Yooka-Laylee trailer is full of 90s platforming nostalgia

Yooka-Laylee, Playtonic Games’ successfully crowdfunded Banjo-Kazooie-a-like, knows exactly what it is: a throwback to the whimsical 3D platformers of yesteryear. The genre may be largely forgotten amid the modern gaming landscape, however it’s one which still appears to enjoy a distinct following today—Yooka-Laylee raised a whopping £2,090,104 from Kickstarter last year, having asked for just £175,000.

With each passing trailer, Playtonic appears to better capture the essence of what made these games work and the latest to emerge from Gamescom teases new enemies, new moves and new mechanics—complete with vibrant animations, multi-tiered levels and gravity defying obstacles. Take a peak:

Development is now entering its “polish stage”, says Playtonic via a new Kickstarter update, which suggests it’s on course to ascertain its planned Q1 launch date.

“This week we’ve dispatched our most frankfurter-resistant team members to the Gamescom expo in Germany,” reads the post. “As well as teasing some of the new enemies, moves and mechanics you can see in our latest video, we offered Cologne-dwelling press the opportunity to play Yooka-Laylee for the first time.

“Media were invited to sample a version of the game’s first world, Tribalstack Tropics, slightly edited for spoiler content and overly-lethal puns, and you’ll begin seeing hands-on reports on your favourite outlets from today. Very soon we’ll reveal our plans for how we’ll be making similar invitations to the wider world. Stay tuned.”

That we will. Yooka-Laylee is due next year, between January 1 and March 31.