Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time released just a few days ago and so far, quite a few fans have enjoyed the game. It took over twenty years for a new installment of the series to be officially released after numerous spin-off games and branching titles. However, one key component that a number of players noticed and appreciated about Crash Bandicoot 4 was the design of the world map.
The latter two games in the original Crash Bandicoot trilogy that released back in the late 90s featured a warp room layout, which let players access levels in a streamlined fashion. This format was also featured in the N. Sane Trilogy released a couple of years ago. Though, shockingly enough, the level map layout of Crash Bandicoot 4 is reminiscent of the very first Crash Bandicoot game released in 1996.
The first Crash Bandicoot installment featured a world map that has Crash physically moving from one location to the next. While Crash Bandicoot 4 also features this world map structure, it seems like a rather interesting design choice, given how the warp room layout was featured in both the second and third Crash Bandicoot games and the N. Sane Trilogy. However, Paul Yan, one of the co-heads of Toys for Bob, the studio that developed the game, gave a good reason for reviving the world map format.
Yan stated that the game was initially supposed to possess the Warp Room format, given that this game is a direct sequel to Crash Bandicoot 3. Though, as time went on, Yan and the other developers wanted to make a Crash game that was both approachable to new players, but also possessed the difficulty that Crash Bandicoot is known for. The developers found that the correlation between game difficulty and building confidence within players aligned with the idea of having Crash physically move from one area to the next.
Another important quality that Yan and the developers wanted to emphasize with Crash Bandicoot 4 was the story. Having this linear format of moving the player from one level area to the next allowed for a more succinct narrative. This in turn also falls in line with the number of playable characters featured in the game.
It's amazing how something as seemingly innocuous as a map screen can help contribute to the overall structure of any given game. With Crash Bandicoot 4 especially, it allows for more players to experience the game outside of longtime fans of the series who are used to the merciless difficult of the earlier titles. Luckily, Toys for Bob included a retro mode for returning fans of the series that offers high difficulty right from the beginning.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is available now for PS4 and Xbox One.
Source: IGN
