Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair Trades 3D Exploration for 2D Platforming

Brush up on your garbled animal-speak, because another Yooka-Laylee game is coming soon. Earlier today, Playtonic Games announced Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is on its way for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam.

You might be a little surprised to hear Impossible Lair isn't a sequel to 2017's Yooka-Laylee. It's actually a spin-off adventure that gives up the first game's fully 3D environments in favor of 2D platforming and an overworld with an overhead view. Some characters and gameplay elements from Yooka-Laylee are still around, though: The dastardly Capital B is present, and you can expect to see familiar collectables like Quills and Pagies.

Playtonic has an FAQ for Impossible Lair on its website. Among the questions answered are "Can I buy physical copies of the game (yes)," "When is Impossible Lair coming out (sometime this year)," and "Is it coming to all platforms simultaneously (yes)." Playtonic promises any questions not answered in the FAQ will be wrapped up during E3 week.

Playtonic's decision to stay out of the 3D space for its new Yooka-Laylee game is interesting. When I reviewed the first game in 2017, I found myself battling constantly with its bad camera and myriad bugs. I'm a fan of N64-era platforms, including the Banjo-Kazooie games Yooka-Laylee tries to imitate, but I felt let down. Playtonic has done considerable clean-up work on Yooka-Laylee since then, but I think I'd prefer to play with its bat-chameleon duo in a more controlled environment.