The great success of Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy gave Naughty Dogs platform hero a second life. The announcement of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time was not very surprising, but welcome all the more. After playing a few levels from the sequel it is in any case crystal clear that developer Toys for Bob wants to keep the gameplay of the original trilogy almost perfectly intact.
After the first three Crash Bandicoot games, the franchise drifted too far from what made the series so beloved: strong, linear platform levels in a variety of settings with quite a few challenging sections and constantly changing perspectives. The success of the remasters has also made publisher Activision realize that it should focus on that, because It’s About Time is virtually the same as the trilogy in concept.
This means that you can choose different levels from a hub – which has not yet been shown. Levels that are basically three-dimensional, but play more like linear 2D levels. Crash runs from left to right, away from the camera or towards the camera. Sometimes these perspectives are alternated in one level. Combined with the smooth-running Crash, that’s exactly what fans of the series are waiting for: the classic gameplay, set in completely new levels.
At Toys for Bob they are also huge fans of the series and they say they played the first three games until the end to get the feel of Crash Bandicoot 4 just right. And that’s good: in terms of gameplay, it looks like you continue right after Crash Bandicoot 3.
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Old, yet new
That’s not to say Crash Bandicoot 4 doesn’t do anything new. As usual, you can go through the game with Crash or sister Coco. However, at specific moments in levels, it switches to other playable characters – villain Neo Cortex, for example – to see a plot twist from their perspective. Not only does that give you a different look at the story, it also lets you see levels from a new point of view and also gives you fresh moves at the time. For example, Cortex always has his gun with which he turns enemies into inflatables.
Speaking of moves: In addition to Crash’s signature arsenal that lets you jump or spin laps like a Tasmanian Devil, there are also four new masks in the game. Of course Aku Aku returns, which floats next to you and is your saving angel when hit by an enemy – but the new masks give Crash of Coco a completely different package and an accompanying special move. There is a mask with which you slow down time briefly; ideal for jumping over fast falling ice floes in time, for example. Another mask lets you switch between two different dimensions of the same level, which differ in specific details. Think of obstacles that are not present in one dimension, but are in the other.
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Although the controls and feel are almost the same, the levels are clearly full of challenging platform sections.
Spicy
Also new is that you can choose between two modes: modern and retro. The retro mode is the same as the old games: you still have checkpoints, but your lives are gone, then it is game over and you start a level from scratch. With Wumpa’s (the characteristic apples you collect) you get extra lives. However, modern mode has no lives and always lets you start from your last checkpoint. To make collecting Wumpas worthwhile, they earn other rewards at the end of a level.
That modern mode is called, because during my playing session one thing stood out: Crash Bandicoot 4 is quite spicy. I say this while I went through the original trilogy several times, and also played the remastered trilogy twice. Although the controls and the aforementioned feel are almost the same, the levels are clearly full of challenging platform sections. It must be said that the three levels I played take place later in the game. So I was thrown in at the deep end, while the difficulty of the final game is undoubtedly slowly increased.
In order not to make the experience too frustrating, some adjustments have been made to make playing just a little easier. For example, the Wumpas are now automatically collected when you break boxes – that way the game keeps the speed good – and you see when Crash jumps exactly where it will land.
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More detailed and filled
It’s About Time also proves technically that we are dealing with a completely new Crash. Levels look a lot more detailed and varied. I saw snowy fishing villages, futuristic cities and prehistoric dinosaur areas – including a thrilling chase where the classic rolling stone was replaced by an oversized T-Rex. Compared to the trilogy, eye levels are much fuller, which provides the necessary eye candy. Yet everything has that typically adventurous and humorous Crash look, right down to the all-new and hilarious idle and death animations.
Toys for Bob could not reveal anything about the resolution and frame rate. Also about possible next-gen versions – Crash Bandicoot 4 launches close to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X – nothing is known. However, it is known that the game will not get microtransactions – not on launch and not in the future.
Combined with the classic, pure gameplay that has remained intact, it seems that the developer is having a blast for what makes Crash Bandicoot so good. As a fan of the series, you can look forward to this fresh portion of platform action without too much worry.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time releases October 2 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Gamer.nl played the PlayStation 4 version of the game for this preview.
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