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Yooka-Laylee
Critics Consensus (Skip It)
Review consensus coming soon. VSG issues recommendations for games with 15 critic reviews or greater.
Game Info
Yooka-Laylee is an all-new 3D platformer from the creative talent behind the Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country games. We’ve come together to form Playtonic Games and create a spiritual successor to our most cherished work from the past!
0%
Recommended
0%
Average Score
Total Reviews: 124
RELEASE DATES:
GENRES:
- Platformer
DEVELOPER(S):
- Playtonic Games
PUBLISHER(S):
- Team17
SERIES/FRANCHISE:
- n/a
GAME MODES:
- Co-operative, Multiplayer, Single player, Split screen
Where to Play
WHERE TO PLAY
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RATING & REVIEWS
Ratings & Reviews
124
Critic Reviews
73
Average Critic Score
Where to Play
CRITIC REVIEWS
All reviews are from professional critics. Learn more about the critics VSG aggregates.
High Score
100%
Median Score
75%
Low Score
20%
GameCentral (Metro GameCentral)
[Date Unavailable]
7/10
“It perfectly fulfils its brief of being a new Banjo-Kazooie game in all but name, but Yooka-Laylee’s reliance on nostalgia may struggle to find new fans.”
Marty Sliva (IGN)
[Date Unavailable]
7/10
“Yooka-Laylee contains all the pieces needed for a fun, enjoyable throwback to the 3D collectathons of the 64-bit era. The characters are charming and funny, your set of abilities is vast and entertaining, and four out of five of the worlds are fun playgrounds to explore. While it lacks the heart and polish of some of its incredible predecessors, it’s a good reminder that this genre, once thought to be dead, still has some life left in it.”
Brian Shea (Game Informer)
[Date Unavailable]
8/10
“Full of fun exploration, exciting encounters, and tons of collectibles, Yooka-Laylee is a modern take on a classic genre”
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Score Ranges
Read the Reviews (124 total)
| Outlet | Author | Score | Date | Quote | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3DNews | Алексей Лихачев | 8 / 10 | 04-08-2017 | Old fashioned but not outdated adventure with cute characters and lots of fun puzzles. Unfortunately, issues with the camera prevent it from being great. | Read review |
| ACG | Jeremy Penter | Not Recommended | 04-04-2017 | Video Review | Read review |
| Arcade Sushi | Jason Fanelli | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | For the most part the Yooka-Laylee has succeeded in meeting expectations, though a few specters from that bygone era decided to make the journey too. | Read review |
| Areajugones | Álvaro Giménez | 9 / 10 | 12-14-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is the triumphant return of the true platform games. Playtonic has managed to mix everything good of this genre and turn it into something fresh and wonderful. | Read review |
| Ars Technica | Mark Walton | Recommended | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee stays true to its ’90s platformer roots, even to its detriment. But there are just enough modern touches and excellent platforming to make it more than just another nostalgia play. | Read review |
| Atomix | Emilio Reyes | 75 / 100 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a good classic 3D platformer better on its first hours and levels when you are discovering the wide range of activities and challenges that you have in this retro colectathon. The rest of the time you can suffer with some weak design decisions to prolongue the time you need to complete the game. | Read review |
| Attack of the Fanboy | Dean James | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Serving as an homage to the past, Yooka-Laylee is strongly inspired by elements of the team’s previous efforts, and despite some flaws, it is the game that fans have been waiting for all these years. | Read review |
| AusGamers | Kosta Andreadis | 7.6 / 10 | 04-10-2017 | At its core Yooka-Laylee features solid 3D platforming, all wrapped-up in a charming and funny package that oozes with the quality that drew a lot of players to Rare’s output during the N64 era. And although this may sound like strange criticism, we would have preferred it if the game featured fewer ideas, smaller worlds, and a more focused design. Yooka-Laylee’s better moments far outweigh its troublesome ones, and for the most part you’ll feel like you’re playing a Rare platformer from the year 1999. And when that’s what Yooka-Laylee promised to be, you can’t fault it for delivering on that promise. Warts and all. | Read review |
| BaziCenter | کاوه اسکندری | 8 / 10 | 04-13-2017 | A spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee is exactly what it is trying to be. It suffers from few flaws like poor camera and very unstable frame-rate, and it doesn’t add anything new to the platformer genre. But a lot of gameplay mechanics, good graphic, amazing sound make it enjoyable. | Read review |
| CGMagazine | Elias Blondeau | 9 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is both a joyful ode to Rare’s heyday and a polished platformer that stands head and shoulders above what few contemporaries exist in the genre. | Read review |
| COGconnected | Rory Wood | 83 / 100 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee’s camera wants to constantly reset itself behind the characters when moving and this drove me nuts early on | Read review |
| Critical Hit | Alessandro Barbosa | 6 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a nostalgic trip to the past that ignores all the innovations that came after it. There’s an appeal to return to a bygone era of platforming, but it’s quickly washed away with long stretches of tedious, boring gameplay, and a sense of wit that thinks it’s far smarter than it really is. | Read review |
| Cubed3 | Adam Riley | 9 / 10 | 12-16-2017 | Reflection upon Yooka-Laylee raises a genuine smile in a way that few video games ever do these days. Undoubtedly, this will sound like the stereotypical ramblings of a Banjo-Kazooie fan drunk on nostalgia; it’s true that when Rare slipped into obscurity, setting to work on other types of projects, they left a massive void for this brand of quirky, humorous, collection-heavy platforming adventure. Playtonic has recognised and rectified this, reminding the gaming world that this sub-genre has fallen out of favour for far too long. While it leans on a unique contextual crux, considering the team’s history and the Kickstarter origins of the project, the end result is something truly delightful in its own right. A brilliant successor that perfectly channels the creative energies of the N64 platforming era. | Read review |
| Daily Dot | AJ Moser | 3 / 5 stars | 04-10-2017 | Overall, this is a game of inconsistent highs and lows. The simple joy of interacting with a colorful, childish world serves to remind us of a different time for video games. But when stuttering camera angles send you plummeting off a high platform, the lack of polish is painfully obvious. Further patches and updates might be able to salvage the solid foundation that Yooka-Laylee is built on, but in its current state, it does little more than present a charming love letter to its predecessors. | Read review |
| Daily Mirror | Ryan Brown | 2 / 5 stars | 04-10-2017 | The harsh reality is that I wanted to love it just as much as anyone else. The team is clearly talented and Yooka-Laylee is a work of passion, but it’s simply not enough. | Read review |
| DarkZero | Ian Howarth | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | I found it a ton of fun and terribly addicting to the point where I just consumed it in about 2 days and I hope many others enjoy it just as much because I believe the best outcome from its release is that Yooka-Laylee facilitates the second coming of the ‘platformer’. Not only does it show off the familiar mechanics we love but it plays off of them in both the gameplay and story, making jokes about the established traits of old-school games by having Yooka’s humoring of the NPCs and Laylee’s dry sarcasm almost be the voices of the player as they comment on the fact that the Pagies could just slips out of their cages and so on. | Read review |
| Destructoid | Chris Carter | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Banjo Threeie is probably never going to happen, but after playing Yooka-Laylee I’m fine with that for the first time in 17 years. Playtonic’s first foray is rough around the edges, but the center is so full of heart that it’ll melt away the more you play it. How much of that roughness you can put up with entirely depends on your history and mental fortitude for mascot platformers. For some of you that threshold is pretty low, but for me, it’s as high as Laylee can fly. | Read review |
| Digital Chumps | Eric Layman | 6 / 10 | 04-05-2017 | Bright colors, breezy enthusiasm, googly eyes and collectibles — Yooka-Laylee nails Banjo Kazooie’s aesthetic and embraces every last trope from Rare’s 3D platformers. It’s also firmly disinterested in twenty years of forward progress, doubling as a paean to Banjo’s banal challenges, mushy control, and distressing tedium. It’s tough to feel bitter—Playtonic delivered what was promised—it’s just awfully easy to feel chafed and bored, too. | Read review |
| Digital Trends | Will Fulton | 2.5 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | ‘Yooka-Laylee’ recaptures the feeling of the beloved ‘Banjo-Kazooie’, but fails to add anything substantially new or interesting. | Read review |
| Digitally Downloaded | Brad L. | 3 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | It’s crushing that Yooka-Laylee does not reach the heights of brilliance of the game it clearly draws its inspiration from. On its own, it is a decent game that is playable, but we were promised characters as delightful as in Banjo-Kazooie, and gameplay as slick and joyful to back those characters up. | Read review |
| DualShockers | Logan Moore | 7.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | At the end of the day, Playtonic accomplished exactly what they set out to achieve with Yooka-Laylee and proved that 3D platformers can still be relevant in 2017. Yooka-Laylee is a fun, familiar, and nostalgic trip to a genre from the past that still holds up incredibly well in the present. It certainly proves that there is a place in the current landscape for games of this genre. If you miss the mascot platformer of yesteryear, then Yooka-Laylee will almost certainly give you your fill and make you feel warm inside. | Read review |
| Easy Allies | Michael Damiani | 3 / 5 stars | 04-08-2017 | Video Review | Read review |
| EGM | Ray Carsillo | 7 / 10 | 04-11-2017 | Some long-forgotten issues from way back in the day crop up again in this throwback action-plaformer, but even if you aren’t playing it through the nostaliga of someone who grew up with Banjo-Kazooie or other adventures like it, you’ll still find a solid game to play in Yooka-Laylee. | Read review |
| Eurogamer | Edwin Evans-Thirlwell | Not Recommended | 04-06-2017 | Playtonic’s tribute to Banjo is a gentle, irreverent platformer let down by spotty handling and a slight shortage of genius. | Read review |
| Everyeye.it | Francesco Fossetti | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is fun, but it is rarely brilliant; it’s pleasant, but not always memorable; and never reach or surpass the glorious masterpieces othat inspired the team. | Read review |
| Expansive | Ray Willmott | 7 / 10 | 04-03-2017 | Yooka Laylee is a treasure despite some faults | Read review |
| FNintendo | André Reis | 7 / 10 | 02-26-2018 | Yooka-Laylee is a tribute to 3D platforming games, especially to those that involve collecting a lot of things. It succeeds at that job, as it will certainly invade some players with overwhelming feelings of nostalgia. It doesn’t quite do the job of creating a platformer that would be up to the highest standards of today, as it’s demonstrated by some frustrating sections, camera issues and a combat system that is far from being exciting but overall, Yooka-Laylee is a pleasure to explore and it’s full of delightful details. | Read review |
| Forbes | Mitch Wallace | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | I imagine there will be people who won’t find this kind of flavor appealing, who might consider the game to be dated and maybe even outright pandering, but I’m not one of them. | Read review |
| Game Informer | Brian Shea | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Full of fun exploration, exciting encounters, and tons of collectibles, Yooka-Laylee is a modern take on a classic genre | Read review |
| Game Rant | Brad Jones | 4 / 5 stars | 04-06-2017 | Yooka-Laylee wears its influences on its sleeve, but gamers with nostalgia for the Nintendo 64 era will find plenty to enjoy — even if others are left cold. | Read review |
| Game Revolution | James Kozanitis | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | By not holding up Banjo-Kazooie as the last bastion of platformers, Playtonic was able to turn Yooka-Laylee into an overall improvement on the formula it so closely mimics. We’re coming up on a relatively dry patch of 2017, and, if I’m counting on Yooka-Laylee to be my own personal flying lizard to carry me, I don’t think I could be in better hands. | Read review |
| Gameblog | Thomas Pillon | 7 / 10 | 04-06-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a good Banjo-Kazooie-like, packed with a colorfull world, good gameplay and a lot of humor. It doesn’t reach the level of its model, but is for sure a nice modern alternative. | Read review |
| GameCrate | David Jagneaux | 7.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | If you grew up playing 3D platformer collect-a-thon games like Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Donkey Kong 64, Jak & Daxter, Spyro, and others, then there is a good chance that you’ll find a lot to love in Yooka-Laylee. It’s a faithful recreation of the formula that made games of the late 90s and early 2000s both so special and so frustrating. | Read review |
| GameGrin | Thomas Hughes | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | At its best, Yooka-Laylee reminds me why I fell in love with colourful platformers, it’s a love letter to childhood nostalgia. At its worst, Yooka-Laylee reminds me why we moved away from platforming games: odd design choices and occasional bugs sour the experience. | Read review |
| Gameplanet | Chris Brown | 8 / 10 | 04-24-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is an unabashedly old-school platformer with modern presentation. It is challenging and occasionally infuriating, but it’s also extremely rewarding. Playtonic have proven that just because something is old, that doesn’t mean it should die. | Read review |
| GamePro | Tobias Veltin | 76 / 100 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee impressively transports the feeling of the Rare-Jump&Runs, but stumbles over its flawed controls and camera. | Read review |
| Gamer Escape | Timothy Hyldahl | 7 / 10 | 05-14-2017 | Overall, Yooka-Laylee is a game with a ton of retro-inspired heart, but a definite lack of polish may disappoint fans who expected the quality of their previous Banjo-Kazooie titles. | Read review |
| Gamerheadquarters | Jason Stettner | 9.3 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is simply amazing, it’s a blast to play and one of the best 3D platformers ever. | Read review |
| Gamers Heroes | Captain Camper | 6 / 10 | 04-11-2017 | If you’re expecting Yooka-Laylee to push the platforming genre into new and exciting directions, you’ll be left disappointed. While the game fails to make any big strides into new and unknown territories, it lives up to the overall quality, quirky nature, and well-designed platforming elements put in place by its predecessor nearly 20 years ago – and that’s no easy feat. | Read review |
| GameSkinny | Ashley Gill | 9 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee breathes new life into the collectathon platformer genre, but those who weren’t into it in its heyday may see less mileage here. | Read review |
| GameSpew | Richard Seagrave | 7 / 10 | 12-19-2017 | To me, it speaks volumes that despite pretty much completing Yooka-Laylee on Xbox One, I’ve felt compelled to play the game on Switch whenever I’ve had a spare moment. | Read review |
| GameSpot | Kallie Plagge | 6 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee delivers on nostalgia but is held back by outdated gameplay and underwhelming levels. | Read review |
| GamesRadar+ | David Houghton | 3 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Evoking the essence of late-’90s platforming without significantly modernising it, Yooka-Laylee is a game with noble aspirations, grounded by clumsily flawed execution. | Read review |
| GameXplain | GameXplain | Recommended | 04-04-2017 | Video Review | Read review |
| Gaming Nexus | Patrick Aloia | 7 / 10 | 04-26-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is gorgeous. It is a delight to behold. But its design and mechanics don’t always match up to its ambitions. | Read review |
| GamingBolt | Vijay Sinha | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | As a well-rounded platforming experience with smart writing, fun platforming, strong production values and evocation of the good ol’ days, Yooka-Laylee is worth your time. | Read review |
| GamingTrend | Matt Welsh | 80 / 100 | 04-10-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a fun platformer, despite some technical issues and outdated mechanics. If platforming wasn’t your thing in the ‘90s, there’s little here to change your mind now, but fans of the genre – and the Kickstarter backers that brought it back to life – can rest assured that they’re getting exactly what they wanted. | Read review |
| GearNuke | Khurram Imtiaz | 8 / 10 | 04-14-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is aimed at the revival of N64-era of Rare platformers and while it succeeds in delivering a similar experience, it also fails to improve on some of the archaic design of the past resulting in a game that is enjoyable but not without some frustrating design flaws. | Read review |
| Geeks Under Grace | Maurice Pogue | 7.3 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yoooka-Laylee does little to revise the tried-and-true formula of the collect-a-thon, but instead, manages to revive the charm of the anthromorphic furry (or here, reptilian) of yesteryear in a game that should remind the industry that there is indeed demand for some old-fashioned and wholesome slapstick circumscribed by all-too familiar mechanics of running and (double)jumping. | Read review |
| God is a Geek | Gary Bailey | 5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee could have been the start of a new generation of 3D platformers, but its design leaves it firmly stuck in the past. | Read review |
| Guardian | Simon Parkin | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | It may look like a game for children but this primary coloured, Kickstarter-funded platformer is catnip for 30-somethings who came of age with Banjo-Kazooie | Read review |
| Hardcore Gamer | Jordan Helm | 3.5 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Technical issues aside, there’s little to argue against Yooka-Laylee doing a fine job identifying just what makes 3D platformers such a joy to invest in aesthetically. | Read review |
| Hey Poor Player | Isaac Coleman | 4.5 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | No, it may not do anything particularly new or innovative, but it doesn’t really need to – it’s still one of the most solid, charming, and just plain fun platformers in years. It has its flaws, yes, like any other game, but those flaws are offset by a brilliantly-designed open world and the ridiculous amount of content on offer. It’s a welcome reminder of a bygone era that feels familiar even as it offers vast improvements on its storied predecessors. | Read review |
| Hobby Consolas | David Martinez | 87 / 100 | 12-14-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a 3D platformer like those we had in the past and a great successor for Banjo-Kazooie. The gameplay is almost the same, just putting a chameleon and a bat in the place of the bear and the bird. The true Rare is now called Playtonic Games. | Read review |
| IBTimes UK | Wesley Copeland | 2 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | It’s difficult to recommend Yooka-Layee to adults let alone the children this game is aimed at. The unbalanced challenge it presents and the lack of in-game direction is sure to infuriate. You could argue kids of this generation could play the game alongside a YouTube video for help, but why should any game need to be played alongside a video guide? The first three-hours of Yooka-Layee are delightful, but after that the experience quickly sours. Playtonic’s ode to platformers past should have been something special, but instead it’s a reminder why video games have evolved, and why quality over quantity should be the first decree in every developer’s rulebook. | Read review |
| IGN | Marty Sliva | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee contains all the pieces needed for a fun, enjoyable throwback to the 3D collectathons of the 64-bit era. The characters are charming and funny, your set of abilities is vast and entertaining, and four out of five of the worlds are fun playgrounds to explore. While it lacks the heart and polish of some of its incredible predecessors, it’s a good reminder that this genre, once thought to be dead, still has some life left in it. | Read review |
| IGN Italy | Mattia Ravanelli | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Layle offers an interesting take on the classic 3D platfom formula. It’s a pity that it controls and behave not as expected from some experienced developers as the Playtonic guys are. | Read review |
| IGN Spain | Jose A. Rodríguez | 7.9 / 10 | 12-14-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is the perfect tribute to the 90’s 3D platforming videogames, a very fun experience for the new players and an exciting return of the genre to its roots for the older users. Long, fun and very joking, its camera becomes a harder enemy than Capital B, the game’s main villain. | Read review |
| Impulsegamer | Alayna Cole | 3 / 5 stars | 04-05-2017 | Though a beautiful callback to a nostalgic genre, Yooka-Laylee is lacking in some areas that were difficult to forgive. | Read review |
| Kotaku | Heather Alexandra | Not Recommended | 04-04-2017 | The parts are significantly greater than the whole. There’s fun to be had but it doesn’t come easily. And if I never have to collect another shiny again, it’ll be far too soon. | Read review |
| Leadergamer | Alper Dalan | 10 / 10 | 04-21-2017 | If you think that, It’s not a Banjo-Kazooie game, it’s a 10-star game when we consider it as a separate game. Get it and definitely try it. | Read review |
| M3 | Anders Wollner | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | With colorful graphics, playful game design and charmig characters, Yooka-Leylee is a throwback to the platform genre of the 90’s. It’s not perfect, but if you’re a fan of Banjo-Kazooie, Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64 you’ll probably have a lots of fun with this. | Read review |
| Marooners’ Rock | Mike Robles | 9 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | If you didn’t back it, at only $39.99 (USD) here’s a game that has hours of enjoyment. Except for that last boss. Eff that guy. . . | Read review |
| Metro GameCentral | GameCentral | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | It perfectly fulfils its brief of being a new Banjo-Kazooie game in all but name, but Yooka-Laylee’s reliance on nostalgia may struggle to find new fans. | Read review |
| MonsterVine | Michael Elliott | 5 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is simply a great quality platformer with few technical issues, a distinct presentation and a wacky world to run around in. | Read review |
| Nerd Much? | Bobby Bernstein | 6.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Despite its commendable protagonist and world design (mostly), the reliance on nostalgia hinders its ability to present fresh ideas, and when that issue is paired with the performance issues, you’re better off just dusting off an old N64 somewhere or waiting for it to be deeply discounted. | Read review |
| New Game Network | John Fleury | 78 / 100 | 04-11-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a fun throwback to a bygone era of gaming, with more than enough charm, variety, and engaging challenges to make up for its shortcomings. | Read review |
| Nexus | Jarred Milner | 6 / 10 | 04-03-2017 | Overall, I feel as though Yooka-Laylee has teased me with the past. So many good individual aspects giving me a glimpse of what I loved of the genre. But there are so many other parts of it that detract from the experience and make me wonder if I put up with such things in the past, without noticing them. | Read review |
| Nintendo Life | Mitch Vogel | 8 / 10 | 12-14-2017 | All told, Yooka-Laylee is a worthy modern tribute to the collectathons of yore, and it is highly recommended for Switch owners. This feels like a game that belongs in 1996, but with all the quality improvements of a game made in 2017, making for an excellent blend of new and old. Though it can be a little uneven at times, the game as a whole manages to succesfully achieve its goals.Do yourself a favour and give this one a go; it may not have been too well received to begin with, but Playtonic has polished it up quite nicely; it is a worthy addition to the Switch library. | Read review |
| NintendoWorldReport | Matt West | 6 / 10 | 12-17-2017 | When Yooka-Laylee was originally announced as a Kickstarter project by former Rare developers, it gave fans of the 3D platformer hope that a nearly dead genre could return to its former glory. It’s unfortunate, then, that Yooka-Laylee is no more than a mediocre attempt to capture nostalgia from the days of yore. In a year that has given us some truly innovative and special 3D platformers that pushed the genre to new heights, I can only really recommend pushing through Yooka-Laylee’s pedestrian campaign to the most enthusiastic of old Rare’s fans. | Read review |
| NZGamer | Bronwyn James | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Colourful characters, and enough adult humour to keep you wondering how this is a G rated game. | Read review |
| Pardis Game | Mohammad Taghavi | 6 / 10 | 04-25-2017 | Yooka Laylee is a move in the somewhat dead genre of 3D platforming and its presence between platforming giants like Ratchet & Clank and Super Mario Odyssey feels a great gap. What doesn’t make this game satisfying however are the controls and camera which stick to the game from the get go and don’t let go. Despite this, Yooka Laylee is recommended to the younger demographic considering its price and amount of content; even if the whole game might get underwhelming | Read review |
| Paste Magazine | Delilah Sinclair | 7 / 10 | 04-26-2017 | It doesn’t revitalize or even attempt to change the formula. Despite that Yooka-Laylee is colorful and musical and comforting. Yooka-Laylee may not represent a revival for the collect-a-thon genre, but it is an acceptable sequel, successor, parody and homage to a game now regarded as classic. | Read review |
| PC Gamer | Tom Marks | 68 / 100 | 04-04-2017 | A decent revival of the N64-era 3D platformer, but with all the flaws that carries, as well as some new ones of its own. | Read review |
| PCWorld | Hayden Dingman | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Playtonic promised a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, and that’s what Yooka-Laylee delivers, flaws and all. It’s a loving throwback to a bygone era and style of gaming. | Read review |
| Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Max Parker | 8 / 10 | 04-10-2017 | “Yooka-Laylee” accomplishes what it sets out to do. It reminds players what was so appealing about collectathons at the height of their popularity. Even if it overstay its welcome toward the end, it’s mostly a joyful journey through a long forgotten genre. | Read review |
| Player2.net.au | Matt Hewson | Not Recommended | 04-05-2017 | If you are jonesing for an authentic N64 experience then this will certainly fit the bill but if you are after a quality 3D platform game you would be much better served picking up Ratchet and Clank or waiting for Mario Odessy. Sadly Yooka Laylee is too stuck in the past to take the genre into the future. | Read review |
| PlayStation LifeStyle | Paulmichael Contreras | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a breath of fresh air. Playtonic Games knows platforming, and knows it well. The incredibly precise reactions needed by players, coupled with the lack of some of the genre’s more modern conveniences may turn some newer/younger gamers off. But for those looking for a deceptively deep collect-a-thon that has an entertaining story and wonderfully-crafted world, look no further. | Read review |
| PlayStation Universe | Neil Bolt | 6 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee shows there’s room for nostalgia-flavored 3D platforming in today’s market by reminding us of the joys of well-built, colorful worlds, and daft, fun characters. Unfortunately, the good work put in by Playtonic to modernise the stagnant genre is hamstrung by glaring technical issues that dull the vibrancy, and cloud over your enjoyment. | Read review |
| Polygon | Chelsea Stark | 5.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | A new coat of paint can’t fix Yooka-Laylee’s old design problems | Read review |
| Post Arcade (National Post) | Chad Sapieha | 6 / 10 | 04-10-2017 | The nostalgia is real in this Kickstarter success story from a group of ex-Rare staffers. But so is the clunky camera and repetitious backtracking | Read review |
| PowerUp! | Leo Stevenson | 9.5 / 10 | 04-03-2017 | I love Yooka-Laylee, unashamedly. I’ve only finished it recently, but already I want to start again and do it all over | Read review |
| Press Start | Shannon Grixti | 6 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Nostalgia will hit hard within the first few hours, but once this fades, you’ll realise that Yooka-Laylee is never able to live up to the brilliance that was Banjo-Kazooie. You’ll get some enjoyment from the open-world platforming aspects of the game, but the unlikable characters, coupled with a clunky camera among other redundant game mechanics will more than likely ruin the experience for you. I don’t doubt that even the biggest of Banjo-Kazooie fans will be left wondering what could have been. | Read review |
| pressakey.com | Tim Bissinger | Not Recommended | 04-10-2017 | Yooka-Laylee verspricht in Welt 1 viel, verliert aber danach immer mehr an Leichtfüßigkeit und Charme und rappelt sich erst viel zu spät wieder auf, während die durchwachsene Steuerung und verkrampfte Kamera immer wieder für Frust sorgen. Trotz toller Ideen, viel Abwechslung und Charme: Das großartige Comeback ist leider ausgeblieben. | Read review |
| PSX Brasil | Ivan Nikolai Barkow Castilho | 80 / 100 | 04-12-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is heavily inspired on Banjo-Kazooie and will be enjoyed by the fans that are thirsty for a new plaform and adventure 3D game. There are issues, like some moves for the characters, the weak transformations and the uninspired hub world. But overall, the game delivers its promise. | Read review |
| Pure Playstation | Chris Harding | 9 / 10 | 04-03-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is just what the industry needed: a firm, colourul, kick up the bum. There’s lots to do, even more to see, and even more to collect. An expandable game that really does justice to the genre it’s trying to revive. It’s been a long time that a game has kept my attention with pure gameplay alone. It’s a timeless classic that’ll join the ranks of Spyro, Crash and Banjo, and deservedly so. Gimme more. Please. | Read review |
| Push Square | Sammy Barker | 6 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | It’s colourful, there are collectibles, and it’s got a rotten camera: Yooka-Laylee is a 90s platformer to a tee. Unfortunately, rather than a rose-tinted look at the titles of yore, this game falls into all of the same pitfalls as its predecessors: it’s rough around the edges, often annoying, and at times even a chore. And yet for all of its flaws it’s still packing the most important ingredient of all: the compulsion to collect everything is strong here – and it’ll remain even when you’re grinding your teeth. | Read review |
| Rectify Gaming | Damian Nash | 8.9 / 10 | 04-05-2017 | Playtonic Games hasn’t only given us a great game to play, they have started a new franchise I hope to explore for years to come. | Read review |
| Reloading BR | Felipe Mesquita | 8.2 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | For more better than worse, Yooka-Laylee is practically a new game in the Banjo-Kazooie series. The camera is a problem that seems to come directly from its ancestors and its combat can become tedious, but these factors end up being secondary to puzzles, characters, dialogues, exploration and the platforming gameplay. In these points, the game manages to keep alive the spirit of the adventures of the old Rare but also adapts to introduce the “collecathon” style for a new generation. It lacks a touch of more modern design in some moments, but I had a lot of fun in the 26 hours it took me to finish (and I still have some collectibles and secrets to find) and I feel that in the end, the negative and positive points of Yooka-Laylee represent exactly the game Playtonic promised with its Kickstarter. | Read review |
| Rock, Paper, Shotgun | Philippa Warr | Recommended | 04-04-2017 | I’m far less sure of how someone without that attachment to the originals will perceive the mix of flaws and strengths. For me the chance to revisit one of my first game infatuations did reduce the annoyances, or at least they became part and parcel of going back – you take the irritants with the joys because without it it wouldn’t be the same. | Read review |
| Saudi Gamer | عصام الشهوان | 8 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | An enjoyable and varied experience that brings back the feeling of 90’s platformers even if admittedly it doesn’t add much new. Some flaws here and there don’t stop it from being a recommended purchase both for platformer veterans as well as newcomers. | Read review |
| Saving Content | Scott Ellison II | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | If Yooka-Laylee was made by any other developer who didn’t previously work at Rare, this would be considered a blatant rip-off. But instead, Playtonic picks up where Rare couldn’t. For whatever reason a new Banjo-Kazooie couldn’t be made, and Yooka-Laylee takes its place. I’m looking forward to what’s next, perhaps a new Nuts & Bolts-style game after this. Playtonic Games has captured a certain type of magic from 1998 and brought it to 2017 in spectacular form. | Read review |
| SelectButton | Mike de Leon | 7 / 10 | 04-11-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is exactly the type of game that Playtonic Games set out to create when they initially launched the Kickstarter for the game. It is in every sense of the word a spiritual; successor to the Banjo-Kazooie franchise. It’s a true return to the collect-a-thon games that were great back on the Nintendo 64, but many of the game’s core mechanics feel archaic on today’s platforms. | Read review |
| Sirus Gaming | Lexuzze Tablante | 9 / 10 | 04-12-2017 | Even if Yooka-Laylee is inspired from Banjo-Kazooie, since ex-Rare developers joined up with Team17, for players who didn’t get to play the aforementioned game will definitely enjoy this Banjo-successor. The worlds you get to explore, the characters you meet, and how visually spectacular the game is, Yooka-Laylee is a platformer that you don’t want to miss. | Read review |
| Slant Magazine | Aaron Riccio | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | The game isn’t interested in coasting on nostalgia, but in establishing brand-new memories for the next generation. | Read review |
| SomHráč.sk | Martin Kubeš | 70 / 100 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is an old school platform game. It looks good, it’s fun to play, but the developers didn’t come with any new ideas. Although the mix works, it’s not the year 1998 anymore when Banjo-Kazooie was released and players who weren’t there back then probably won’t be convinced. | Read review |
| SpazioGames | Domenico Musicò | 7.5 / 10 | 04-08-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a love letter to 3D platformer of twenty years ago. It is everything a fan of the best RARE works can expect, the real Banjoo-Kazooie spiritual successor. Despite some camera issues and the not so smooth controls, it deserves your attention. | Read review |
| Stevivor | Steve Wright | 9 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Playtonic’s special brand of humour is weaved throughout, seemingly innocent but with a sly wink towards those old enough to appreciate subtleties. | Read review |
| SwitchWatch | Juan Romero | 6.5 / 10 | 12-16-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a game which brings us back to the 3D platformer retro roots and brings all of what made those games from the 90s great with it. In doing so though, it also brought with it most of the faults which should have been ironed out a long time ago. I have mentioned the camera a few times, but it really hampers what otherwise could have been a great experience and makes the challenge more frustrating than it otherwise should have been. I love a challenge, but I want it to be a fair one and not hampered by game design issues. If you are after a 3d platformer which harks back to the 90s and brings all of the good and bad points from that era, then this might be for you. Yooka-Laylee are certainly adorable characters, the writing is quite funny, the visuals are nice and the music is lovely. It’s a shame the gameplay doesn’t quite marry up due to persistent niggles. | Read review |
| TechRaptor | Patrick Perrault | 7 / 10 | 05-15-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a fun game, but its controls, plot and somewhat plentiful bugs hamper the experience. 3D platformer veterans will find something to like here, but others might be turned off. | Read review |
| The Digital Fix | Katie Fanthorpe | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka Laylee is a great example of what can be achieved with the 3D platform. It is let down only by its lack of motivating narrative progression, and a tendency to get a little monotonous. | Read review |
| The Escapist | Steven Bogos | 4.5 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | This time around, Kickstarter actually did come to the rescue, delivering a game that is very much worthy of being called the spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. Yooka-Laylee is a game for fans who miss the N64 days of running around a huge, open map, collecting a bunch of stuff and having a bit of a laugh. It’s cute, it’s funny, and a few minor technical issues aside, it’s exactly what it promised to deliver. | Read review |
| The Game Fanatics | Kyle Fisher | 7 / 10 | 04-24-2017 | For better and for worse Yooka-Laylee accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. A throwback to a time when 3D platformers reigned supreme, but it holds on to nostalgia too closely, never quite coming into its own. The lack of new gameplay ideas, a camera that gets in the way far too often, and too much of a focus on old gameplay tropes keeps Yooka-Laylee from being great. | Read review |
| The Games Machine | Danilo Dellafrana | 8.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a heartfelt tribute to the best of Rare on Nintendo 64. It’s a challenging game, with a steep difficulty level (like old times!), always fun to play. If you’re a fan of old-school platforming, you won’t be disappointed. | Read review |
| The Jimquisition | Jim Sterling | 2 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is a game out of time, clinging so desperately to past glories it doesn’t seem to understand the Earth kept spinning after the N64 was discontinued. It’s everything wrong about the formative years of 3D platforming and it somehow retained none of what made the genre’s highlights endure. | Read review |
| The Outerhaven Productions | Andrea Chin | 3.5 / 5 stars | 04-20-2017 | With bright colorful palette, cartoony soundtrack, and goofy cast of characters, Yooka-Laylee is sure to be a hit with younger players, as well as an older crowd eager to relive gaming’s past glories in 3D platforming and adventuring in an open world format. It’s a visually beautiful game with a brilliant soundtrack, bringing together Rare’s technical and creative talents to the table for Playtonic Games’ debut. It was a fully des vu experience, reliving waves of warm nostalgia as it was happening in front of me. | Read review |
| TheSixthAxis | Jim Hargreaves | 7 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Of all the potential hurdles to snag on in creating a 3D platformers in the style of the late nineties classics, Playtonic deftly avoids the most egregious ones by far. At its very core, Yooka-Laylee succeeds in reviving a format long forgotten and does so with such vigor and passion. However, players shouldn’t expect it to reinvent the genre. | Read review |
| TheXboxHub | Richard Dobson | 5 / 5 stars | 04-03-2017 | Yooka-Laylee has done what everyone, developers and players, had hoped it to do and brought the 3D platformer kicking and screaming into gaming mainstream again, spearheading the revival. | Read review |
| ThisGenGaming | Charlie Oakley | 9.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | I’m struggling to find many faults with Yooka-Laylee. Okay, it’s held back by some minor technical issues but other than those minor issues, this game was an absolute blast to play. If you’re looking for a chilled out, over-the-top, and at time hilarious video game that is also fun to play then Yooka-Laylee deserves your attention. This gets an absolute recommendation from me, and a must buy at launch. | Read review |
| Thumbsticks | Tom Baines | 3 / 5 stars | 04-09-2017 | From the promise of the Kickstarter and the people behind it, you might have expected Yooka-Laylee to be like a great band, getting back together for a new album after a long hiatus. What we’ve ended up with is something that feels like a cover version – of something a bit old-fashioned, not especially relevant today, and more than a little bit flawed – but if you loved Banjo-Kazooie, then you’ll probably love the cover version just as much, and that’s just fine. | Read review |
| TrueAchievements | Megan Walton | 4 / 5 stars | 04-05-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is bright, colourful and fun from the outset, a theme that carries through the whole of the game. It’s a colourful romp through a unique world filled with pagies, cagies and weirdly wonderful characters. It feels like a love letter to a time of games gone by in the best way possible, and it’s hard not to be drawn to the way the game looks. A few issues with the camera and some of the controls stop the game being perfect, but it isn’t far off. | Read review |
| TrueGaming | عمر العمودي | 5.5 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Apparently, the game engine was a major source of many of the game’s problems. It’s hard not to feel the game was really rushed in development. | Read review |
| Twinfinite | Chris Jecks | 4 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is basically the Banjo-Kazooie game players have been waiting well over a decade for. No matter your age, Yooka-Laylee has something for everyone, be it the colorful characters and worlds that youngsters are sure to love, or the crude humor sprinkled throughout to appeal to the older audiences. | Read review |
| USgamer | Nadia Oxford | 3 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee is built out of the heart, soul, guts, and bones of Banjo-Kazooie. It’s exactly what fans of Rare’s classic 3D wanted. Unfortunately, technical issues stick to it like bat guano. | Read review |
| VGChartz | Daniel Carreras | Not Recommended | 04-13-2017 | Yooka-Laylee doesn’t bring much new to the table and the nostalgia factor will only keep you engaged for so long. | Read review |
| VGN | Pietro Quattrone | 7.5 / 10 | 04-20-2017 | Yooka–Laylee is an unexpected gift from Playtonic Games that proves once again how the 3D platform genre can still entertain after almost 20 years. Despite being very funny and inspired, the game has several flaws, with the camera and the control mechanics being the biggest ones. Even if the gameplay is far from the perfection, if you loved old 3D platforms such as Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, you will definitely enjoy the new Yooka-Laylee from Playtonic, but if you’re new to this genre you might experience a difficult-to-manage gameplay that is not good as most of the modern platforms available today. | Read review |
| Video Chums | A.J. Maciejewski | 8.1 / 10 | 04-05-2017 | Minor annoyances aside, Yooka-Laylee is a solid 3D buddy platformer that’s full of variety, humour, and a fantastic cast of characters all wrapped in a laidback adventure. | Read review |
| VideoGamer | Colm Ahern | 4 / 10 | 04-04-2017 | Yooka-Laylee would fit right into the late 90s with its vague puzzles, wakka-wakka voices, and confusing levels. Time has moved on since the N64, and while there are a handful of bright spots, this sadly isn’t the catalyst for a 3D platformer revival. | Read review |
| Wccftech | Dave Aubrey | 8.5 / 10 | 12-15-2017 | It might not be as good as your vague memories of the hallowed games of Rare, but Yooka-Laylee has a little bit of that old lovable magic in it. It may be made for children, but there is a little something that can make the old and miserable smile again. That alone is worth it. | Read review |
| We Got This Covered | Jowi Meli | 3 / 5 stars | 04-04-2017 | At its best, Yooka-Laylee is a fun retread of ’90s-era 3D platforming. Unfortunately, it fails to move the genre forward in any significant way, and even brings back several pains that should have stayed firmly planted in the past. | Read review |
| Windows Central | Paul Acevedo | 4 / 5 stars | 04-14-2017 | The platforming is fast and delightful, with plenty of abilities to use, items to find, and areas to explore. Charming characters, clever humor, and lots of bright colors all serve to enhance the gameplay as well. | Read review |
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