Today it was announced that Yooka-Laylee would be getting a 64-bit graphical update, and no, this isn’t an April Fool’s joke.
Strange though it may sound, this is actually one of the true pieces of gaming news to come out today.
This decidedly un-HD visual downgrade is now available to Switch and PC Yooka-Laylee players in the form of the 64-Bit Tonic, which you can pick up from Vendi no matter your progress in the game.
“It’s finally here, underperforming for you!” Playtonic announced on Twitter, alongside a trailer, which you can watch down below. Said trailer shows our favorite bat and chameleon duo in all their pixelated, eye-searing glory. It’s good, retro fun that will definitely get your nostalgia glasses misting up.
Fans have been after this feature for a while, and some will remember that it was originally teased as a stretchgoal during the game’s Kickstarter campaign in 2015. It seems the team at Playtonic have been working hard on it for years, as we’ve seen snippets of it before dating back as far as last July, but now it’s finally here.
It’s a re-imagining(or de-imagining?) that makes sense for the game, considering it’s a spiritual successor to the Banjo-Kazooie games and made by many former members of its developer Rare.
As an open-world 3D platformer made in the spirit of games created in what’s arguably the golden age of open-world 3D platformers, it’s only fitting that it would get a reboot to match that signature N64 style.
The update is available right now as a free download for owners of the game on PC and Switch.
The 64-Bit Tonic will make its way to PS4 and Xbox One at a later date.
