Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Review

Having completed Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair in its entirety, I’m still not sure who the game’s target audience is. The second game featuring the duo Yooka and Laylee, draws heavy inspiration from 90’s and 2000’s collectathons, designed as a colorful platformer that cleverly combines a 2.5D overworld filled with secrets, and 2D platforming levels.

The primary objective is simple, with the setting being established within the initial five minutes: Ultimately, the goal is to conquer “The Impossible Lair” and defeat Capital-B, the game’s main antagonist. Although this daunting task can be attempted from the game’s outset (and awards one last collectible upon successful completion), success demands taking no damage at all after losing Laylee, making the Lair indeed almost impossible to complete at this point – at least with no practice beforehand.

Thus begins a quest to free Beettallion Soldiers, acting as shields for our protagonist duo and, ultimately, making the successful completion of the Impossible Lair much more manageable.

While some of these Beettallion can be found in the overworld, the vast majority is freed by completing 20 levels and their alternate versions. And here is the first problem… While different gimmicks and hazards are introduced over time, and despite the levels differing at least thematically, they all feel remarkably similar to play. Some alternate versions – sometimes unlocked by doing close to nothing, sometimes after completing a series of puzzles or tasks – offer a creative twist on the original level’s idea and theme, but most are unfortunately uninteresting and feel more like filler. There are no levels that stand out and no ideas that surprise the player. Most importantly, the difficulty curve is disappointingly flat, with the first and last levels, and everything in-between, offering little to no challenge. If you are adept at platformers – and I would argue even if you are not as well-versed in the genre – Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a very basic and casual experience – for the most part.

The lack of identity is not YLatIL’s biggest problem, however. Yooka is not a very fun character to control. He feels too sluggish and inert on solid ground, his momentum feeling off. Rolling offers a faster movement option, but cannot be arbitrarily interrupted, and does not replace a regular “sprint” option. Instead, its use is needed for roll-jumping off platforms, maintaining momentum and allowing to land on platforms that are otherwise off-reach. Platformer-specific concepts, especially coyote-time, as well as some questionable platform hitboxes feel off even after having spent hours with the game. The crude and chunky visuals, devoid of any finesse, unfortunately only emphasize these issues.

Water controls further exacerbate the problem, as navigating Yooka through water becomes a test of patience and a frustrating experience. Yooka’s sluggishness is accentuated here, and the problematic hitboxes become even more apparent.

The overworld is a nice touch, and is well-implemented with a refreshing switch to 2.5D and a plethora of hidden collectibles to be found. The focus shifts from platforming to puzzle solving, often required to either unlock alternate versions of levels, find a hidden collectible, or unlock the path forward. Overall, though, puzzles are straightforward, the lack of head-scratching moments resulting in no memorable or interesting puzzles that stand out. It is also in the overworld that the worst movement-mechanic is introduced: sliding on ice. Albeit used infrequently, it is unfathomably frustrating due to its design favoring a long wind-up animation over responsive controls.

Collectibles, including hidden Tonics, Beettallion Soldiers, and Pagie Challenges, populate the overworld. The later are single-screen challenges that modify the overworld upon completion, unlocking the path forward. These are – once again – devoid of any challenge, making them feel rather pointless and diminishing their overall impact.

The 40 platforming levels each contain five T.W.I.T. coins, required to progress in the overworld and gain access to more levels. While some coins are well-hidden, most are hidden almost in plain-sight, making them rather straightforward to find.

With the lack of challenge in YLatIL and its colorful graphics, one could make an argument for the game being aimed at a young and / or inexperienced gamer audience. This is where the Impossible Lair itself contradicts this idea. This long gauntlet serves as the final challenge, hiding the final showdown with Capital-B at its end. Even after having collected all Beettallion Soldiers, attempting the Impossible Lair is a significant difficulty spike, demanding a level of precision far beyond anything the game previously required. Even more bizarre is the inclusion of one final collectible, “The Golden Try”, asking the player to complete the entirety of the Impossible Lair without checkpoints and without Beettallion Soldiers. This unnecessarily arduous task is not a very fun challenge to practice for, even further emphasizing all the gameplay issues mentioned.