Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel have been available via backward compatibility on Xbox One for about nine months at this point, but a new game in the series hasn’t even been teased. In its place is the spiritual successor Yooka-Laylee, and after months of silence, the team at Playtonic is finally ready to talk about the game’s story, universe, and cast of goofy supporting characters.
Instead of simply creating a standalone story for the 3D platformer, Playtonic wants to create its own original universe, not unlike what Nintendo has accomplished with the Mario series. This begins with Yooka and Laylee’s search for the golden “Pagies,” which the pair need to explore “the mysterious Grand Tomes.”
They aren’t alone in their search, however: it wouldn’t be a zany 3D platformer without an evil businessman to defeat, and Capital B fits the bill nicely. The money-hungry brute with enormous eyebrows is attempting to acquire literature “and covert them into pure profit,” though he could probably get a little extra cash from selling that golden scepter. The good-natured Dr. Puzz, meanwhile, has broken away from Capital B’s rule to assist Yooka and Laylee through various transformations.
Playtonic hopes that the collectible system will avoid some of the frustration and monotony of other games in the genre, as well. “Tasty Butterfly Energy” will refill health, as well as a “power meter designed to empower fun and challenging platforming gameplay while avoiding the all-too-occasional tedium of resource management.” Another collectible, “Quills,” will be used to unlock new abilities for the duo, and which power you choose to get first is entirely up to you.
More new information on Yooka-Laylee will be available in the latest issue of Edge, which releases next week. “Toybox,” a standalone exploration mode developed as a reward for Kickstarter backers, is scheduled to launch this July.
