The hub world is AWESOME! The rest of the game is ok.
I just got done playing Gex 3, and decided to play another game starting a smart-mouthed green lizard which is mostly average despite one major redeeming quality which relates to the game's levels. Impossible Lair's hub world is one of the best I've ever seen. The plethora of hidden collectables is endlessly satisfying, the environmental effects are really neat and make the whole space feel alive, and the visual signs of your progression are really captivating. The hub is so great that it is almost a disappointment when you need to play the actual levels.
The core gameplay of Impossible Lair is fine but a touch too simplistic and unvaried to span the game's lengthy campaign without feeling tedious by the end. The level design is serviceable and the exterior conditions on the book(magic books are portals to levels in this game) which effect the levels are really creative, but the levels aren't distinct or memorable enough for these changes to have the impact they could. The Impossible Lair itself it a really strong core challenge to base the game around, but most of the other levels are pretty forgettable.
I think anyone whom is curious should at least give this game a fair shake; I imagine plenty will like it even more than I did. This game was a huge improvement over the original Yooka-Laylee in my opinion, and if the next game sees the same jump in quality, we could have a new platforming masterpiece on our hands.
I just got done playing Gex 3, and decided to play another game starting a smart-mouthed green lizard which is mostly average despite one major redeeming quality which relates to the game's levels. Impossible Lair's hub world is one of the best I've ever seen. The plethora of hidden collectables is endlessly satisfying, the environmental effects are really neat and make the whole space feel alive, and the visual signs of your progression are really captivating. The hub is so great that it is almost a disappointment when you need to play the actual levels.
The core gameplay of Impossible Lair is fine but a touch too simplistic and unvaried to span the game's lengthy campaign without feeling tedious by the end. The level design is serviceable and the exterior conditions on the book(magic books are portals to levels in this game) which effect the levels are really creative, but the levels aren't distinct or memorable enough for these changes to have the impact they could. The Impossible Lair itself it a really strong core challenge to base the game around, but most of the other levels are pretty forgettable.
I think anyone whom is curious should at least give this game a fair shake; I imagine plenty will like it even more than I did. This game was a huge improvement over the original Yooka-Laylee in my opinion, and if the next game sees the same jump in quality, we could have a new platforming masterpiece on our hands.