Yooka-Replaylee seems to be the second confirmed game coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 — or whatever its name ends up being — according to some hints the developer dropped on Thursday.
Playtonic Games, which developed the original Yooka-Laylee and is working on this remaster, released a trailer announcing that the game is coming to consoles after initially only revealing the Steam page for PC. At the end of the trailer, which you can watch above, Playtonic lists the launch platforms: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. However, in between PS5 and PC is a vague Nintendo logo.
While this doesn’t mean much on its own, Playtonic reiterated the platforms on its official X (formerly Twitter) account, highlighting Nintendo in particular. In a press release, the studio also noted that it’s coming to “Nintendo platforms.” “Experience the definitive version of Yooka and Laylee’s very first adventure on a platform of your choice when the game launches on… wait, too soon for that,” it read.
As well as PC, Yooka-Replaylee WILL be on PS5, Xbox Series and… Nintendo 👀
Peep the latest trailer to get a look at some gorgeous 3D-platforming, new gameplay and beautiful ORCHESTRAL music 😍
Wishlist it now! Wishlist it everywheeeere! 👇 pic.twitter.com/DTbwaFjPgP
— Slaytonic 👻🔪 (@PlaytonicGames) October 24, 2024
While Nintendo hasn’t officially revealed the Switch 2 yet (although it’s acknowledged its existence), other developers have started teasing upcoming releases for the platform. For the My Time at Evershine Kickstarter, developer Pathea Games became the first to confirm the game would be coming to “next-gen Nintendo” consoles, adding that backers will receive a Switch 1 code if the Switch 2 isn’t out at the time of release. It also noted that the game is launching “on PC, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and future Nintendo platforms yet to be announced.”
“Nintendo platforms” seems to be the adopted parlance for games that are being developed for the Switch 2, and now that we’re getting closer to an expected console announcement, you can expect more upcoming games to follow suit.
Yooka-Replaylee is the “enhanced definitive” version of Yooka-Laylee, the 2017 spiritual successor to Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie. (Developer Playtonic is actually made up of former Rare employees.) The game is a 3D platformer and retro throwback that Digital Trends thought recaptured “the feeling of the beloved Banjo-Kazooie” but failed “to add anything substantially new or interesting.”
Playtonic is adding a ton of new features to the remaster, including new characters, a new currency, upgraded visuals with higher resolution, and improvements to familiar challenges. It’s also added a quest tracker to a new world map and a rearranged soundtrack. There’s no release window set at this time.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.