Thanks to a post on Neogaf, we've seen a leaked early review of Yooka-Laylee. BrashGames had a leak that has since been plugged, but Google Cache allows us to recall the review.
The review starts by reminiscing the days of Banjo-Kazooie, talking about how games have tried to cast the same spell it did on the 3D platformer genre, but no game quite hit the same note. Until Yooka-Laylee.
"Under normal circumstances, Yooka-Laylee might well be described as a rip-off, but considering that developer, Playtonic is made up of a huge number of ex-Rare staff, the similarities seem a little more reasonable."
The author goes on to describe the nostalgia factor of the game in detail, noting the very 90's feel of it all. Moving on to control scheme, they describe it as what seems like near perfection. The author seems to not like some of the characters but states that it may just be preference.
"Its commitment to nostalgia is both Yooka-Laylee’s greatest strength and its greatest weakness. The characters are largely annoying and the writing and delivery is almost universally bad, but man, that gameplay is still very special indeed. Having been largely starved of traditional 3D platformers for the past 15 years, this serves as a perfectly timed reminder of why the genre was so popular in the first place. With its fantastic mechanics married to a selection of sprawling words chock full of challenges and a fantastically addictive sense of progression, Yooka-Laylee overcomes its occasional rough edges and lack of polish to deliver the finest 3D platformer this side of Super Mario Galaxy."
Overall, the writer at BrashGames gave the game an 8/10. To see their full review, visit the Google Cache of the review here.
