Game:

Yooka-Laylee (2017)

Category:

Show

Duration: 2:46:30

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Originally recorded: September 24, 2023
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Fun fact: this was actually one of the earliest titles KI came up with for this series. We just both agreed that it would work best on the final episode, which is why I've been holding onto it for so long.

Well, it might've taken me a bit longer than I was hoping, but I managed to complete Yooka-Laylee this time. And I do mean *COMPLETE*: I found every collectible and got all of the game's achievements. Honestly, I did feel a little guilty about not going for the full 100% experience with Donkey Kong 64 -- even if I was absolutely in the right to bail on that nightmare -- but clearing everything in another game in the same style made by many of the same developers makes me feel like I sort of redeemed myself.

I was a bit shocked to stumble upon the World 5 boss as quickly and accidentally as I did. It was a fairly easy fight with how much health I had though. It was also nice to have a boss fight that relied on a proper transformation. Kind of surprised that there was only one though, but I guess it was also nice to help it differentiate itself from all the others. Regardless, none of the other world bosses were as bad as I.N.E.P.T. But the worst was still yet to come...

It was fairly easy to clean up World 5 this time around, but there were still some annoying areas where it was difficult to track down specific collectibles. I'm still shocked that I had the exact same issue in the final world, as I did with the first: I missed what would end up becoming my final quill during my first trek through a specific area. The placement of that last Ghost Writer was also total BS.

I'd heard horror stories about the final bosses in the Banjo-Kazooie games... and it's clear that even if Yooka-Laylee's final showdown with Capital B didn't go for quite the same daunting challenge, it was definitely more of a marathon than a sprint. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the final showdown with King K. Rool in DK64... only a bit more reasonable. I'm still a little ashamed that I ended up resorting to one of the Tonics to finish him off though, even if it was just the one that speeds up your stamina recharge time. Regardless, it made things easy enough to finish, so I can't really complain. KI even signed off on it.

I think the reason I initially gave YL a higher score was simply due to the relief of beating the final boss. But in the end, 7.5 feels like a much more reasonable score. The game isn't really terrible by any means, but it does have many flaws, some more major than others. And that's not just my general distaste for collect-a-thons talking: Yooka-Laylee's biggest flaw is easily based around its physics and sometimes jittery controls. Seriously, there were times where I'd speed up in the Kartos levels with my left hand completely off the controller. Something's definitely wrong with them. That being said, I am interested in playing the 2.5D sequel/reboot/follow-up. But *if* I do decide to play it on my own, I'll probably wait a while longer to do so. Hint, hint.

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