Crash is Back!!!

12 years. That's how long it's been since the last Crash Bandicoot game. 12 long, agonising years. Oh sure we had the N Sane Trilogy to tide us over but that was a remake not a whole new adventure. Just for reference, Mega Man fans only had to wait 8 years between Mega Man 10 and 11. Still a long wait but not nearly as long as Crash fans had to wait. Well folks, the wait is finally over. We're finally getting a brand new Crash Bandicoot game for current gen consoles with the aptly named Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. Wait, Crash Bandicoot 4? Isn't it like the eighth entry in the series? Looks like they're pulling a Halloween and only treating the first three games as canon. I guess it makes sense given how the games past the original trilogy received a mixed response from critics and fans and with the N Sane Trilogy having introduced Crash to a whole new generation of gamers, it makes sense to treat this as a soft reboot.

But that's not the only reason they're treating this as the true 4th entry in the series. Crash 4 has taken a caustic look at the legacy of it's predecessors and effectively gone back to it's roots. In laymans terms, Crash 4 has patterned it's gameplay on the original trilogy that made him famous to begin with. We're back to the formula of linear hallway like stages, with 2D platforming areas and an emphasis on platforming challenges. Guys, Crash is Back! And I am very happy. But let's go into more detail on this shall we.

First things first, this game looks gorgeous. I know a lot of people aren't keen on the art direction and I get why. People really liked how the N Sane Trilogy looked and wanted to see that art direction continue. It doesn't help that Crash hasn't had the best history when it comes to redesigns. Remember the Titans games? No? Didn't think so. Personally, I love it. I love how expressive the characters are, the colours really pop out and the environments are amazing. For as good as the N Sane Trilogy looked it was still obvious that the games were built for older hardware, they were just given a new coat of paint. Not so with Crash 4. This was built from the ground up for modern consoles and it shows. Crash's world has never looked more rich and alive. The more stylised cartoon look is more evocative of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy than the N Sane Trilogy, which makes sense since it's being developed by Reignited developer Toy's For Bob, but I think it's a good look for Crash. I prefer my platformers to look cartoony. If you're wondering why Toys For Bob are developing it and not Vicarious Visions, it's because VV are busy developing the Tony Hawk's Proskater 1+2 remake. They're a little busy at the moment.

The levels look exceptional with some cinemtic elements thrown in. in one of the brief snippets of gameplay we've seen during an ice cave level, Crash comes up to a ship stuck in a waterfall only to watch as it eplodes forcing him to platform over icy platforms. It looks like the dynamic level design that I praised in my N Sane Trilogy reviews is here and accounted for but I noticed the transitions between the 2D and 3D sections were much smoother. Looks like we won't be stepping on platforms to transport between segments now and that should help speed up the gameplay. Crash 4 in general looks like a much faster game than it's predecessors, I noticed whenever boxes were broken the wumpa fruit would be magnetised towards you. So you don't need to pick them up after breaking the boxes which should help with the flow.

Now let's talk move set. From what I could make out Crash is still rocking the same moves he had in Crash Warped. The slide, spin and belly flop return but I didn't see the death tornado spin, bazooka or Crash Dash in either the trailer or the gameplay. I think the Crash Dash might come back you just need to unlock it but I don't know for certain. I am certain that neither the death tornado or bazooka aren't coming back, bummer. Not to worry though because Crash has picked up some new tricks in his 12 years of absence. Crash can now swing from ropes, run along walls parkour style and grind/hang on rails. That last one has me excited in particular because it reminds me a lot of Ratchet and Clank. These new moves look like a natural extension of Crash's acrobatic abilities and in hindsight should have been added into the series much sooner. Think about it, this is the first time Crash's move set has actually been enhanced since Wrath of Cortex. But wait, there's more.

Crash is now going to receive new power ups in the form of the Quantum Masks. There are going to be 4 in total but only 2 have been shown off so far. Kipuna-Wa allows Crash to slow time for a short while and Eka-Eka allows Crash to defy gravity and walk on the ceiling. It looks like the Quantum Masks will only be availible in specific areas but they look like a good way to add variety to the level design without relying to heavily on vehicles which plagued many of Crash's previous titles. In fact Toys For Bob have admitted they'll be focusing less on vehicles and more on the moment to moment platforming gameplay. That's not to say that vehicles have been completely removed because the wave board from Crash 2 does make a return but with the Quantum Masks and the new grinding mechanic I think we will see less of them and that's probably for the best.

That's not to say that there won't be different styles of levels because we do see that chase levels make a return, expected since it's a staple of the series. This also probably means that ride levels will make a return too but still not 100% sure on that. Toy's for Bob did confirm that we will see mulltiple playable characters. Crash and Coco will both be playable with Coco acting as she did in the N Sane Trilogy, basically a reskin of Crash with the same moves, but we also got a look at a third playable character albeit briefly, Cortex. Yes, Cortex returns as a playable character for the first time since Twinsanity. No details on how he'll actually play but apparently his gameplay is more cerebral so he will most likely be more puzzle focused. Now those are all the characters we know about but there is a fourth that got leaked due to an image of some of the games merchandise getting out. That character? Tawna Bandicoot. Yes the damsel in distress from the very first game is making her long awaited return with a new punk rocker look. Neat. Don't know if she'll be playable but I think it's fair to say she will be.

Crash Bandicoot 4 is looking like a fantastic platformer. It's fast paced, the art direction is gorgeous and the new moves and powers have tons of potential. There's a lot that looks good but there's also a lot we don't know about the game either. For starters we don't know how the game will be structured. Is it like Crash Bandicoot 2 and Warped where you have different warp rooms and can do levels in any order, or will it be more like the first game where things are more linear? Will time trials return? Will Crystals return? We do know that Gems will be returning with hints that Box Gems will return as well but, how will secrets work? I hope it's closer to Crash 2 in this regard but there's so much we don't know about this yet. We'll have to wait and see.

One thing we do know is that the game will offer two different game modes, classic and modern. Classic mode retains the old school lives system while modern mode ditches lives entirely and makes Wumpa fruit an in game currency. What you will spend them on isn't known but my guess is that it will be used to purchase new skins for Crash and Coco as we saw one such set at the tail end of the reveal trailer. I am worried they're gonna add lootboxes into this but given the stigma they have garnered, not to mention the legal issues surrounding them, I doubt that will be the case. Plus it's just cosmetic stuff anyway, hopefully.

So that's everything we know so far about Crash Bandiccot 4: It's About Time. Am I excited for it? Of course I'm excited for it. I wouldn't have written this post if my hype wasn't through the roof. We don't have that long to wait for it either as it's releasing on October 2nd 2020. and after the absolute dumpster fire this year has been, this should perk us up at least a little bit. Whatever happens, I'll be keeping a close eye on this one. Crash is back and it feels so good. Until next time, remember to stay safe and have fun.