You can tell when a game has been built by people who really cared about what they were doing. It really shows, in a hundred little ways. For example, compare the feel of 'Planet Coaster' with 'Rollercoaster Tycoon World'. One feels like a slick, polished game full of charm and atmosphere. The other is a terrible, buggy cash-in. Thankfully, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair fits into the first category. It was built by the same people as the original Donkey Kong Country. It has the same feel and mechanics, right down to the DK barrels being replaced by Laylee bells. It's a slick, beautiful platform game with excellent level design, a memorable soundtrack and it oozes charm. Unusually, the game starts with the final boss level, which you will lose because it's insanely difficult. From there, you move through all the levels of the game, collecting power-ups as you go. You can return to the boss level any time you want, no matter how many of the levels you've completed. But the more levels you complete, the easier it is. The level design is incredibly varied and never gets stale. Each level has two variations, which you can switch between by solving puzzles on the 3D overworld. For example, a level full of waterfalls freezes over, adding new challenges. A desert level becomes a lush jungle. A factory level full of conveyor belts gets flipped, so all the conveyor belts run the other way and making jumps much more difficult. This game gives you as much of a challenge as you want. If you want to do the bare minimum and make it to the end of each level alive, you can (although you will need to collect some TWIT coins to unlock later levels). If you want to be a completionist and collect every single coin and every single power-up, you can. It's completely up to you. If you enjoyed platform games back in the day and are looking for something modern and fun, this is the game for you. You won't regret buying it.
