[Update] Banjo-Kazooie Spiritual Successor, Yooka-Laylee, Starts Kickstarter Campaign

Tomorrow, May 1, Playtonic Games will launch its Kickstarter for their new game, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee.


Published: April 30, 2015 10:25 PM /

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Yooka-Laylee Logo

UPDATE: The Kickstarter started today, you can visit the Yooka-Laylee Kickstarter page here. Yooka-Laylee reached its funding goal today in about 40 minutes, and as of this update, at 10:28 pm, they are now at £816,435 out of the £175,000 that Playtonic Games had asked for. Backer perks include, various editions of the game, a t-shirt from Insert Coin, an art book, the soundtrack, a retro manual, the 64-bit special edition which comes in a Yooka-Laylee Nintendo 64 cartridge, have your voice in the game, and an orchestra concert in Germany. As for stretch goals, they have reached all but the last two. The stretch goals include boss battles on every level, a pre-final boss quiz show, Mumbo Jumbo style transformations, a mix of 2.5D and 3D mine cart sections, a local co-op buddy mode, a 2-4 player multiplayer versus mode, French, German, Spanish, and Italian translations, exclusive character designs from ex-Rare artists Kev "Kong" Bayliss and Ed "Mumbo Jumbo" Bryan. The last two stretch goals are 4 more multiplayer games, and simultaneous console releases on day one. 


Tomorrow, May 1, Playtonic Games will launch its Kickstarter for their new game, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee. Playtonic Games was formed by a few veterans from Rare, which is probably why Yooka-Laylee may seem a bit familiar. Steve Mayles, who designed the iconic duo Banjo and Kazooie, created the main characters Yooka, a chameleon, and Laylee, a bat.

Each character has their own unique abilities. Yooka, being a chameleon is able to use his tongue as a grappling hook. Laylee can use sonar blasts and allow the duo to fly for a short amount of time. This formula is very reminiscent of Banjo-Kazooie, but the fact that they are different animals should allow for a lot of new gameplay mechanics to make sure Yooka-Laylee feels new and exciting.

Tomorrow Playtonic Games will be releasing more media related to Yooka-Laylee ahead of the launch of the Kickstarter at 5pm BST. "Tomorrow we’ll publish loads more Yooka-Laylee media (will there be David Wise and Grant Kirkhope tunes? You bet your pedigree gerbil there will be) alongside an interview with their father, Mr. Steven… sorry, Steve Mayles himself."

 

Yooka Laylee Gameplay
Yooka-Laylee gameplay image from: http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/04/30/spiritual-successor-to-banjo-kazooie-reveals-its-lead-charac…

So far there is some gameplay footage that has been released that you can see here in this Yooka-Laylee IGN Article. IGN reports that all backers will be able to get a finished copy of the game for £10/$15. Extras will include soundtracks, art books, and a '64-bit' special edition, another homage to Banjo-Kazooie. If Yooka-Laylee gets full funding it will be released on Windows, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U. There is no word yet on any potential stretch goals that might be added if they receive more funding than they will be seeking.

What do you think of the reveal of the main characters of Yooka-Laylee? Do you think the game is too similar to Banjo-Kazooie or are you excited about it?

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Kyle Downey TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

Staff Writer looking to keep you both informed and entertained. Favorite games include: Pokemon, Overwatch, Golden Sun, Portal, and Elder Scrolls.

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Yooka-Laylee
Game Page Yooka-Laylee
Developer
Playtonic Games
Publisher
Team17
Release Date
April 11, 2017 (Calendar)
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