Let this sink into your brain for a second. Prior to this week, the last new game we saw in the Crash Bandicoot saga was Mind Over Mutant, released back in 2008. Granted, Crash has been busy since then, with Activision releasing very effective remasters of the N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing, but people were wondering if the hero would ever make a true comeback with an original platformer.
Earlier this week, we got our answer with Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time. Set to release on October 2, the day before the Gamebutlers birthday for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. The game comes from the developers at Toys For Bob, who previously worked on the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and the Skylanders games. So, yeah, they know a thing or two about platformers. And the first glimpse of the game is very promising, hunkering back to the golden age of Naughty Dog’s platformers.
But what led to this moment? Well, let’s take a brief dip back into history and see how the Crash Bandicoot series came to be, and why his return is so important to the gaming business now.
Woobahgah Started Right Here
Naughty Dog, coming off the underground success of its brawler Way of the Warrior, introduced Crash Bandicoot for the PlayStation way back in 1996. He became an immediate success, prompting the team to work on two additional sequels, along with the spin-off go-cart racing game Crash Team Racing. Since then, the franchise has been on the move, with Travellers Tales producing Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex for various platforms in 2001. It marked the first time that Crash wasn’t exclusively on a Sony platform, and became an instant hit.
Since then, Sierra produced a number of sequels, including the team-based Crash Twinsanity and Crash Tag Team Racing. Eventually, the franchise would begin to lose steam following the final two games, Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant. The rights would eventually go back over to Activision, but the company did very little with it. However, interest spiked when it was announced at E3 2016 that Crash would return in a remastered N. Sane Trilogy. The game sold initially well on PlayStation 4 before debuting on other platforms. Last year, Crash Team Racing followed on similar platforms, becoming a huge success as well. The sales of those two titles, going well into the millions, prompted Activision to announce a new add-on for the series. And here we are.
Time Once Again Plays a Factor
Crash and his allies finding themselves with a big problem, having to find the four Quantum Masks in order save the multiverse. Aiding Crash on his journey is his sister Coco, who once again returns as a playable character. There was some criticism that It’s About Time looked along the same lines of the last two Crash Bandicoot games, instead of something resembling Naughty Dog’s original work. But, based on what you can see in the trailer above, Toys For Bob has Crash’s spirit purely in mind.
The game features classic platforming akin to the original games, including enemies that can be defeated with bops on the head, along with tricky segments to score bonus goodies, like one- ups. There’s also segments in which Dr. Neo Cortex is playable, adding his own spin (no pun intended) to the proceedings. The masks themselves actually offer a tweak to gameplay as well, though to what extent is not yet known. But Toys For Bob definitely has some good ideas in mind, and it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out this October.
This fortunately will pave the way for future Crash adventures to come. And considering that Activision owns the license, Spyro the Dragon may not be far behind. Last year’s release of the Reignited Trilogy went over very well for the company, and once the developer finishes up the latest Crash, it could easily move on to this game.
But, for now, we’ll take our returns where we can get them. It’s About Time marks a welcome return for the hero, and should make for a great journey once October rolls around.
Woobahgah indeed.
