Quick Look: Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

I heard this game can be brutal.

might get it on sale

Wiggle my Wumpa. Wraggle my Wumpa? Wumpin' my Wumpa.

Damn good game. Some hidden crates are obnoxious, but other than that it does a whole lot right. As a huge fan of Crash 2, this feels more like that than anything. No more crappy gimmick levels!

The gameplay and level design is spot on, but they really went above and beyond with the amount of stuff in here. I expected 25 levels or so that could be done in a weekend. But I think I spent like 20 hours going for a bunch of crates, the bonus levels, and that's even before going for the inverted levels.

My only tip here is to use the slide dash everywhere. Makes a lot of the platforming a whole lot easier.

It's about time.. they got this Quick Look up.

Vinny, these were not "baby or mercy checkpoints". You didn't have checkpoints in the beginning because you were doing the time trial.

Wumpa! There It Is

Where's My Wumpa?

This game is very fun and quite difficult; I really like all the new mechanics and playable characters! Trying to get all the boxes on some of the levels has been a real doozy. That Food Run level Vinny showed off near the end is already pretty hard, trying to get all the boxes almost broke me (but I did it!!!)

I might try to 100% this, we'll see if my patience holds up. There is definitely a lot to do between perfecting all the levels, doing the time trials, doing the reverse levels, and completing the flashback tapes. I don't think the flashback tapes are retreads of old levels, I think they are just self-contained little challenges (which I have been enjoying) with this backstory about Crash being experimented on by Cortex??? I don't know if this bit of lore is new or not, haha.

The mercy checkpoint thing IS a mechanic in this game, I've definitely gotten them on some of the later harder levels. But you are correct, in that instance, it was because he was in the time trial.

EDIT: Ahh I was wrong, they changed it from the originals.

FWIW if you're still playing Vinny and care, or anyone else.

Wompa fruit are like coins, they just lead to lives they don't matter. You can watch speed runs and see people just totally ignore them.

Boxes are what matters, those are the main collectibles. At least in 1-3.

TNT boxes you gotta trigger the timer on them for it to count.

Nitro boxes usually there is some switch on the map to trigger them

Wrangle My Wumpas?

@carsend: they've actually changed things up in this one, instead of one box gem per level, there are now 6. 3 of them are for collecting 40%, 60%, and 80% of the Wumpa fruit in a level, one for breaking all crates, one for dying less than 3 times, and one for a hidden gem somewhere in the level. sorta like the goals in Tony Hawk

@moustachewalker: Ohh you beat me to Wumpa there it is! well done.

I'm glad that Vinny gave an introduction to the Crash mechanics right at the beginning. As a newcomer, I really needed a Crash course.

God DAMN IT

Open a can of Wumpas? Wumpas you like it? Wumpa Wrongdoing?

@authenticm: Yeah, that was my mistake. The checkpointing DOES work that way but a bad example because of hitting that time trial mode. There is a lot going on in this game.

This game looks phenomenal. However, I bought the trilogy and Crash 1 frustrated the absolute shit out of me and it had me wondering if Crash is perhaps a terrible series or not. I did really like Crash 2 on the PS1, so maybe I should try the HD version of that before writing off the whole franchise.

@vinny said:

No worries. I'm glad you liked the game. I need to play it, but there's so many games I need to play first. So many games and so little time.

This is easily my favorite title of a video game in 2020.

Look at that overworld! Some real Donkey Kong vibes there. More great overworlds please.

Really liked this game. Especially liked how they focused on refining and expanding the core platforming as opposed adding a bunch of different vehicles and modes of play the way Crash 3 did. Always be Slide Jumpin!

Although between the special character levels' second halfs just being harder retreads of levels you've already completed, and the N.verted Levels reusing the entire stage for more collectibles, those parts feel a bit like filler. There's already decent enough reason to replay levels between the time trials and collecting the flashback tapes so it feels redundant. Though I appreciate how it makes some of the earlier Skins easier to unlock once you've made it further in the game, and some of the effects they add for the worlds are genuinely cool.

Overall I felt they did a great job at bringing back Crash in a way that was both modern and faithful to the style of game the originals were. Very cool.

I look forward to the newest hit game show, Where's My Wumpa?

Clearly the name needs to be "Scrump my Wump(a)"

I could live with "Finagle my Fruit" as well

This game is super fun, but trying to get every box is infuriating. I'm going through every level with a fine tooth comb, and there are always like 5 - 10 hidden boxes that are just off screen or hidden by the environment. You can angle the camera a little bit with the right stick, but it rarely helps you find any of these hidden boxes. The levels are way longer than previous games, which is not a problem in itself. But getting through a very difficult section perfectly, only to realize later that you missed a cheap box at some point in the past 15 minutes, happens all too often.

Girl, you'll be a Wumpa soon

@beatnikbedlam: oh dang, didn't know they changed it, my bad.

Big change, just assumed it was like the first three. I see the meter now below the fruit in the video and the end of the level screen.

That does sound harder then

Weasel My Wumpa?

Game looks like more Crash, yup.

Which is bad, because Crash is bad. Always has been.

Wumpa You Want?

Whump vs. 100

Whumpdunnit?

GOTY so far. Hard to see anything topping it. The amount of care that went into every asset and design decision really shines.

Hit Me Baby, Wumpa Time

Yeah it isn't like in 21 days from now any games are coming out that could potentially redefine next generation, become the cornerstone for every game that follows in its footsteps, and more than likely surpass game of the year by becoming game of the decade. I can't think of any games that fit that description.

Wumpa Doodle Dandy

WUMP! There it is!

We talking 60 fps on the PS5?

Very nice to see that Giant Bombs 2020 GOTY finally got a quick look lol. In all seriousness, this game is incredible, definitely in my personal top 3 with THPS1+2 and FF7Remake

The platforming here reminds me of any platforming in games that I disliked lol, like anytime a game wants you to platform but didn't design flow to it, its so jerky looking

Wumpa Bumpa.

Bumpa Berry is the Wumpa Fruit in N Verted mode.

@carsend: The boxes indeed.. Vinny is triggering me, had to get this out of my system :P

@archer88 said:

Chum-bout Wumpa?

"Wumpa Wumpa" like the 'Womp Womp' sound effect.

Don't dumpa my wumpa

"Wumpa Wumpa, Stick it up yer Jumpa'"

@carsend: it's actually been sort of an interesting challenge, before when you could just set off a TNT box next to low-value boxes and not care that much, now you have to be a little more careful around them. honestly tho, you can do all the gems in separate runs if you have trouble and it's not too big of a deal. the real issue is the N. Sane relics, which requires you to get all gems except the hidden one in one run without dying. haven't played in a few weeks but having to restart the level and wait thru a 45 second load each time was really breaking my will to keep going for them lol

All for Wump and Wumpa for All

I mean I hope Immortals Fenix whateverthedangthingiscalled is a good BotWclone with some softer edges but I don't know if it will be that good. I hope at least it is the best of the Ubi 2020 Open World Trilogy.

P.S. I know you're talking about the potential greatness of CP77, I hope that game is as great as can be as I adored TW3.

@steveurkel: Generally, you wait on awarding game of the decade until AFTER a game is out and you've played it.

We are the Wum Pa-cent?

The Amazing Wumpa (The Amazing Race).

I had a fun time with this game, but it does get harder near the end. I definitely did NOT do any kind of completionist run. They eventually get to using all four power-up masks in one sequence, until finally using all four of them in a single jump that stumped me like 50+ times lol.

If I had time like I had when I was 16, I'd play the shit out of this game. Unfortunately I do not these days, but if it's on a sale I'll get it for a rainy day.