Yooka-Laylee - Xbox One

For many gamers, Yooka-Laylee offers a nostalgia kick that goes several layers deep. For years console gaming was dominated by smart platforming mascots, but as successive generations of hardware have come and gone most (except, of course, for Nintendo's heavy hitters) have fallen away. With Yooka-Laylee, however, we get two brand-new platforming heroes to join the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Sonic the Hedgehog and, yes, Banjo and Kazooie. If the name Yooka-Laylee has a familiar ring to it, it might be because developers from Rare, the studio behind Banjo-Kazooie, are among the creators of the new game.

A magic book has been stolen and it's up to you to take on the roles of Yooka (a bipedal chameleon) and Laylee (a bat who flutters around after him) to retrieve it. You'll journey through five different worlds, ranging from the to-be-expected ice world to a more left field region that mashes up space and piracy. Indeed, a big part of the pleasure to be had from Yooka-Laylee comes from exploration of these different worlds, with more modern concerns such as maps and waypoints dropped in favour of leaving you to just figure it out.

Players will complete missions ranging from racing clouds to transforming Yooka and Laylee into the likes of attack helicopters or piranhas to complete special tasks. Completing these earns you Pagies, which unlock yet more areas of the game to explore, and you can also collect Quills to spend on upgrading your abilities.

There's a LOT to explore in Yooka-Laylee! more