Starting a New Pagie
I didn’t realise it at first, but during the first few days of 2026 when I was asked the old “what are you playing?” question by friends and family, it soon became apparent to me that Playtonic Games and PM Studios shot themselves directly in their webbed lizard feet by naming this latest crack of the 3D platformer whip Yooka-Replayee (or Yooka-Re-Playee depending on whether you trust the front cover of the game box or the spine).
It’s a game title that, when uttered to someone (even those heavily into video games), invariably results in a confused expression and some floating cartoon question marks appearing in the air above their head. I then have to try and explain what it is and why it’s called that, and from then on you’re fighting a battle to keep someone interested. Having said that, I’m now going to briefly explain what Yooka-Replayee is and why it’s called that.
It’s a classic-style 3D mascot platformer starring a chameleon named Yooka and a bat named Laylee, and it’s made by a team of former Rare developers who worked on the likes of Donkey Kong Country and Banjo-Kazooie, the latter being the obvious influence here. Playtonic originally released a game called Yooka-Laylee in 2017, this one published by Team 17. I was interested, but some disappointing review scores made me look elsewhere.
Playtonic and Team 17 teamed up again to unleash Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair in 2019. This was a 2D side-scrolling platformer that pleased critics far more than its 3D predecessor, but again I didn’t take the plunge. Yooka-Replayee, released in late 2025, is a remake of Yooka-Laylee where the developers seem to have built up the resources, know-how, and gumption to make the game they really wanted to originally, and when the glowing reviews started to drop (and when an actual proper on-the-cartridge physical release for Switch 2 was announced for that December) I decided it was time to see what this lizard and bat combo were all about.
That’s the history behind Yooka-Replayee, but if you’re not aware of all this lore, then you’re going to find the name Yooka-Replayee to be confusing and meaningless, and I’m worried it’s going to put you off the game. Do not be put off the game, as it is a wonderfully modernised take on Banjo-Kazooie and other classic 3D platformers that will delight those looking to relive those N64 days with all the creature comforts that modern gaming allows.
Telling the tongue-in-cheek tale of a greedy corporate bumble bee named Capital B trying to claim the powers of an entity known as The One Book, Yooka-Replayee’s cut-scenes and conversations are full of oddball characters and riddled with puns and references, and there is definitely plenty of personality on show. I especially like Laylee, who makes no effort to hide the fact that she’s in this for the treasure only, and will frequently take mean-spirited verbal swipes at antagonistic and helpful NPCs alike. Yooka is a bit more of a run-of-the-mill platformer hero, but he’s likeable enough too.
All this nonsense and banter surrounds a collectible-filled campaign where our pair of protagonists must sniff out One Book pages to open up new areas of Capital B’s lair (known as Hivory Towers) and venture into Tome Worlds, where you’ll be spending most of your time collecting pages (known as “pagies”), coins, quills, and others items through exploration and challenges. Yooka and Laylee are controlled as one, just like Banjo and Kazooie, with Laylee coming into her own by helping to glide across long distances and using her sonar to stun enemies or help with puzzles and platforming.
Controlling the pair is a delight, and I never felt like I was fighting to get them into position. The game offers plenty of movement and combat options, like rolling and butt-bouncing, and offers purchasable upgrades so that you can make these moves more powerful over the course of the adventure. At times, I was reminded of Super Mario Odyssey’s movement and platforming, and that’s a good thing.
The game’s a delight visually, too. I do find that the mixture of terrain-types and mismatched rooms in Hivory Towers can come across as a bit messy and thematically overloaded, but the actual Tome Worlds are fantastic. The first area has a tropical theme (think jungle ruins over sandy beaches) and the second area makes things chilly with a snowy mountain vibe, but the locations soon get a bit more unusual with a gloomy marsh (which reminded me of my time with Spyro Reignited Trilogy a few years ago) and a very entertaining casino-themed stage. All of these worlds and more look great and are full of cool details, and the enemy and character designs are of a high quality and ooze personality.
Yooka-Replayee will change up its gameplay style fairly often, just to keep things interesting. The aforementioned casino world offers up a smattering of casino-themed activities to interact with, including slot machines, roulette wheels, gigantic mini-golf (it’ll make sense when you see it), and a couple of quick heist-style sections where Yooka’s stealth abilities are put into action. Each Tome World also contains a retro arcade machine where players can earn pagies by controlling a dinosaur character in various 3D action-puzzle levels. There are bosses encountered in each stage, too, and these present enough of a challenge to make you think for a bit but all stop well short of frustration. All of these distractions are amusing at the very least, and I never found that any aspect of the gameplay got old or grating (well, maybe the mine cart sections once or twice).
All of these qualities, the visuals, the gameplay, the level design, the variety, combine to manifest an experience that’s easy to pick-up and easy to sink into, and as such, you can sit back and focus on absorbing those N64-era platformer vibes because the developers have done the hard work of making sure you’re never dragged out of the zone by some piece of shoddy game design or frustrating bug. It really does feel like Banjo-Kazooie for the modern age (with a healthy helping of that Viva Piñata vibe too, by the way – I see it in the visual design and hear it in the enjoyable and catchy music).
The thing is, does the modern age need a Banjo-Kazooie? Do modern gamers want collect-a-thon platformers? And if they do, will they even notice this one thanks to one of the most question mark-inducing names in video game history? I really hope that Yooka-Replayee does well, as it’s a great time, and the developers and publishers took it upon themselves to shun Nintendo’s Game-Key Card nonsense for the physical Switch 2 release. I’ve done my part by spending my Christmas money on a copy, finishing it with all collectibles, and then writing about it on the internet. Will you do yours?
Played on Switch 2