I hate the need to preface this, but this game has had some amount of backlash and negativity. Having been exposed to that, I hope I haven’t become defensive about it. But I think I’m being honest and true when I say that Yooka-Laylee was a transportive experience that felt great to play, made me smile and feel like a kid again.

I love Rare’s 90s work, and this is transparently an attempt to make a new Banjo game. It takes the sprawling levels from Tooie, with the more engaging collectible dynamics of Kazooie, and even a few lessons from DK64, then streamlines it and brings the visuals to the modern era. The result works out very well, with a few quirks, but most importantly it captures the feel, carrying the spirit of Rare and Banjo into—finally—a new game in the old style.

The most important thing about playing the game is that it feels good to get around these worlds. Yooka and Laylee move fast, jump high, and have good double-jump and gliding capabilities that make movement smooth and fun. The worlds are big and full of stuff, detailed but easy to get lost in—which I enjoyed. The environments are modelled in such a way that you’re able to jump off bits of the scenery, letting you bypass certain challenges if you’re clever; this feels very freeing as a player and wasn’t really possible in the older games unless you broke them open like DK64′s infamously glitchy engine allowed.

As expected, the game is also full of character from the theming of the worlds to the cast. The cast of NPCs perhaps doesn’t have the variety of Banjo but the major supporting characters are lots of fun, with standouts being the shonky Trowzer and gleefully outdated Rextro. The main cast work well too, from Capital B’s business-themed patter and mistreatment of his Vice President Dr. Quack, to Laylee’s very Kazooie-like snark. Andy Robinson has done a handy job with the script, and the character designs from a plethora of Ex-Rare masters are wonderfully mismatched and lovable.

Speaking of industry veterans, Grant Kirkhope’s music varies between on-the-nose Banjo pastiche to Viva Pinata-like atmosphere and is quite good. Steve Burke’s tunes make Rextro’s often frustrating minigames almost worthwhile. And David Wise is at his modern best, with fantastic tunes that feel very much like Tropical Freeze or Snake Pass.

I have a lot of nice things to say, yes, but when playing this game it helps to keep in mind that it was made on a relatively small budget. There’s fewer levels than a Banjo game but they are big. Challenges like Rextro’s or Kartos’s 2.5D minecarts are clunky but were necessary due to Kickstarter promises. Transformations are a bit underwhelming but at least you can revert at will!

I’ve seen complaints that this game feels too hampered by being bound to 3D platforming’s past. Although I’ll point out that this is working as intended as a deliberate throwback, I also feel the opposite: Yooka-Laylee takes the old formulas and updates them just enough to feel fresh while still being familiar and comforting. Tweaks such as the character’s abilities being informed by their design, and not relying on items but a refilling bar, having collectibles follow a consistent theme that ties into the plot… Yooka-Laylee is just what Rare fans needed, and I’m so glad Playtonic pulled it off. Can’t wait to see what they do next!