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Digital Foundry - Yooka-Laylee And The Impossible Lair: Spotless on Switch, Superb on PS4, Xbox One and X

ScOULaris

ScOULaris

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,617



I was looking forward to this one. What a turn-around for Playtonic Games. I think most would agree that the original Yooka-Laylee was pretty rough around the edges from a graphical/performance standpoint, The Impossible Lair looks to be a huge improvement across the board. Hell, it seems to just be a far better game than its predecessor on the whole.

For games like this, starting with the Switch as the baseline for optimization is such a good idea because it then also allows the game to really push for 4K with even more bells and whistles on the other systems without compromising what will likely be the best-selling version on Switch.

Highlights:
  • 60fps target on all platforms, including Switch handheld/docked. Holds 60 for the vast majority of the time on all platforms.
  • 1360x765 in docked. 960x540 in handheld. Dynamic res that often reaches native 4K on Xbox One X. PS4/Pro runs at locked 1080p.
  • Every version developed in-house by Playtonic themselves
  • Texture resolution/filtering reduced on Switch compared to other platforms. Difference is harder to notice in handheld, however.
 
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Jahranimo

Jahranimo

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,013
Didn't we hear that they developed this with Switch in mind first?

Gonna watch/listen to the video now.
 
LetalisAmare

LetalisAmare

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,957
No higher res on Pro is disapointing. Might wait a little before I buy it to see if they add it.
 
Nabbit

Nabbit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,422
Very glad to see this. Thanks for posting, i was wondering which version to get.
 
CloseTalker

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,637
Got it on Switch, the art style is such that it still looks phenomenal despite the lower res. Even in this footage, it's not as glaring a difference as the numbers would have you think.
 

pulsemyne

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,640
Great vid. Performance looks great on all machines. Playtonic really did a top notch job.
 
Klobrille

Klobrille

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,360
Germany
Xbox One X hitting native 4K is awesome news for me! I will buy the game for the coming weekend, should look great on my 4K setup then.
 
mogster7777

mogster7777

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,980
What's the point of having a PS4 Pro when it's does nothing different to a normal PS4 with some games like this
 

Deleted member 11637

Oct 27, 2017
18,204
OMG! Gotta get this on Switch after I buy Tropical Freeze on sale :|
 
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ScOULaris

ScOULaris

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,617
mogster7777 said:
What's the point of having a PS4 Pro when it's does nothing different to a normal PS4 with some games like this
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That's more the fault of the engine powering this game than the hardware itself. Although the Pro is only a minor hardware bump over the standard PS4, so it's not always easy to achieve wildly improved results in all cases.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,362
Great work all round, looks like you're good wherever you prefer to play.

Had this earmarked for PS4 Pro (d-pad preference) but I'm questioning if I might make do with Xbox controller if it means ~4k over 1080p.
 
JoJo'sDentCo

JoJo'sDentCo

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,538
ScOULaris said:
That's more the fault of the engine powering this game than the hardware itself. Although the Pro is only a minor hardware bump over the standard PS4, so it's not always easy to achieve wildly improved results in all cases.
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I disagree with you in regards to calling the Pro a minor bump. It's more than twice as powerful.
 
Thiago

Thiago

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,671
The developers really don't want PS4 Pro owners to buy the game, right?
 
Rosur

Rosur

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,502
Seems quite a good platformer. I might pick this up over the Christmas break as too much else atm to play.
 
TheBiInBilingual

TheBiInBilingual

THE STORE ENSURED ME THERE WOULDN'T BE FILM
Member
Feb 22, 2018
2,796
Digital Foundry has basically sold me this game now. Problem is, which platform.. Glorious 4K60fps on One X, or Portability on Switch..
 
Suede

Suede

Gotham's Finest
Member
Oct 28, 2017
12,514
Scotland
Looks like I need to pick this up at some point. The music is very reminiscent of DKC, which is nice.
 
Themaddestgamer

Themaddestgamer

Banned
Nov 30, 2017
1,563
So 1080P on xbox s, ps4, and pro?

They said theyll look into it but doesnt appear there is anything they can do.

Was a no buy anyway but damn.
 
Pryme

Pryme

Member
Aug 23, 2018
8,164
It's a budget priced game, very well reviewed and from a very small team.
Seems a bit nitpicky to want to avoid the game for a small resolution boost on the Pro.
 
Tyaren

Tyaren

Character Artist
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
24,778
No PS4 Pro optimization (while there is for Xbox One X) is imo pretty inexcusable at this point. Not going to buy it like that.
 

Imitatio

Member
Feb 19, 2018
14,560
Not buying this due to missing Pro improvements seems a bit harsh to me, but you people do you.

Looks really good, might consider buying it on Switch down the line. System's perfect™ for titles like these. Just need to get through my backlog right now...

Thanks for the great analysis, Dark1x
 
xyla

xyla

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,385
Germany
You thought it flowed even better than Tropical Freeze Dark1x ?

I'm this short of buying it now instead of waiting for a sale. It looks better every time I see it.
 
Mbolibombo

Mbolibombo

Member
Oct 29, 2017
7,043
I'm gonna dive in to this one next week, cant wait!

Also the fact that the Switch version is the lead platform is definately the reason why it runs so fine. How many other multiplats have had the Switch as the lead platform?

I think I read somewhere that Trials of Mana uses the Switch as the base platform, if that is true it should definately both look and run great.



xyla said:
Wait, is there no physical version for the Switch?
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There is. At least in Europe.
 
TheCrackedJack

TheCrackedJack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,030
If they truly designed the game with Switch in mind, it's a little odd why they would have went with such lower resolutions. Especially when Tropical Freeze looks about the same graphically and it runs at much higher resolution, especially docked. I guess it comes down to budget, although I doubt Nintendo spent much to port TF to Switch in any regard.
 
Poison Jam

Poison Jam

Member
Nov 6, 2017
2,984
I got it on PC as it was cheaper, and it seems to run really well. No obvious issues other than it using Xbox 360 icons on the HUD, instead of Xbox One ones.

Glad to hear the console versions are good as well, but shame about the Pro...
 
Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric

Tetra-Grammaton-Cleric

user requested ban
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
8,958
I requested a refund from Sony because of the lack of Pro/4k support. Hopefully they'll oblige so I can get this on the X.
 
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ScOULaris

ScOULaris

Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,617
TheCrackedJack said:
If they truly designed the game with Switch in mind, it's a little odd why they would have went with such lower resolutions. Especially when Tropical Freeze looks about the same graphically and it runs at much higher resolution, especially docked. I guess it comes down to budget, although I doubt Nintendo spent much to port TF to Switch in any regard.
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The fact that it runs on Unity certainly holds it back in terms of performance/resolution on Switch.
 
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