Perhaps it’s because no one else has made a game that is basically a Banjo-Kazooie game just with a new coat of paint. That said, while definitely being too much of a clone of Banjo-Kazooie, I really enjoyed my time with Yooka-Laylee. I’m definitely looking at you, boss battle that takes place during a mine cart segment. Additionally, mine cart segments and mini-games were less than fantastic. I feel the need to expand the size of worlds was pointless, as having an entire world available to you right from the beginning is better than not in most cases as otherwise you were greatly limited in what you could even do. Still, there are parts of the game that don’t mesh as well. However, that’s one of the elements I loved about the game–finding the various Pagies (yet another part of Yooka-Laylee that doesn’t even try to hide how closely it sticks to the Banjo-Kazooie formula) from completing myriad platforming challenges, puzzles, and through elaborate exploration of the game’s five worlds and main overworld hub. So, going in to Yooka-Laylee, I had a more open mind on what I tolerated than a typical player who might not have enjoyed how much of an old-school collect-a-thon that was set in its ways Yooka-Laylee ended up being.

Banjo-Kazooie is one of my favorite games of all time, and the team behind Yooka-Laylee, Playtonic Games, had several developers and designers who had worked on that Nintendo 64 game of absolute gold. I start off the introduction of today’s Game of the Day with an admission of bias. Game of the Day Yooka-Laylee ($29.99 from $39.99 until October 17) Yep, it’s the Game of the Day, so let’s jump on in to get things started. Phew! It’s good to be back, everybody! After some brief time away, your guide through the land of the Switch, Phil has returned to deliver news, new releases, discounts, and more! I hope it hasn’t been SO long that you’ve all forgotten what comes first usually on these SwitchArcade Roundups. Welcome to your SwitchArcade Roundup for October 11th, 2018.

Splatoon 2 amiibo