Highlights
- Yooka-Replaylee, the enhanced and remastered version of Yooka-Laylee, promises an improved camera, better controls, new challenges, and an orchestral score for a fresh experience.
- Playtonic Games' Kickstarter for Yooka-Laylee set records in 2015, reaching $1 million in less than one day.
- Yooka-Laylee was intended as a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series, offering a nostalgic platforming experience for fans.
The 2017 indie platformer Yooka-Laylee is getting a current-gen remaster. According to a press release, the enhanced and remastered version, titled Yooka-Replaylee, is being handled by the same key creative talent behind the original Yooka-Laylee.
After years of planning, Playtonic Games launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to fund Yooka-Laylee in 2015. Intending the game to be a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie series, the company’s debut title was applauded for capturing the nostalgic ambiance of early 3D platformers but heavily criticized for its technical issues. A sequel titled Yooka-Layleeand the Impossible Lair was released for PC and console in 2019.
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Review
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair has some unique and interesting ideas, but the platforming just doesn't click like it should.
A release trailer for Yooka-Replayee was shown during today’s Guerrilla Collective 2024 showcase, highlighting the colorful game’s overhauled art and animations. The upcoming title promises improvements to its camera and controls along with a new currency, new challenges, an orchestral version of the original score, and additional accessibility options. Players will be able to customize their run by using Tonics purchased from Vendi, the sentient vending machine, who will also sell new cosmetics. Specific consoles and a release date for Yooka-Replayee have not yet been announced, but the game has been confirmed for PC via Steam. Interested players can add the game to their wishlist now.
Yooka-Replayee Is an Enhanced Version of Yooka-Laylee Coming To Current-Gen consoles and PC
On June 11, Playtonic Games will host a Q&A on its YouTube channel to answer user questions about Yooka-Replayee and discuss what players can expect. Senior community manager Steve James and select company founders will be in attendance, and those interested are asked to follow the company’s social media to be notified of the specific time.
The Kickstarter campaign to fund Yooka-Laylee set records in 2015, with the title becoming the fastest in the website’s history to reach $1 million. It reached its initial goal within only thirty-eight minutes, and remains the highest-funded UK video game in Kickstarter history, beating the previous record held by the space simulation game Elite: Dangerous.
In early 2021, Playtonic Games opened a publishing division dubbed Playtonic Friends, announcing three titles under development from its partner studios. Later that year, the Chinese holding company Tencent acquired a minority stake in Playtonic Games, which managing director Gavin Price saw as a boon for the continued growth of the Yooka-Laylee brand. Although the original game saw waves of backlash for its frustrating camera angles and wonky controls, this remastered edition may signal a new beginning for Yooka the Chameleon and Laylee the Bat.
