Yooka-Laylee is the buddy-platforming spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie and has already surpassed its Kickstarter campaign goal in the first day of its campaign. What does this mean? People are still nostalgic enough about old school platformers to back this sort of thing.
The studio, Playtonic Games, boasts a roster of Rare alumnus including Banjo and Kazooie creator, Steve Mayles and Chris Sutherland, the software engineer responsible for a number of memorable platforming video games. Yooka-Laylee is expected for release in 2016 starring two new heroes, Yooka and Laylee. Both have an arsenal of special moves with Yooka’s tongue grapple and Laylee’s sonar blast. Players will explore 3D worlds with collectibles and secrets to unlock.
Legendary music composers, David Wise (Donkey Kong Country), Steve Burke (Kameo: Elements of Power), and Grand Kirkhope (Banjo & Kazooie) will provide the soundtrack for the upcoming game.
Playtronic is using Kickstarter to expand the scope of Yooka-Laylee with hopes of bringing it to more platforms. At time of writing, the Kickstarter campaign has already reached its stretch goal of a simultaneous release on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U platforms. Quite an amazing feat for a bit of nostalgia.
