6. Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair (4.5/5)
Impossible Lair harkens back in many ways to DKC3, both in terms of presentation and setup. The addition of an overworld feels like a natural evolution of that game’s structure, yet the top down sections are better integrated here.
Impossible Lair manages to make collectibles feel actually meaningful. TWIT coins and quills are needed to unlock more levels in the overworld, and tonic discovery in those sections incentivizes experimentation inside of the side-scrolling levels. It creates a positive feedback loop that shows just how well both halves of the game are crafted, and they never feel disparate from each other.
This would mean little should the levels not be fun. Thankfully, the developers borrow from over twenty years of experience, and they even go ahead to include some elements from the Retro duology, like timing jumps to collision and a penchant for set piece gimmicks in the latter stages.
Impossible Lair is a bit on the short side, but I think that works to its benefit. The twenty stages (plus variations!) all feel like just the right length, and if anything, I have finished the game wishing there was more.
Ironically however, I think the titular Impossible Lair is the weakest aspect of the game. A kaizo to end the adventure and test your mastery of mechanics is something I should like in theory, and to be honest I thought the platforming sections are genuinely fun, despite their challenge. Where this final level falters is its constant interruptions with a Capital B boss fight, each one marking the beginning of the next quarter of progression. Platforming boss fights are rarely that good, and in this case I believe four is far too many, especially when there’s very few ways to speed Capital B up while you wait for an opening. Were the Impossible Lair be exactly the same, but with two final boss confrontations instead of one, I would be more forgiving of this endurance test.
That is, thankfully, just one small portion of the runtime. Impossible Lair is a joy to play through, and it made me realize I really like these characters and world a lot. The sequel does way more with its setting in just a few hours than Yooka-Laylee 1 did, and it feels like there are many ways in which Playtonic could expand this further.
Whether that happens, who knows. For now I can say this is in the upper echelon of Donkey Kong Countries, and it makes me hopeful that Playtonic could one day retake the mantle now that Retro is done with that franchise.
