3D platformers are starting to enjoy something of a renaissance in recent times, and helping to lead that charge next year will be Kickstarter-funded Yooka-Laylee by Playtonic Games, a studio founded by ex-Rare employees. Yooka-Laylee was meant to come out this year originally, but ended up slipping into 2017. Thankfully though, we now know exactly when we can get our hands on the Banjo-Kazooie-inspired game.
Playtonic announced today, with an all-new trailer, that Yooka-Laylee will be released on April 11th, 2017, with pre-orders now being available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which clarify the game’s final price as $39.99 USD. For those holding out for the Wii U version however, Playtonic has some bad news; The planned Wii U version of Yooka-Laylee has been cancelled, with technical difficulties being cited. This comes on the heels of another anticipated indie game’s Wii U port, Stardew Valley, which releases today for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One after formerly being PC-exclusive, also being canned, to be replaced by a Nintendo Switch version to come later.
The Wii U version’s cancellation is undeniably a bummer, though Nintendo fans can take comfort in knowing that Playtonic is working hard at trying to get Yooka-Laylee ported to Nintendo Switch as soon as possible, emulating the strategy of ConcernedApe’s Stardew Valley after it had to abandon its own Wii U port. Anyone who backed the Kickstarter enough to receive the game for free upon release, and opted for the game’s Wii U build, will also now have three choices; They can switch their chosen Wii U copy of Yooka-Laylee for a PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One copy of the game, they can hold out for an update on the planned Nintendo Switch version to try and get that (allegedly, a Nintendo Switch version of Yooka-Laylee will be formally announced during Nintendo’s Nintendo Switch event on January 12th), or they can contact Playtonic about simply getting a refund, if they were that dead set on playing Yooka-Laylee on a Wii U.
Yooka-Laylee will be published by Team17, and will star its two titular characters, a chameleon and a bat, respectively, in 3D platformer-style gameplay, as they battle against villains aiming to steal and cannibalize all of their world’s prose. Kickstarter backers were able to test an early area of the game in a ‘toybox’ demo this past Summer, and said ‘toybox’ will be awarded as a free bonus to pre-ordering customers on any platform, with Playtonic confirming today that they are working to make it available for consoles. Previously, the toybox demo was only made available on PC, and even then, only to backers who pledged a certain amount of Kickstarter funding.
Keep rolling to Eggplante for all major news and updates on Yooka-Laylee.