Playtonic’s rather fab Yooka-Laylee sequel, the Impossible Lair, will soon be getting a demo on PC, PlayStation 4, and Switch – meaning those still on the fence can finally try before they buy.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, which launched toward the end of last year, sees the titular lizard and bat duo mixing things up for outing number two.
While the first, rather uneven, game in the series saw Playtonic riffing on developer Rare’s beloved Banjo-Kazooie games, its sequel swaps fully 3D platforming for predominantly side-scrolling action. The most obvious touchstone this time around is Donkey Kong Country – specifically, Retro Studios’ two critically acclaimed outings – and the end result is a follow-up that feels tighter, more enjoyable, and supremely more assured.
The Impossible Lair’s initial 20 stages all serve up a solidly entertaining slab of acrobatic traversal, and each is given an often substantial second lease of life as players begin to fiddle around in the game’s impressively designed overworld. With a bit of tinkering, existing stages can be imbued with an alternate state – flooding some, freezing others, and much more – radical enough to essentially deliver 20 new levels of platforming.
That top-down overworld, though, is perhaps the biggest surprise, introducing all manner of satisfying exploratory challenges, puzzles, and secrets for players to tackle as they prepare to take on the ultra-challenging Impossible Lair of the title.
Personally, I had a very pleasant time polishing off Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair over Christmas, and Eurogamer’s Tom Philips was equally complimentary in his review last year.
If you’ve yet to take the plunge, however, Playtonic hopes to sway you with the imminent arrival of a playable demo. It’ll be heading to Steam this Thursday, 23rd January, and to PlayStation 4 and Switch on 30th January. An Xbox One version is still “TBA”.
Playtonic says the demo will include an “assortment of vibrant and exciting 2D levels”, a terrain-transforming Pagie Challenge, a level state change, sample tonics, plus the Impossible Lair itself. Additionally, there’ll be no time limit, and saved games can be transferred over to the full game, should you be impressed enough to make a purchase.
