Yooka-Laylee | |
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Developer(s) | Playtonic Games |
Publisher(s) | Team17 |
Director(s) | Chris Sutherland |
Producer(s) | Andy Wilson |
Designer(s) | Gavin Price Gary Richards |
Artist(s) |
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Writer(s) | Andy Robinson |
Composer(s) | |
Engine | Unity |
Platform(s) | |
Release |
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Genre(s) | Platform |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Aggregate score | |
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Aggregator | Score |
Metacritic | (PC) 73/100 (PS4) 69/100 (XONE) 73/100 |
Review scores | |
Publication | Score |
Destructoid | 8/10 |
EGM | 7/10 |
Game Informer | 8/10 |
Game Revolution | |
GameSpot | 6/10 |
GamesRadar | |
IGN | 7/10 |
PC Gamer (US) | 68/100 |
Polygon | 5.5/10 |
VideoGamer.com | 4/10 |
The Escapist |
Yooka-Laylee is a platform video game developed by Playtonic Games and published by Team17 for Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It was originally also in development for Wii U, but was later cancelled in favor of the Switch version due to "unforeseen technical issues".
Yooka-Laylee was developed by Playtonic Games, a group of several former key personnel from Rare during the Nintendo 64 era, as a spiritual successor to their game series Banjo-Kazooie and other works. Among them, Banjo-Kazooie staff Chris Sutherland, Steve Mayles, Steven Hurst, and Grant Kirkhope reprised their respective roles. Similar to the title of Banjo-Kazooie being a play on the banjo and kazoo musical instruments, the title of Yooka-Laylee is a play on the ukulele.
Gameplay resembles Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel, Banjo-Tooie, featuring items and characters that play similar roles to those found in these games. One player controls two characters working together simultaneously, a male chameleon named Yooka, who is being described as "sensible", and likewise controls a female bat named Laylee, who is being described as "a little bit crazy". The game is intended as a resurrection and modernization of the "collectathon" 3D platforming game genre of the late 1990s and early 2000s, with an emphasis on progression by collecting various different items. During their adventures, Yooka and Laylee explore worlds contained within magical books and complete challenges to collect "Pagies": golden book pages that act as the main currency in the game. Players can use their Pagies to either unlock new worlds or expand those which have already been unlocked.