Yooka-Laylee

"Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair" flew under the radar of many, given its low-key release. But many consider that it was something of a redemption for Playtonic - the development studio founded by former Rare veterans. After they supposedly fumbled with "Yooka-Laylee" (I say "supposedly" because I'm yet to judge it), "Impossible Lair" showed they still had that Rareware magic.
Of course, "Yooka-Laylee" and "Impossible Lair" are of vastly different genres, with the first taking after "Banjo-Kazooie", and the second being more in tune to their classic "Donkey Kong Country" games. Now, I never played such games: they came before my time, as I started off with the Nintendo 64. I only heard of the "DKC" games on YouTube, so I can't say how well they compare to "Impossible Lair". But I can perfectly judge it for what it is. And I found it to be pretty good... but not without some jank.
The game tries to assimilate several things that are familiar to us while also introducing new ideas. It actually starts on the final level, the titular Impossible Lair. But the level is so mercilessly hard that you're expected to die right from the get-go, like in FromSoftware games. It is then that you're introduced to the main idea of the game: you're supposed to roam the overworld, and find books that will take you to the side-scrolling levels. These levels contain imprisoned bees, and for each bee you liberate, that will be an extra hit you can take in the final level, raising your chances. They'll form a protective shield around you.
There's no need to have anything to open such books, but you still need to collect coins in levels to open new areas in the overworld - which will eventually get so massive that you may get lost on it sometimes, forgetting which path leads to where. You no longer collect "pagies"; instead, they're scattered across the overworld, presenting mini-challenges that unblock new paths.
Every level has an alternative variant: there are things you can do to the books in the overworld that will change levels considerably. One level will be covered with honey, making moving more difficult. Other level will become windier, making platforming more challenging. Levels can be flooded, and even be frozen all over. This means that, in reality, the 20 levels are 40. There will also be bees locked in the overworld, some hidden and some only accessible through secret exits in levels, bringing the total to 48.
Quills are the most common currency in the game, and you can find them in droves. They can open cages in the overworld, buy clues and unlock tonics. Through levels, you'll find these special quills of different colours that can award you many quills at once, like chests. The green one will make you dash for it, like in a "Sonic" game; the purple one will move around vomiting quills before exploding, while the blue one will generate moving quills that you have to grab in order to reveal its prize - keep an eye for those, since they can hide coins. There's also a special award for those who found out all the 200 coins in the game: an extra tonic slot.
Tonics can be of extreme help: they are these perks hidden in the overworld, and once you collect one, you can unlock it right in the menu with quills. Some are incredibly well hidden, while others are fairly easy to collect. There will be these talking signs that, also for quills, can sell you clues to where they are, but some of such "clues" are incredibly useless, and you're better off following walkthroughs. One of the signs even flat out refused to give me the clue, saying I would see it online anyway: it would have been funny if it had been for free. Tonics can be both helpful, prejudicial or neutral; usually, helpful tonics will diminish your quill totals at the end of a level, while prejudicial ones will raise them. Neutral tonics do nothing but cosmetic changes, like modifying the colours or the ratio, but if you want the achievement, you better collect and unlock them all. You can equip up to three tonics - four with the extra slot.
In this game, being hit will make Laylee fly away from Yooka. She'll fly aimlessly, giving you a chance to grab her, but if she flies off, the only way to get her back is to ring these bells you'll find in levels, or respawning at checkpoints. Taking another hit without her means death, but there will be certain perils that can kill both of them in a single hit. Without Laylee, you'll lose many powers such as the ground pound or jumping longer distances - think of how in the old "Mario" games you would lose a power-up by taking damage. This will make certain collectables impossible to get, so many times, when I lost Laylee, I just killed Yooka with the nearest threat, because it made them both respawn at the nearest checkpoint. This is when the jank shows up: the game doesn't allow players to restart from the last checkpoint, but from the start. This may have been a way to avoid players from cheesing the game... but I would still just jump at a pit to have Laylee back.
Checkpoints register not only your progress in that level, but also the quills and coins you collected. If you die before reaching a checkpoint, you'll lose whatever you collected, and you may actually lose a lot of stuff. Of course: there will be tonics that allow you to keep collectables after you die - and you can even keep collecting the same quills over and over again (so much for keeping players of cheesing). There are even tonics that can increase - or decrease - the number of checkpoints. One thing curious is that when you die a lot in a certain area, the checkpoint - which, in the tradition of Rare, is anthropomorphised with big round eyes - will change colours to a golden yellow, and say that you can skip that part if you're struggling. At first, I thought this proved this would be a casual game: "Cuphead" would never compromise that way. But when you feel you did everything there was to do in the overworld and want to come back to the Impossible Lair... you'll feel it.
The Impossible Lair is brutal. "Cuphead" got nothing on it. The game really shifts gears: no tonics are allowed. There are no secrets, no quills, just moving forward. It's a level that demands a lot of attention and precision from players, a lot of fast thinking and even some creativity. In this game, movement has a lot tricks, and you have to know them all if you want to stand a chance. The bees you collected will be there, and it would be incredibly wise to have them all at your disposal: you'll need all the extra hits you can get. There will be moments that are more like puzzles, in which you have to figure out what to do. There's a lot of trial and error, but fortunately, it's not all that hard: the level is divided in four sections, and once you reach the beginning of one, you can pickup from there. Except that you'll start with the number of bees you had when you reached that section, so do as I did: try to replay a section with as less bees lost as you possibly can, so you have some extra safety for the next one. Each section starts with a boss fight, but with enough play, you can predict what the boss will do, and minimise your losses.
"Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair" is a beautiful looking game, with a great soundtrack from four composers - two of them being Rareware icons Dave Wise and Grant Kirkhope. Completing this game entirely took me almost 30 hours, so it's not a walk in the park. For us keyboard players, the game can get a moment to get used to, but I quickly assimilated its commands. And for those of you who are absolutely obstinate, there's a final tonic for beating the Lair without bees - but it's not necessary for achievements.
I think this truly was the first "Donkey Kong Country" game I've ever played. It's a game full of love, care and personality that's most definitely worth a try. But it's a game that requires maximum dedication from players.

"Banjo Kazooie", "Conkers Bad Fur Day" and "Donkey Kong Country", if you like(d) any of those games, from the good old times when you were still young and had no arthritis, then this might be for you. Also perfect for the Steam Deck.

Super good game. I know it's supposed to be some sort of throwback to DKC, but since I have no experience with that series I can say this game holds up as its own thing without any ties to nostalgia.

Return to the Quality DKC-like gameplay that these devs are known for. What a treat for the ears and equally so for the hands. What a tight platformer.

Do you like Donkey Kong Country on the SNES?
Buy Yooka-Laylee and play.

What an incredible game, the platforming godlike, the overworld genius. In the top 3 platformers of all time no question. Stays true to the inspiration, and brings nothing but improvements to the already tried and true formula. If you're on the fence about the game, its time to get off and buy the game, you won't regret it.

If you're looking for Donkey Kong Country meets Link to the Past, this is your game.