Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair might share some similarities to Donkey Kong Country, but the former's creator hopes fans will avoid comparing the two.

Yooka-Laylee wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't on the same level as the games it tried to emulate, such as Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64, or even any of the PlayStation platformers like Spyro The Dragon or Crash Bandicoot. By hyping itself up to such ridiculous heights, it set a bar that it couldn't possibly reach. As a result, Playtonic has learned its lesson, and it won't be comparing itself to any other classic games ever again.

However, that won't stop everyone else from making the comparisons, as its latest game looks a lot like Donkey Kong Country. 

PREVIOUSLY: Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair Is An Adorable 2.5D Coming This Year

Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair will be a 2D platformer starring the titular pair from the previous game. By looking at the game's trailer, you can definitely see some similarities between it and the Donkey Kong Country series. There's rope swinging, a rolling attack, sawblades, and many other similar aspects. The music also sounds similar to some of DKC's most popular tunes, and the graphical style is reminiscent of the newer Retro Studios developed Donkey Kong Country games. Playtonic's studio logo at the start of the trailer even looks similar to the original Rare logo.

Still, even with all of the similarities, Playtonic doesn't want Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair to be considered a "spiritual successor" to any game. Studio head Gavin Price was interviewed about the newest project and made it clear that the words "spiritual successor" were now forbidden in the company.

"We are never saying spiritual successor again," Price stated in the interview. "You'll always be able to point back to something in the past and go 'oh, it's a bit like that then.' That's always going to happen. We need to focus on what makes our games relevant and unique."

via store.steampowered.com

This is probably a good strategy considering how comparing itself to other games worked out last time for Playtonic.  Playtonic's first game, Yooka-Laylee, had its entire Kickstarter campaign built upon the fact that it was intended to be a spiritual successor to the 3D platformers of the N64 era. Even the name of the game was supposed to be an homage to Banjo-Kazooie. The problem, of course, is that when you try to compare yourself to something that has a lot of prestige and nostalgia attached to it, you have a lot to live up to. If you come up short, you will look far worse than if you had just made a sub-par game.

To be fair, Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair does have some unique ideas that separate it from other classic 2D platformers. There's an overhead 3D overworld and you can apparently go to the last level whenever you want, which seems likely to make for a short ride.

It looks like it'll be a bright, colourful game. Also, even if Playtonic doesn't want the Donkey Kong Country comparisons, if Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair is even half as charming, and fun as that series was, it should make for a good time when it releases later this year.

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