Ollie Burton’s highlights and lowlights of 2017

Finally in our series on the highs and lows of 2017, Ollie Burton High gives his thoughts on highlight Cuphead and Lowlight Yooka-Laylee

Highlight: Cuphead

A title that exceeded all expectations for me is the infamous Cuphead. It’s an excellent combination of 3D platform-shooter (think Megaman or Metal Slug) and 1930s style Fleischer cartoon. Think goofy, whistling characters and a delightful jazz soundtrack. The general premise is that two brothers, Cuphead and Mugman, take an ill-advised trip to a casino and wind up indebted to the devil himself. This sees Cuphead racing through a mixture of run-and-gun levels and boss battles.

Image: IGDB

This involves them fighting bosses like a deadly carnation flower, a giant bird in a cuckoo clock and a candy baroness commanding her army of sweetie subjects. It’s clear that Cuphead is a true labour of love, requiring the developers to remortgage their homes to fund its completion. Thankfully, the game has now gone platinum since its long-awaited release at the end of September, and they deserve every penny they get back. It’s a masterpiece.

Lowlight: Yooka-Laylee

I feel like it’s old-school D platformer fans that Yooka-Laylee caters for, and it regrettably caters for them just a bit too well

While not a shocking game by most measures, I was left feeling rather bitter when I finally got my hands on a copy of Yooka-Laylee. As a 3D-platformer aficionado, there was so much promise behind it, a classic title remade in the modern era. And that it was  but it was so true to the original titles of that era that it also captured the exasperating elements, for better or worse. While I love the graphical approach, which provides loveable, bouncy protagonists and a charming array of worlds, it ultimately still feels dated.

Image: IGDB

Combat feels cumbersome and slow, and while scouring the landscape for ‘Pagies’ (the game’s collectible) is enjoyable at first, you need a large percentage of them to actually beat the game, and it begins to feel rather laborious. Perhaps it’s the cynic in me, as I’m sure I would have loved this approach when I was much younger, but I feel like it’s old-school D platformer fans that Yooka-Laylee caters for, and it regrettably caters for them just a bit too well.