A spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie from Playtonic Games, which is comprised of ex-Rare developers, Yooka-Laylee is an all-new platforming adventure scheduled to release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC, Mac, and Linux.
With the Kickstarter campaign having just launched and still 46 days away from ending, Yooka-Laylee has already crushed its £175,000 goal. However, console gamers may be playing Yooka-Laylee after PC gamers, with the description saying, “The exact release timing and scope of each version will be determined by the success of this Kickstarter campaign and specifically, our stretch goals.”
Playtonic Games would love to do simultaneous day one releases on all platforms, but to guarantee that they’d need to hit £1,000,000, which is their top stretch goal. Other stretch goals include a local co-op buddy (£535,000) and 2-4 player local multiplayer (£665,000).
As for the actual Yooka-Laylee game, it stars “Yooka (the green bloke with no pants) and Laylee (the wisecracking lady-bat with the big nose).” Using special moves like Yooka’s tongue grapple and Laylee’s tactical sonar blast, you’ll explore 3D worlds, discover hidden collectibles, and be able to unlock new worlds and expand them using golden collectibles known as Pagies.
Here’s a list of Yooka-Laylee’s features:
- Heroes Built for Fun – Our new buddy-duo were dreamed up specifically for entertaining platforming gameplay and exceptional colour coordination. We think we’ve captured the spirit of our past heroes while introducing our most inventive moves yet.
- An Arsenal of Abilities – Sonar blasting, tongue whipping, sky soaring… a move roster built for platforming fun – and unlocked with added freedom. Additionally, there may or may not be a move involving a giant fart bubble.
- A Dream Soundtrack – David Wise (Donkey Kong Country) and Grant Kirkhope (Banjo-Kazooie) combine in what’s sure to be a melodic masterpiece! Seriously, clean out your ears – they’re in for a treat.
- Collect-em-up 2.0 – A roster of shiny collectibles with gameplay progression at their core (as well as other, more valuable materials). Every collectible type in our new game will expand gameplay in a meaningful way. Yes, we employ the man responsible for DK64’s myriad of trinkets, but we’ve had a stern word. Our main collectible, Pagies, are used to unlock and expand new worlds in Yooka-Laylee.
- Expandable Worlds – Experience more of the playgrounds you love by spending collectibles to expand your favourites into bigger, more challenging worlds.
- A Cast to Last – A huge cast of memorable characters to meet (or beat) brought to life by the art and audio teams behind Banjo-Kazooie and destined to endure in future games as part of Playtonic Universe. Expect all manner of grunts, squeaks and squawks.
- Introducing Play Tonics – Discover these unique gameplay modifiers and use them to customise gameplay to suit your style. Will you run faster, hit harder or fly further? Also, are they named after our studio or vice versa? We’ll never know.
- Arcade Machines – Each world hides at least one secret arcade game encasing old-school gaming goodness. Complete its retro-tastic challenge to claim your Pagie!
Will you be backing Yooka-Laylee?
[Source: Kickstarter]
