Michael Crider
Back in the SNES days, gaming was dominated by bouncy cartoon characters. But things shifted in the 2000s and 2010s, and for a while Mario and Sonic were the only ones keeping the idea of a mascot-focused platformer alive. But they’ve had a revival as of late, paving the way for fan-favorite Crash Bandicoot to make a return.
Developer Toys For Bob revealed the new game with a trailer during the Summer Game Fest. Crash 4 looks like a very pointed return to form, focusing on the styles of gameplay and visuals that made the original PlayStation games a hit. Levels seem to be evenly split between running towards or away from the camera, or more conventional 2D perspectives.
https://youtu.be/5qF5JrciMnU
Multiple playable characters including Coco and series villain Neo-Cortex were shown off, as well as plenty of new masks and powers. The game’s subtitle is “It’s About Time,” so you can expect plenty of chronological shenanigans as the series jumps directly from Crash Bandicoot: Warped, released way back in 1998.
Between a recent remaster of the first three Crash games, a similar remaster of Spyro the Dragon, and nostalgic throwback titles like Yooka-Laylee and A Hat in Time, more old-fashioned 3D platformers are having a bit of a renaissance. We might see more PlayStation and N64-style platformers pop up from major studios in the near future.
Crash 4: It’s About Time has been confirmed for the PS4 and Xbox One. It’s scheduled to go on sale October 2nd.
Source: Activision
