Yooka-Laylee, the 2017 3D platformer created by the former Rare developers at Playtonic who worked on games like Banjo-Kazooie, is getting a remaster called Yooka-Replaylee.
If you need a refresher, Yooka-Laylee was the first game from Playtonic. It had a successful Kickstarter and lots of pre-launch hype from fans waiting for a new game like Banjo-Kazooie. When it came out in 2017, Yooka-Laylee was pretty fun but had some problems when it came to late-game content, camera controls, and general polish. Playtonic has gone on to make the 2D platformer follow-up Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair as well as publish indie games like Demon Turf and Lil Gator Game, and is now returning to the game that started it all for them.
According to the Steam page for Yooka-Replaylee, it’s a “remastered and enhanced” version of the 2017 original. Much of the art has been redone to make the colorful platformer look even better than ever, and more animations have been added. The controls and camera have also been tweaked to make them a little less wonky. Some of the in-game challenges and levels have been tweaked, giving those who played the original reason to play Yooka-Replaylee.
A new coin currency has also been added, and players can spend those while speaking to Vendi to gain access to new content and “multiple game-changing enhancements.” Grant Kirkhope and David Wise’s soundtrack also got refurbished and is now a full-on orchestral score.
As of now, Yooka-Replaylee is only confirmed for release on PC with a release date yet to be announced. If you want to check out the original, it’s available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
