Preview: Yooka-Laylee on Nintendo Switch! (Spoiler Free)

I got my Backer Code of Yooka-Laylee for Nintendo Switch in today, and I’ve spent some time blasting away at the game, so what are we looking at?

 

First off, I have mostly played in handheld/tabletop mode, so take that for what it’s worth.

Yooka-Laylee is presented as stated by the developers, just below full resolution on both modes. So the image is slightly softer. What is interesting about this and what I noted first, is the game simply feels better being played handheld, as though it fits the screen more than it did when I played on PS4 on my 40″ TV earlier this year.

That seems like an odd compliment but it really does feel at home here. The worlds are very pick up and play via Sleep Mode and with regards to controls, everything is just within reach.

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The game is the same as it has been since launch, only some improvements not available on other systems at launch are standard here. manual camera, audio toggles, fast speech and brief voice snippets, are all welcome additions. This is very much the best version out of the box.

Performance wise, the game is interesting, at 30 FPS, it does occasionally pause, albeit very briefly, seemingly to load something, at least in handheld mode, as well as very brief, very slight, and rare frame rate drops, if only for a second.

When docked, the game runs the same, though the little frame drops don’t seem present, or at least I haven’t encountered them yet within the first world. The image is again, below full resolution of the system, but looks fine, if a little soft.

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So in terms of drawbacks, the main thing is shadows and particles. Shadows are softer and particles seem paired back just slightly, but outside of those honestly minor things, the game seems as is. Maybe water effects are reduced, but those have been so brief in the world so far. It’s entirely possible other effects from elsewhere in the game are reduced further.

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But yes, Yooka-Laylee on Switch certainly isĀ technically below the other verions, but it doesn’t feel like a significant drawback to draw ire. The wait has been worth it, assuming you like this style and structure of game, as obviously that remains unchanged. Yooka-Laylee certainly feels best here.