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After the astounding popularity of Crash Bandicoot: N.Sane Trilogy, it was only a matter of time until Activision realised that faithful remasters which paid homage to the past wasn’t the only option for its beloved orange marsupial. 

He’s proven more popular than ever, forcing us to ask the question whether it was time for some new blood to be dropped into the pool of platformers. Turns out that you can certainly teach an ageing mascot new tricks, since Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time pushes the franchise to new heights, building upon the nostalgic foundations so many are familiar with in some fascinating ways. 

An uneven difficulty and a lack of narrative interactions hold it back from true greatness, but Toys For Bob has crafted a sequel which more than lives up to the legacy established by Naughty Dog so many years ago. While many entries after the original trilogy faltered under the weight of their own ambition, It’s About Time strikes a perfect balance between old and new. 

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Crash Bandicoot 4 sets itself up for a monolith task by immediately establishing itself as a canon sequel to the original trilogy, knowingly holding all of the expectations that come with such an identity on its shoulders. Neo Cortex has once again been defeated, cursing the antics of Crash and Coco who have left him stranded in a time prison. With the help of his fellow villains, he inadvertently rips a hole in the fabric of reality, which as you’d expect, has some chaotic consequences. 

Now relaxing on their home island, Crash and Coco are immediately swept into a new adventure where they must gather four unique masks and repair the fabric of space and time. So, it sounds like another day in the life of these marsupial siblings. It’s a simple yet endearing setup as our heroes dive through several different worlds each with their own distinct themes and mechanics. 

It’s both a traditional sequel and a daring expansion of the original formula, which if I’m being honest, was showing its age. Seconds are jumping in the opening level, it is clear that Toys For Bob has mastered the way Crash Bandicoot feels, with each character controlling with a satisfying sense of grace as they leap onto crates, across chasms and onto unsuspecting enemies. If I’m being completely honest, this is the best Crash has ever felt. 

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Beautiful animation work and a handy icon which appears beneath you when making risky jumps makes things far less frustrating than before, even if some deaths can still end up feeling unwarranted in the midst of harder stages. The difficulty is also uneven, with earlier levels proving obscenely challenging while some later environments turning out to be a breeze when smashing crates and avoiding obstacles. 

It’s a small complaint, but having the difficulty progress alongside your growing expertise would have been far more appealing, especially since Crash Bandicoot 4 is far more demanding than earlier entries in the series. Even in the first handful of worlds I was succumbing to several deaths across each stage, with crates hidden in devious locations that require some serious ingenuity to uncover. 

But moment-to-moment action still feels wonderful, with Crash and Coco being playable across all of the stages that aren’t otherwise designed for specific characters, which I’ll touch upon later. You’re now capable of a triple-jump from the outset, which can be combined with a sliding tackle to clamber up higher platforms and other nefarious locations. From the opening monmets, you’re expected to combine these moves together seamlessly. If you don’t, an immediate death awaits. 

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Crash Bandicoot 4’s platforming action is largely familiar in the opening hours. That is, until you stumble upon one of the game’s four masks. These nifty pieces of facewear are capable of pausing time, phasing objects in and out of reality and twisting Crash or Coco into a whirlwind which allows them to dispatch larger enemies and travel longer distances. 

Toys For Bob is leaning on this as being the defining mechanic of It’s About Time, and it’s executed with mixed results. Mask abilities themselves are incredibly fun and intuitive, leading to some engaging level design that shakes up the traditional platforming. However, it can oftentimes interrupt the flow of levels, and I’d rather mask abilities be isolated to their own stages and boss battles instead of meshing with everything at once. 

If you aren’t particularly great at certain mask abilities, such as the finicky whirlwind, revisiting levels to perfect them can be a nuisance. It doesn’t help that this particular ability can feel rather finicky at the best of times, mediocre in comparison to its excellent siblings. Stopping time and phasing platforms into your dimension gels with existence action perfectly, while some masks simply don’t.

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Luckily, instances like this are few and far between. While the majority of your time will be spent with Crash and Coco, you will also unlock additional levels starring Tawna and Dingodile. These tell existing events from a different perspective, often unveiling how the marsupial siblings came across conveniently placed objects which help them out of a tight spot.

I loved these levels, largely because they’re fundamentally different from the platforming you’ll have been doing for hours up until that point. Tawna is a taller and tougher bandicoot than her smaller comrades, meaning she is capable of jumping between walls to reach higher distances, and can also use a grappling hook to soar across chasms and smash hidden crates.

Dingodile is a heavier fella, having abandoned his past of villainy to open a restaurant amidst a murkey swamp. Armed with a leaf blower, he can suck crates or enemies towards him before blasting them forward to eliminate obstacles. Many of these puzzles involve carefully shooting TNT at nearby foes and collectibles, although be careful you don’t accidentally nuke yourself in the process.

There’s also inverted levels, which essentially flip the layout of levels while also applying a psychaledic visual element to stages you’ve already completed. These are entertaining extras, and differ enough from their original counterparts that they are well worth seeing through at least once. But be warned, the lack of visility makes them even harder than before.

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On top of this you’ve got time trials, bonus levels and videotapes which can be collected to grant access to even more additional levels which are arguably the hardest of the bunch. Taking place while Crash and Coco were unwilling prisoners of Neo Cortex, you must bounce across crates and other objects without making a single mistake. They’re fiendishly unforgiving, meaning series’ faithful will adore them.

The new aesthetic is a stark departure from the original trio of games, but I honestly think it looks amazing. Crash and Coco are cute, quirky and endlessly expressive in every cutscene, and their interactions with allies and enemies are ripe with charm. So it’s a shame that there’s so little dialogue throughout the campaign. Obviously, Crash doesn’t talk, but Coco has some cracking lines throughout as the story unfolds that are few and far between. I’d binge an animated series of this, so hopefully Activision will take the hint.

Verdict

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is an excellent platformer, and carefully builds upon the legacy established by Naughty Dog so many years ago. Its implementation of new mechanics isn’t without fault, bu ttheir ambition is worthy of admiration and they blend with the old-school platforming better than I expected them to.

Crash, Coco and friends have also never looked this good, with the refined aesthetic and lively animations bringing them to life in a way that I honestly think is better than any entry before it. While hardcore loves of the original trilogy might turn their noses up at some of Crash 4’s changes, they’re more than worth rolling with to savour the platforming greatness on display here.

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