka-Laylee as a whole, and based on how few people are playing on Steam, it appears most gamers feel the same way, that does not change the fact that Yooka-Replaylee is one of the best 3D platformers released in the past 5 years, so without further delay.
Playtonic was founded by Rare veterans with years of experience working on titles such as Banjo Tooie and Donkey Kong Country, and it shows.
Playtonic clearly understands the 3D platformer genre, and every single mechanical aspect of gameplay comes together perfectly, with players being able to explore a vast and vibrant world while using a wide array of permanent and temporary skills and abilities.
From spitting cannonballs to taking to the skies, players are given a vast arsenal of abilities to travel one of the most vibrant and colourful worlds in gaming.
Movement aside, each level is filled to capacity with a wide array of activities, from races to puzzles, which help to flesh out each area. While I wish collecting the Pagies these activities award was not necessary for progression, I am certainly glad they are there, even if being forced to race clouds (who cheat!) while suffering from a head cold was not the best Monday evening I have had this month.
Playtonic have created a stunning world filled with vibrant characters, and out of all the 3D platformers developed by studios outside the “big three” that I’ve played, I can safely say it has one of the most cohesive, well-crafted, and genuinely appealing aesthetics I’ve ever seen.
While I do have some issues with Yooka-Replaylee, its visuals are certainly not one of them. I’d love to see the developers tackle a more linear platformer with the same aesthetic, as I feel it it could compete in ways that an open-world 3D platformer simply cannot.
I understand the word that goes into creating a game, and that many gamers today expect dialogue, however many of the best 3D platformers ever made had very little in the way of dialogue, and often its better to say a little well, than to say a lot and make people cringe in their seats.
My main problem with the dialogue is that the writers are trying too hard to be funny, which results in a large amount of puns and pop culture references, neither of which age very well, or help to create a rich narrative to explore.
While I must admit I tittered at Laylee asking a character called Kartos if he was known as “The God of Ore”, these kinds of pop culture references are likely to fly over the head of many casual gamers, and serve to do little but stretch an already thin narrative to breaking point.
Ultimately not the worst dialogue ↪ I have read in a 3D platformer, but it comes pretty close.
I must admit, I am not a fan of 3D platformers that require me to complete a bunch of secondary objectives to progress, and while this is not unique to Yooka-Replaylee, and many very popular titles have similar mechanics, I just do not find them appealing.
By all means, include collectables for completionists to find and enjoy, and reward them for their efforts. I’ve enjoyed unlocking extra content that way myself on occasion. However, locking narrative progression and boss battles behind scavenger hunts, puzzles, and races, no matter how fun they might be, feels counterintuitive to me, and actually makes me less inclined to play Yooka-Replaylee than I otherwise would have.
While collecting the 120 or so pages needed to defeat the final boss in Yooka-Replaylee is much more palatable thanks the remaster having over over 300 pages to collect, vs the 145 in the original game, I feel it does disrupt pacing somewhat, and leaves me wondering just how long to remain in each level, once its respective boss has been defeated.
And on that note I must say the boss battles in Yooka-Replaylee are fantastic, and are some of the most fun I have played in a very long time, more than equal to those found in the very best 3D platformers on the market.-
Yooka-Replaylee is an action game developed by Playtonic and published by PM Studios, inc., it released on 9 October 2025, and is available on Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
Yooka-Replaylee supports the following peripherals:
Yooka-Replaylee is rated PEGI 7+ and contains:
While I feel no particular fondness for the Yooka-Laylee franchise, I would be remiss to call it anything other than a very well made 3D platformer.
While I feel it is better suited for younger gamers, especially those without nostalgia for golden era platformers, older fans of the 3D platformer genre will still enjoy it, even if it lacks the appeal of many of the franchises that they grew up with.
We found Yooka-Replaylee to be a good game, meaning it is likely to be enjoyable for most players, despite having a few areas that could be improved upon.
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