I don't have much experience with the Crash Bandicoot games, so I'm rating this one on its own rather than comparing it to other ones in the series.

It starts off decent, but it becomes apparent from pretty early on this both feels rushed and focuses on two distinct styles which don't mesh well.

The combat is not horrible, but it's very monotonous and not helped by the fact that the enemy variety is pretty shallow (most "new" enemies you encounter are reskins) and you're often stuck in situations where you'll fight multiple large enemies and have to button mash your way out of it. It's even more baffling that the combat takes up a really large part of the game. And the enemy's AI leaves much to be desired overall, so it can becomes a pretty miserable experience with all those factors.

And the game has limited lives per level. At least it only send you back to the beginning of a level if you lose all of them, but they felt unnecessary.

The platforming is there. It felt fun at times, but nothing in particular stood out from it. Had it taken up a far larger part of the game, I would've enjoyed this far more.