So I finally played and beat "Yooka Laylee" and while I'm no expert reviewer my overall thoughts about this game is that it was just "OK" for what the game is.
The game played and looked fine for the most part, But I'll be honest, Playing this game really made me wish I was just playing the "Banjo-Kazooie" franchise instead.
Characters:
The characters themselves, As weird as it sounds, I feel like the voices and personalities for Banjo and Kazooie are more fitting for a Bear and Bird rather than a Reptile and a Bat, Yooka's voice didn't sound that very appealing or fitting for the character and while Laylee's voice did suit her more, I wasn't as big of a fan of her character design, The one thing that they did do well was their powers and abilities which were fitting for both a Chameleon and bat.
Trowzer is probably the best character in the game and love his design with the hat, tie, pants and business snake with old phone, Very fitting voice too, I was a fan of Rextro too, But his arcade games were pretty meh.
I'll be honest, Capital B (Main Antagonist) was pretty underwhelming, Personality wise he fits the bill, But I really don't find "Bee" as imposing or as main boss material like King K. Rool (Crocodile) and Gruntilda (Witch) who are more menacing than a Corporate Bee in a suit, I did like Dr. Quack as a character, A Mallard Duck head in a gumball machine with wheels is pretty funny, Though I wished his voice was more "Quacky, Probably my 2nd favorite character after Trowzer.
Wasn't a fan of most of the henchman in the game, The basic gremlin-like creatures character designs were pretty ugly and generic, Their reskinned in later worlds, But it's a minor improvement, muscular reptiles were ok though and bee drones were meh.
Boss characters were more "Inanimate" than I would have liked them to be and were not too hard, But the game's jankyness did cost me a few deaths at times, Especially the casino (Pretty fun) and final boss.
Supporting cast was ok, There were a few favorites, But overall nothing too memorable, Though I will say the dialogue between the characters was pretty well written and was reminiscent of Banjo-Kazooie.
Worlds/Level Design: Maybe it's just me, But the worlds didn't grab me as much as I thought they would and I though they were way too damn big, Tooie and DK 64 are pretty big, But still manageable, This game felt that while it had a solid amount of collectibles were spread rather thin throughout the worlds and kind of left you with no sense of direction for the most part, I don't know if it was the Unity engine, But it felt you can literally stand or go on anything that you probably shouldn't which made the game feel somewhat broken at times, But did made some task easier, Minecart levels were great concept to revist, But man did they felt janky with the camera and hit detection.
Music: While I love both Grant Kirkhope and David Wise's work in Banjo-Kazooie and Donkey Kong Country, I felt that Yooka-Laylee's soundtrack was weaker compared to their past efforts, It feels like they knew this was an indie game so they held back their "A-Tier" music and just put out some "C-Tier" tracks they had in their back pocket, Though I did like the Casino World's theme and the Ice world them was decent.
Unfortunately the best track in the game was tied to a minecart section, This David Wise track made me wish it was "World 1's" theme and reminds me of DKC.
Gameplay: I think that for the most part the game handled pretty well, Yooka and Laylee's powers were very fitting for a Chameleon and Bat and were used as intended, But the game did felt pretty janky at times, Rolling felt a little slippery at times and while flying feels quick, It doesn't really feel like you have full control and end up swerving in circles at times.
Overall Score: 7/10
Overall, I think I have to agree with most reviewers about the game being mixed, It's certainly not a bad game, But it's not a great one either, It was "Ok/Fine", But it certainly didn't live up to the expectations pre-release. If a sequel is in store in the future hopefully they build upon the first game, But honestly I would rather just have Banjo-Kazooie" comeback instead.
"Impossible Lair" is coming up next and as a big fan of "Donkey Kong Country" and based on what I've heard I think I'm gonna end up liking that game a lot more.
