Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair: Review

by Lerako on Oct 3rd, 2019

Having properly trounced Capital B. in their previous adventure, Yooka and Laylee probably weren’t expecting the enterprising corporate tyrant to come back stinging so quickly.
Imagine their surprise (and mine) when it was announced that the duo would be starring in a second adventure, this time lesser a dimension as Playtonic tackled the 2-D side-scrolling
platforming genre.
Standing as one of the most iconic and recognizable formats in video games, there comes a certain challenge with trying to introduce innovation in such a tried and trusted formula, and
while Playtonics pedigree assured me that they would create something as memorable as their previous games of yesteryear, this outing would rely on them giving the contemporary
audience something that would illicit the same magic.

I’m pleased to say that Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is the most inventive side-scroller I’ve ever played – this game oozes and drips honey-like with rich creative energy and
masterful design more than twenty years in the making, and it shows through in even the most minute of detail.

Building on the foundation of the previous romp, Yooka and Laylee are thrust head-long into a brand new world that sees Capital B. restored to full power using a Bee Mind Control
Device called the “Hive Mind”. With full control over a legion of brainwashed bees, they surround him like a shield, each one providing an extra layer of defense.
The game wastes no time squaring off the rivals, giving a baptism by fire into the mechanics of the Hive Mind, and while the battle does begin rather one-sided, it is possible
to dispatch with Capital B’s buzzy brigade to which the next portion of the game is revealed: The eponymous Impossible Lair.

This devious gauntlet is the pen-ultimate challenge of the game, which in a twist on convention, players are able to attempt at any time during their adventure.
If you’re like me however, you’ll only get a fleeting glimpse of the Impossible Lair during your first visit before you’re overwhelmed and sent back to the gates of Hivory Towers.
This is of course anticipated, as gradual completion of the game will arm Yooka and Laylee with their own members of the Beettalion, each one providing an extra ‘hit’ in the
aforementioned lair. The game provides the option to retake the challenge at any point in your adventure, with the freedom to go as far as you possibly can, with the only restriction
being that without any bee bodyguards of your own you’ll only stand two consecutive hits.
You’ll find the first contact will send Laylee flying off in a panic, and if you’re alone as Yooka, the second hit will end the challenge – as long as you can reunite the two together before
sustaining the second hit, you’ll manage to fight on undeterred.
While the Impossible Lair could be completed in theory by some obsessive compulsive perfectionist gamer blind-folded (pictured: not me), you’ll want to try and recruit some members
of the Beettalion to serve as insurance so you might stand a fighting chance. Luckily, this is where the second area of the game, The Overworld, comes into play.

Just outside of Hivory Towers, Yooka and Laylee can begin their trek across a gorgeous sprawling land to the games levels, which switches perspective from the established side-scroller
to an overhead style in similar vein to early Zelda titles. Each area is often host to its own self-contained puzzle that offer Tonics (more on that later) and access to further areas of the game.
It’s in the Overworld that you’ll discover the Grand Tomes containing each world inside – once you’ve stepped on a Grand Tome you’ll be whisked away into the level proper, with your
objective being to locate the trapped Beettalion guard at the end and liberate them.
There’s a spark of ingenuity here though, as each Grand Tome can be manipulated from the outside to affect the world within. For instance, you’ll come across a Grand Tome featuring a
level called Frantic Fountains early on in your adventure which, predictably, features geyser-like fountains serving as temporary platforms. Once you’ve managed your first visit, earning a
member of the Beettalion for your troubles, you’ll have the option to freeze the Grand Tome from the outside and influence the level within.
Now accessing the second chapter, you’ll find that all of the previously flowing fountains have been frozen solid, offering new platforming challenges and new routes to explore.
The games solid art direction and musical score are very effective during these contrasts as well, as much like a chameleon, the levels have to reflect these changes upon stepping into a
world that is thematically different, but still manages to build on a recognizable foundation, which it manages to do seamlessly.
Since each Grand Tome features the ability to manipulate the level from the outside, it effectively doubles the amount of levels offered in the game, providing a bit of a puzzle to work out as well.

Each variation of the Grand Tome also features a collection of five hidden T.W.I.T. Coins, a clever bit of wordplay only succeeded by their purpose for lowering ‘Paywalls’ that Trowser the Snake
has erected around the Overworld for his own profit.
While the later Grand Tomes pose a headier challenge with Coins hidden more craftily, the earlier levels are quite fair, even going as far to offer the fifth coin by exploring beyond the supposed
‘finish line’, so you never get the feeling of being relegated to a small area of the Overworld that you’re forced to play over and over.
In fact, it wasn’t until I found myself at the halfway mark where I found myself retracing my steps to earn a few coins that I had missed.

Trowser isn’t the only returning character investing in a bit of progression gating however, as the Pagies have also returned in the second adventure, this time they can found exclusively
in the Overworld providing Yooka and Laylee with bonus challenges. Within each, you’ll have a self-contained puzzle confined to a single screen where you’ll need to defeat a number of
enemies with some clever platforming.
One such challenge is set up like Donkey Kong Arcade, where Yooka and Laylee must ascend girder-esque platforms coated in honey while hopping over icy blast attacks from above that
represent the barrels.
In another, Yooka and Laylee have been trapped in a tiny restrictive area where they can only preform jumps – luckily, this is all they’ll need to defeat a wandering enemy that mimics
every hop as they lead him Lemming-like to his eventual doom.
In exchange for beating these bite-sized challenges, the Pagies will effect the environment of the Overworld, opening up further areas of exploration and puzzle solving.
In stark contrast to the Impossible Lair, the Pagie Challenges are a brisk in-and-out style bonus that I found myself wanting more of, and it was always something I enjoyed jumping
straight into whenever I arrived at a new area.

By far, the most inventive concept that Yooka Laylee and The Impossible Lair has pioneered however, is its use of Tonics.
This time around, Yooka and Laylee can discover Tonics hidden throughout the Overworld, often kept tucked just out of view for keen eyed players, as the reward of a puzzle,
or purchased directly with accumulated Quills found scattered liberally throughout each world. 
Some Tonics can make the game marginally easier, like the “More Checkmates” and “Thick Skin” Tonics, which increase the number of available save points in a level and the
duration of invincibility when hit respectively.

Conversely, players looking for a bit of a challenge can sample the “Less Checkmates” and “Googly Eyes” Tonic, which reduce the number of save points in a given level and provide
every enemy with an extra line of defense.
There are benefits to taking the road less traveled of course; if you set yourself up with difficult Tonics, each one will provide a multiplier effect to the number of Quills earned when
the level has finished, which serves as a very enticing incentive.

For instance, attempting a run with the “Less Checkmates”, “Googly Eyes” and “Spotlight” Tonic will triple the amount of Quills earned – a fitting reward for tackling a nightmare
filled with buffed-up foes, lack of safe havens and decreased visibility.
Be warned however, as the same measures are applied in the opposite fashion for players hoping to skirt through with only the most effortless Tonics equipped, dashing your total
earned Quills, which serves as an appropriate penalty.

In the end, it’s really about finding the ideal combination of Tonics that work for you – personally I found that my best option was to use the “Googly Eyes”, “Quill Banker”
and “Quillsplosion” Tonics. The latter two Tonics were used to bump up my Quill counter by preserving the Quills I would have lost on death, and causing each enemy defeated to give
up 5 additional Quills.
The “Googly Eyes” Tonic was included to negate the Quill penalty without adding too much difficulty to the level.
In doing so, I managed to earn a bonus multiplier of 1.2X in addition to my total Quills collected.

For the seekers of the T.W.I.T Coins, there’s some help to be found in the “Sounds Like Secrets”, “Secret Sonar” and “T.W.I.T Coin Banker” Tonics.
The former Secret Tonics will allow Laylee to hear when a secret area is nearby with a special tone, and reveal it with her sonar if the B button is pressed. The “T.W.I.T Coin Banker”
functions in a similar manner to its Quill cousin where a resultant death no longer has the collectibles stripped away from the duo, which can be incredibly handy for the more difficult levels.
In addition to changing the challenge of the game, the Tonics can also be used to morph the graphical style as well.
With my playthrough I was able to discover Tonics that would change the look of the game into an Arthouse Film, Gameboy Screen, degraded VHS tape, BlockBuster film, Photo Negative,
Comic Book and NES Screen to name a few.
Given the tools at hand, you can even combine different styles for a new experience; I found merging the “Comic”, “Spotlight” and “Negative Film” Tonics created a world in which only
Yooka and Laylee were visible in a purgatory-like void. Moving the duo would give the illusion of the level being spawned into existence around them.
Sure, it’s more than a graphical novelty than anything, but it’s little touches like this that will keep you coming back and experimenting when you’ve completed the game.

In effect, every level in the Impossible Lair is preparing you to face off against the gauntlet – you’ll encounter similar platforming segments and familiar enemies within the Overworld
that you’ll learn to master and overcome if you hope to make it deeper into the Impossible Lair.
That’s something I haven’t managed to do yet either, by the way – I’ve had 10 attempts and have only managed to glimpse the first 36% of the Lair itself, and this is after managing to
liberate 45 Beettalion members, collect 146 T.W.I.T Coins and discover 57 Tonics. It’s likely to elude me for some time despite how far into the game I currently stand, and I have no issue
with that – the experience I’ve had with the game up to this point has been overwhelmingly positive and it’s been an absolute joy to play. I’ve ventured into twenty levels, each with a new
spin on a classic formula, or even introducing a new gameplay element that I haven’t seen before (Cliffside Quest’s gem collection, I’m looking at you).
Those who have played the first Yooka-Laylee debut will enjoy seeing some old faces again throughough the Overworld and even enjoy throwbacks to the original title with musical
variations on levels like Pumping Plant which features a rendition of the Hivory Towers theme. Even rescuing the Beettalion members comes with its own reward in a buzzy choir
version of the Yooka-Laylee theme sung from their tents.
Someday I’ll go into the Impossible Lair with my full Beettalion brigade and come out on top after seeing it all in its entirety, but until then I’ll be jamming out to the games excellent
musical score, laughing at its oddball humor and concocting some game-changing fun with some electronic Tonics.

Verdict: Excellent – A Must-Have Game!

Categories: News