Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is an adventure video game that combines 2D platforming with exploration and puzzle-solving elements. Developed by the company Playtonic Games, the game was initially released on October 8, 2019, and is currently available on Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. In the game, players take control of Yooka and Laylee, who must once again confront their antagonist, Capital B, who has obtained Queen Phoebee’s Hive Mind, a powerful device that allows him to control the Royal Beettalion Guard. To stop him, players must complete Grand Tomes scattered throughout the Royal Stingdom saving bees along the way who will provide additional hit points inside the Impossible Lair. The game is the second installment in the franchise and features many of the characters from the first game in the series. Despite the change in genre, resembling the Donkey Kong Country series, the story is a continuation of Yooka-Laylee. The game has received numerous positive reviews, with critics praising its beautiful graphics, stunning gameplay, and entertaining characters. However, some journalists have expressed concerns with the game’s design, criticizing the levels and its controls as not innovative enough. Others have pointed out that the difficulty of the game, especially the Impossible Lair of Capital B, can be frustrating and detract from the overall experience. Despite the game’s criticisms, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair remains a popular choice among all platformer and adventure game enthusiasts, offering a challenging experience for players.
» Game Prologue
The game begins with the protagonists Yooka and Laylee arriving in Royal Stingdom after using a Grand Tome. Their arrival is interrupted by Capital B, the antagonist, who arrives on a ship with the powerful Hive Mind device, which allows him to mind-control the Royal Beettalion Guard that belong to Queen Phoebee, an inhabitant of Royal Stingdom. Because of that, players are tasked with stopping Capital B and save the Royal Stingdom from his malevolent plans. To help them in their quest, Queen Phoebee gives Yooka and Laylee her Royal Beettalion Guard Shield, making them invincible. Capital B tries to crush them under some steel grinders, but the Royal Beettalion Guard Shield protects them from obstacles and enemies. This failure leads Capital B to grab the Hive Mind again to control the Royal Beettalion Guard and Queen Phoebee, but it fails to enslave the queen as the device runs out of energy. Therefore, Capital B retreats into his Impossible Lair to recharge the Hive Mind, and Yooka and Laylee follow him there. The Impossible Lair presents challenging sections and battles against Capital B, while the lack of the Royal Beettalion Guard Shield makes the task even more tricky. Failure to complete the Impossible Lair results in Queen Phoebee taking Yooka and Laylee outside Hivory Towers, telling them to complete Grand Tomes throughout Royal Stingdom. As players do so, they have to save bees of the Royal Beettalion to increase their chances of beating the Impossible Lair and recovering the queen’s Hive Mind.
» Gameplay Mechanics
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair is a side-scrolling 2D-platform, where players control two protagonists simultaneously. As they venture through different worlds within Grand Tomes, they must collect Quills and T.W.I.T. Coins, while rescuing members of the Beettalion trapped in cages held by statues of Capital B at the end of each world. By saving members of the Royal Beettalion players gain an additional hit point in the game’s final level, the Impossible Lair, where Capital B the antagonist of the game, awaits. Apart from rescuing the Beettalion, players must also collect T.W.I.T. Coins to lower Trowzer’s Paywalls, which grant access to new areas in the overworld and unlock new Grand Tomes. Although players can enter the Grand Tome of Capital B’s Impossible Lair at any point, it is not recommended since the final level is almost impossible to beat without enough members of the Royal Beettalion. Furthermore players can find various Tonics scattered throughout the game’s world. Unlike other games in the franchise where Tonics are unlocked by completing certain tasks, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair requires players to pay a certain amount of Quills to unlock these Tonics. Also, they modify the game’s gameplay in various ways offering both advantages and disadvantages. Depending on which ones players have equipped the Quills Multiplier is affected either positively or negatively at the end of a completed world.
