Yooka-Replaylee

Yooka-Replaylee was provided by PM Studios for review. Thank you!

I'm going to set the scene, if I may, to a sunny yet chilly day in early April at the Tobacco Docks in London, the once-regular venue for EGX Rezzed, an offshoot of the EGX expos that focused on smaller indie titles. Dimly lit rooms and a friendly atmosphere permeated the air, as passionate developers and fans alike looked for their perfect matches, be it games or consumers, respectively. There's very little I remember about the trip itself, bar first experiencing VR with the PlayStation VR, losing myself in a 40-minute demo for Persona 5, my first time with a Persona game, and then moving to the room over to play a small and inspired platformer, namely Yooka-Laylee.

The existence of such a modern take on the 3D platformers of old wasn't news to me, having backed the wildly successful Kickstarter launch in 2015. Originally aiming for £175,000, Playtonic, the developers behind Yooka-Laylee, consisting of former key personnel from the peak late-'90s/early-'00s Rare days, managed an incredibly impressive £2,090,104 spread across 73,206 backers. I couldn't have been more excited to have my hands on the already iconic lime chameleon Yooka and his purple bat companion Laylee, and I was instantly hooked.

I missed out on the early Nintendo era of 3D platformers, having not had a coveted Nintendo 64 until the late 2000s, by which point the then-next-generation of consoles had obviously superseded it. So, to experience a modern take on a genre not only lost to me but respected was a lovely ordeal in itself.

When Yooka-Laylee launched in 2017, however, it received a mixed reception. While deservedly praised for its colourful worlds and readily apparent nostalgic charm, it leaned too heavily on that nostalgia without the many modern refinements it so clearly yearned for. Clunky camera controls were by far the worst aspect of adventuring alongside Yooka and Laylee, often having to battle against them even before the general platforming could be taken into account, and that's not to mention a general lack of polish felt throughout. Despite these issues, the game still found a devout and passionate audience among fans of the genre. It returned a year later in the 2.5D sidescroller Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, a game universally recognised as the greater of the two.

I had always hoped that we'd see more of Yooka-Laylee, so my equal surprise and jubilation when such a remaster was announced earlier this year was nigh on off the (chameleon) scales. Even if nothing new were added, retweaking some of the aforementioned sore points, namely, the camera and general modernizations needed, wouldn't go amiss. Yet, what we have here is so much more. It was never about reinventing the original; it's about perfecting it.

Right from the get-go, it's clear how much has changed. Worlds are fully expanded from the start, freeing you to explore every ever-colourful nook and cranny without grinding for Pagies, Yooka's particular progress-halting collectable, first. Every move is unlocked immediately, too, meaning there's no need to constantly backtrack to old levels to grab the few out-of-reach collectables you would have seen way back when.

Tracking progress on a level-by-level basis is also easier, thanks to a brand-new map system that tracks challenges, objectives, and characters, making it easier to plan your next move without diving into menus or retracing steps. Further quality of life enhancements lie within such menus, such as the much-needed addition of fast travel, helping smooth out the back-and-forth that once defined Yooka-Laylee's worst pacing moments in its larger-than-expected maps.

Controlling the magnificent duo is even more enjoyable now, thanks to the immediately noticeable improvements in feel and control. Movement is tighter, camera control is far more reliable (phew), and new additions like the tail spin attack give platforming and combat a satisfying punch. The art direction remains unmistakably Playtonic, bright, chunky, and bursting with personality and charm, but the improved lighting and animation make it feel surprisingly fresh.

With all the deserved praise being said, Yooka-Replaylee still carries the DNA of the original, for better and worse. While the world is gorgeous and filled with charm, it can occasionally feel just a tad too open, and especially when first entering a new location, it can be particularly overwhelming. Moreover, the game's tone still distinguishes between a cheeky and cheesy feel and grating. It's somewhere between a love letter and a carbon copy of the tones utilised throughout Banjo-Kazooie and Conker's Bad Fur Day, which may be endearing for some and annoying for others, but that aside, these are minor quibbles compared to how much has genuinely been improved.

Yooka Replaylee - Steam Deck Performance

Yooka-Replaylee is a curious beast on Steam Deck, carefully locked down to guarantee that everyone has the same experience regardless. Graphical settings are nonexistent, implying that the settings out of the box are the be-all and end-all regarding how you will experience such an adventure. A 45fps limit is similarly placed on the adventure, with barely a wobble throughout my time playing - aside from entering and exiting worlds, where the FPS drops substantially briefly.

Whilst drops were few and far between, there did seem to be an issue with frame pacing, specifically the uniformity in how long it takes to render and display each frame in the animation, ensuring a smooth experience where every frame appears at precisely equal intervals. Whilst noticeable, it wasn't particularly distracting, nor was it as egregious as Final Fantasy XV on PS4, should an odd-but-needed comparison be warranted.

Conclusion

Yooka-Replaylee isn't just a remaster — it's a reclamation. It takes what made the original so endearing and, with care and hindsight, reshapes it into something far more cohesive and enjoyable, delivering upon the original vision. The improvements to controls, camera movement, and pacing finally allow Playtonic's delightful beaut to shine as brightly as it was always meant to. Some of that old-school jank and overzealous charm remain, but that's part of its identity, the beating heart of the collectathon genre it celebrates so proudly.

Our review is based on the PC version of this game.

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