There has been quite the controversy around this game. Many people are disappointed because it doesn't quite live up to the greatness of the original Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, to which it's supposed to be a spiritual successor. While I agree with this, it's still a very fun game and it certainly scratches that itch for a collectathon 3D platformer. I don't regret backing this on Kickstarter at all two years ago.
The gameplay is immediately familiar if you've played the N64 games, the characters fit the same archetypes and the worlds are filled to the brim with stuff to do.
Unfortunately, the game as a whole is simply not as memorable due to some issues. There are only five worlds, so there is somewhat of a lack of variety because you spend a lot of time in the same places.
Also, while getting around is a challenge at the beginnign as it should be in this kind of game, some of the moves you get as you progress through the game just completely break this aspect and make going back to earlier worlds to get what you missed or skipped feel stupid, because the new moves trivialize the challenge you would have had if you had tried to do it in the "proper" way the first time. This makes it seem rather pointless to stay in a world once you have collected just enough pagies to move on the next one - which is not a lot.
Additionally, it's somewhat annoying that there is a severe lack of variety in enemies and world-inhabting NPCs - you basically run into the same ones in every world, and they don't fit the overall theme of the world either because of this. This is a severe setback from the N64 Banjo games.
The soundtrack is a mixed bag - some of the tracks are really great and memorable, while others are bland and repetitive.
These negative âspects don't stop the game from being enjoyable at all though. There is a lot of stuff to do in the worlds, the various new moves you unlock give you that "ah-ha!" moment when you remember a spot you couldn't get past earlier and are now able to thanks to that new ability, and the dialogues, animations and character sounds are as quirky and fun as ever in the Banjo games. Playtonic definitely managed to capture the atmosphere of them, so hats off for that.

Overall, if you are a fan of the N64 Banjo games, I recommend this - it does have its flaws, but Playtonic delivered on what they promised.

There has been quite the controversy around this game. Many people are disappointed because it doesn't quite live up to the greatness of the original Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie, to which it's supposed to be a spiritual successor. While I agree with this, it's still a very fun game and it certainly scratches that itch for a collectathon 3D platformer. I don't regret backing this on Kickstarter at all two years ago. The gameplay is immediately familiar if you've played the N64 games, the characters fit the same archetypes and the worlds are filled to the brim with stuff to do. Unfortunately, the game as a whole is simply not as memorable due to some issues. There are only five worlds, so there is somewhat of a lack of variety because you spend a lot of time in the same places. Also, while getting around is a challenge at the beginnign as it should be in this kind of game, some of the moves you get as you progress through the game just completely break this aspect and make going back to earlier worlds to get what you missed or skipped feel stupid, because the new moves trivialize the challenge you would have had if you had tried to do it in the "proper" way the first time. This makes it seem rather pointless to stay in a world once you have collected just enough pagies to move on the next one - which is not a lot. Additionally, it's somewhat annoying that there is a severe lack of variety in enemies and world-inhabting NPCs - you basically run into the same ones in every world, and they don't fit the overall theme of the world either because of this. This is a severe setback from the N64 Banjo games. The soundtrack is a mixed bag - some of the tracks are really great and memorable, while others are bland and repetitive. These negative âspects don't stop the game from being enjoyable at all though. There is a lot of stuff to do in the worlds, the various new moves you unlock give you that "ah-ha!" moment when you remember a spot you couldn't get past earlier and are now able to thanks to that new ability, and the dialogues, animations and character sounds are as quirky and fun as ever in the Banjo games. Playtonic definitely managed to capture the atmosphere of them, so hats off for that. Overall, if you are a fan of the N64 Banjo games, I recommend this - it does have its flaws, but Playtonic delivered on what they promised.