'Yooka-Laylee,' spiritual successor to 'Banjo-Kazooie,' hits Kickstarter goal

The Banjo-Kazooie franchise saw two major releases back in the days of the Nintendo 64 and one title on the Xbox 360 that put a vehicular spin on the franchise. But otherwise, the lovable bear-and-bird duo’s original platforming spirit has long remained dormant.

But now, creators of those original games are debuting a spiritual successor, and it looks like fans are rabid for a new take on the classic gameplay.

Yooka-Laylee, many details of which were unveiled on IGN earlier this week, took to Kickstarter today for funding and has already met its goal. The game is extremely reminiscent of Banjo-Kazooie, including its titular duo (and even their logo design), as well as the gameplay style shown off in the early screenshots and footage.

The Playtonic team is made up of developers behing Banjo as well as the Donkey Kong Country games, who have launched their own studio to develop this game.

Banjo-Kazooie debuted at a time when 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64 ruled the market, but the likes of these games have largely fallen out of fashion in recent years. Playtonic Games is hoping to show there’s still room out their for an adorable but exciting platformer. And fans seem to agree: In its first day, the Kickstarter hit its initial funding goal, and will have 46 more days online to rack up funding.

Because it hit funding, the game will come to Windows, Mac, Linux, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Wii U, though Playtonic says actual timing for each platform will depend on the total Kickstarter backing.

Watch a preview of the game below and see more images from the game on IGN.