So I played Yooka-Laylee for about 2 hours, according to Steam anyway, and I gotta say, I feel pretty overwhelmed... For me, that is. If something's too big or too daunting, I sometimes have difficulty getting motivated to do it all, especially now since my time to play games is so limited. Plus, even though the game emphasizes the whole "explore or expand" thing (which really should be called explore or expand THEN explore, because that's what you're doing regardless), I'm the kind of guy who tries to go for 100% completion, which can be tiring when each world has so many collectables in it. This more than ever makes me miss the Banjo-Kazooie mode; decently sized worlds with just the right amount of collectables and challenges in each of them. Again, this isn't a criticism against the game, it's just how I feel.
Also, yeah, the camera's a bit wonky but not as bad as I was expecting. There ARE some forced perspectives at certain places and my gosh, does it get caught on objects like crazy, it's like I'm bumping around whenever I try to maneuver the camera to how I want it to.
Other than that and some REALLY minor nitpicks, this game isn't bad at all. In fact, I love it! The story had me intrigued, and there's already a mystery element with the book, the Pagies, and Yooka and Laylee's shipwrecked home. The characters are all great, yes, even the minor, incidental ones! I really do feel like each character has their own personality, and each one of them could be on their own personal adventure (though that's not to say I'd want a game focused on each one of them), and the humor is typical Rareware dry, British humor, the kind of humor that would make many people groan but dang it, I just love it! I also want to say, I am LOVING Yooka and Laylee's design, how they're textured, hwo they move, how expressive they can be; already I feel a personal connection with them akin to Banjo and Kazooie! Even characters I didn't think I'd warm up to right away like Trowzer I find myself adoring! Also, some people may take issue with the voice grunting, I didn't mind in the slightest. It's what I've wanted since Banjo-Tooie and I'm glad it's back in full force!
Even though exploring all this space and agonizing to get every single collectable with be tough, I want to pull through just because I love the world this game set up! Thank you, Playtonic Games, for giving me a joy I haven't felt in ages!
Edit: OH, I almost forgot, I didn't know you could switch to a first-person perspective until I accidentally pressted the left control stick once. I had SUCH a difficult time aiming projectiles until that point. There are other times I performed something I didn't realize I could do, though I can't remember exactly which moves they were. It's weird, considering the tutorial at the beginning, they'd leave out some extra stuff that could have been helpful to know...
Edit: OH, I almost forgot, I didn't know you could switch to a first-person perspective until I accidentally pressted the left control stick once. I had SUCH a difficult time aiming projectiles until that point. There are other times I performed something I didn't realize I could do, though I can't remember exactly which moves they were. It's weird, considering the tutorial at the beginning, they'd leave out some extra stuff that could have been helpful to know...
