Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair will be the newest game from Playtonic Games. On Friday, Playtonic took to Twitter to announce their latest game to the public—The Impossible Lair is a spin-off of the original title, which was released in 2017 by Team 17 (after a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign) for computers and all major consoles.
The original Yooka-Laylee was a third-person platformer in the same spirit as the much-loved Banjo-Kazooie series, which was also produced by Playtonic Games. Players in Yooka-Laylee follow the story of the self-titled main characters: Yooka, a bipedal chameleon, and Laylee, a bat who sits on his head. Much like in Banjo-Kazooie or Chameleon Twist, the characters pick up new abilities as the story progresses, which will allow them to collect needed objects to beat the game.
Upon first release, the original Yooka-Laylee received mixed reviews from critics. Game critic Matt Gerardi of AV Club summed up most of these reviews nicely: The first Yooka-Laylee was “so wrapped up in recreating past glories that they never bother[ed] to reconsider them and look forward.”
The Impossible Lair intends to make good on these criticisms with its newest installment. On the game’s website, Playtonic says the game will be a “2D Platforming Adventure Hybrid” where Yooka and Laylee will move through 2D environments “packed to the brim with collectibles.”
Although this sounds no different from previous games in this genre, Playtonic has more hidden up their sleeve. To beat The Impossible Lair, players will need to switch between the classic 2D world to a “sprawling 3D overworld” filled with puzzles, challenges, NPCs, and “game-changing secrets.”
Developers have stated the game will not be a direct sequel to the original Yooka-Laylee. What this means practically has not been addressed in any depth by the team. But Playtonic says they have a lot of ideas and plans for future Yooka-Laylee titles. Speaking on this point, the team said each new title is “an opportunity for us to add new mechanics and gameplay.” And because of that, they didn’t want previous titles limiting their ability to expand on those aspects of each new game.
The replies of fans in the release thread on Twitter really stressed their anticipation for the new musical score more than anything else. Several fans asked if composer David Wise would be returning to the project for a second time—fortunately, he will. Wise has composed the soundtracks for games like Donkey Kong Country, Snake Pass, and Tengami in the past.
In the release post on their website, Playtonic Games promised to reveal the mystery behind the Impossible Lair at E3 this year. What could it be?
Whatever it is, it’s probably safe to assume the lair will be different from whatever Playtonic has done in the past.
