Name: Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
Item: Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time
Rating: 9
Author: robiu013

Ever wanted to play a game where like a lab rat you keep trying to survive through difficult platforming sections and a death counter mockingly tracks all your failures as they slowly grow into the double - if not triple - digits? Yeah, that's pretty much my Crash Bandicoot 4 experience. May sound rough, but it's a testament to the game's qualities that I nevertheless still stuck around all the way to the end and finished it at least in terms of story.

My history with the Crash Bandicoot franchise is limited. Obviously the games have brand recognition and it's not like I haven't dabbled in some of the games myself in the form of the Nitro Kart games, which might be the closest thing Playstation has to Mario Kart. The reason that finally convinced me to give one of the main games a try, is that the game is currently free for all Playstation Plus subscribers. So I figured it's as good as any time to finally just download it and see how it goes.

Game boots up and I'm greeted by the option to play **classic or modern mode**. Cool, I think. Modern mode is obviously the more forgiving option, where you don't have lives and can as such continue playing even after dying. I know Crash is usually considered harder than Mario, so it sounds like a fair compromise to bring in more casual gamers like me.

Initial gameplay is positive. First two levels aren't particularly challenging and I die only about 2 times - due to stupid mistakes I could have avoided if I tried harder. **Graphics look great**. Colourful, the character design is pretty fun and even the enemy characters look interesting, which makes me feel nostalgic for all the platformers I loved as a child. Visually it's not on the same level as **Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart**, which was designed specifically for PS5, but it doesn't have to be. It still looks like a well polished CG cartoon just short of some of the visual spectacle that the afforementioned competitor game had.

Difficulty amps up around the third level when the **Quantum masks** are added to the equation. These are power ups that the protagonists Crash and Coco may use to navigate through special sections of levels. Throughout the game you gather four of them:

**Lani Loli**: works as a on/off switch that materializes some platforms and obstacles while making others disappear.

**Akano**: Turns Crash/Coco into a living Beyblade. The spinning can both be weaponized to counter enemy attacks while it also provides a floating effect that when paired up with jumping can make them reach previously unachievable heights.

**Kupuna-Wa**: Slows down time to make fast moving obstacles more easily avoidable.

**Ika-Ika**: Gravity ability which turns the world upside down.

Anyway, it doesn't take long until my death counters starts hitting double digits. If you're like me and just want to finish the game for the fun of it and to see where the story develops, you probably won't mind. Completionists however might want to consider restarting the level as only minumum deaths will provide them with a gem to unlock one of the many alternative outfits or new special levels unlocked by picking up VHS tapes, that are only available when at 0 deaths.

**Crash & Coco** who otherwise function as genderbent versions of the same vanilla character with no permanent special gimmick of their own while sporting the ability of wearing the quantum masks are eventually joined by three more playable characters who work well to switch up gameplay with their own spins on level completion:

**Tawna**: Design-wise a bit of a stereotypical tough girl is an alternative dimension version of an otherwise girly character from the older games. She feels less agile than Crash/Coco (though I'm not sure if it actually affects the gameplay significantly), but she does have a grappling hook usable both as a ranged weapon, as well as a platforming utility + she can jump walls like in the old NES Batman game or Ninja Gaiden, I think.

**Dingodile**: is my favorite alternative character. He feels a bit sloppy in terms of movement, but he makes up for it with his leafblower cannon. The leafblower provides him with the ability to float much like R2D2 in the older LEGO Star Wars games, before they took that ability away from him in LSW3. It can however also be used for sucking in collectibles or blowing back bombs at the enemies.

**Neo Cortex**: Otherwise the main villain of the story, but he does join the squad for the last 3 worlds you visit. He is slow and only has a weak single jump, but he makes up for it with a dashing ability and a gun which turns enemies into platforms.

The further I go into the story, the higher my death counts for each individual levels climb. I reach triple digits in some of the latest levels: Cortex Castle - the final level before the final boss costs me a whopping 600 repeats before I get the hang out of the "0 fails to pass" course (I don't care if several completionists on Youtube claim, it's "actually not that hard").

The game tests my skills with **6 boss battles**. They're tricky, but thanks to the autosave feature which happens mid-battle with every hit point you take from the bosses, I actually don't consider them the hardest part of the game + The clever level design kept me wanting to see what more they could throw at me. Unironically, I found the first Cortex battle hardest with his (I believe) 3rd wave giving me sensory overload on how to dodge all stuff aimed at me.

**19 hours and 19 minutes later** I finish my first playthrough of the game. I'm sure more skilled people on the internet will tell you the main game only lasts 4-5 hours and heck a quick google search claims the average completion time is 6-8 hours, but personally I'm happy with my performance. Game was still a blast and I'm perfectly satisfied having completed it at 36% only. Platforming is great, it's challenging but forgiving in just about the right way that it keeps you coming back to it. Appearently going for a 100% is one of the most frustrating experiences for any game's full completion, but it's not like I plan to go there anytime soon.

Ever wanted to play a game where like a lab rat you keep trying to survive through difficult platforming sections and a death counter mockingly tracks all your failures as they slowly grow into the double - if not triple - digits? Yeah, that's pretty much my Crash Bandicoot 4 experience. May sound rough, but it's a testament to the game's qualities that I nevertheless still stuck around all the way to the end and finished it at least in terms of story.My history with the Crash Bandicoot franchise is limited. Obviously the games have brand recognition and it's not like I haven't dabbled in some of the games myself in the form of the Nitro Kart games, which might be the closest thing Playstation has to Mario Kart. The reason that finally convinced me to give one of the main games a try, is that the game is currently free for all Playstation Plus subscribers. So I figured it's as good as any time to finally just download it and see how it goes.Game boots up and I'm greeted by the option to play classic or modern mode. Cool, I think. Modern mode is obviously the more forgiving option, where you don't have lives and can as such continue playing even after dying. I know Crash is usually considered harder than Mario, so it sounds like a fair compromise to bring in more casual gamers like me.Initial gameplay is positive. First two levels aren't particularly challenging and I die only about 2 times - due to stupid mistakes I could have avoided if I tried harder. Graphics look great. Colourful, the character design is pretty fun and even the enemy characters look interesting, which makes me feel nostalgic for all the platformers I loved as a child. Visually it's not on the same level as Ratchet &amp; Clank: Rift Apart, which was designed specifically for PS5, but it doesn't have to be. It still looks like a well polished CG cartoon just short of some of the visual spectacle that the afforementioned competitor game had.Difficulty amps up around the third level when the Quantum masks are added to the equation. These are power ups that the protagonists Crash and Coco may use to navigate through special sections of levels. Throughout the game you gather four of them:Lani Loli: works as a on/off switch that materializes some platforms and obstacles while making others disappear.Akano: Turns Crash/Coco into a living Beyblade. The spinning can both be weaponized to counter enemy attacks while it also provides a floating effect that when paired up with jumping can make them reach previously unachievable heights.Kupuna-Wa: Slows down time to make fast moving obstacles more easily avoidable.Ika-Ika: Gravity ability which turns the world upside down.Anyway, it doesn't take long until my death counters starts hitting double digits. If you're like me and just want to finish the game for the fun of it and to see where the story develops, you probably won't mind. Completionists however might want to consider restarting the level as only minumum deaths will provide them with a gem to unlock one of the many alternative outfits or new special levels unlocked by picking up VHS tapes, that are only available when at 0 deaths.Crash &amp; Coco who otherwise function as genderbent versions of the same vanilla character with no permanent special gimmick of their own while sporting the ability of wearing the quantum masks are eventually joined by three more playable characters who work well to switch up gameplay with their own spins on level completion:Tawna: Design-wise a bit of a stereotypical tough girl is an alternative dimension version of an otherwise girly character from the older games. She feels less agile than Crash/Coco (though I'm not sure if it actually affects the gameplay significantly), but she does have a grappling hook usable both as a ranged weapon, as well as a platforming utility + she can jump walls like in the old NES Batman game or Ninja Gaiden, I think.Dingodile: is my favorite alternative character. He feels a bit sloppy in terms of movement, but he makes up for it with his leafblower cannon. The leafblower provides him with the ability to float much like R2D2 in the older LEGO Star Wars games, before they took that ability away from him in LSW3. It can however also be used for sucking in collectibles or blowing back bombs at the enemies.Neo Cortex: Otherwise the main villain of the story, but he does join the squad for the last 3 worlds you visit. He is slow and only has a weak single jump, but he makes up for it with a dashing ability and a gun which turns enemies into platforms.The further I go into the story, the higher my death counts for each individual levels climb. I reach triple digits in some of the latest levels: Cortex Castle - the final level before the final boss costs me a whopping 600 repeats before I get the hang out of the "0 fails to pass" course (I don't care if several completionists on Youtube claim, it's "actually not that hard").The game tests my skills with 6 boss battles. They're tricky, but thanks to the autosave feature which happens mid-battle with every hit point you take from the bosses, I actually don't consider them the hardest part of the game + The clever level design kept me wanting to see what more they could throw at me. Unironically, I found the first Cortex battle hardest with his (I believe) 3rd wave giving me sensory overload on how to dodge all stuff aimed at me.19 hours and 19 minutes later I finish my first playthrough of the game. I'm sure more skilled people on the internet will tell you the main game only lasts 4-5 hours and heck a quick google search claims the average completion time is 6-8 hours, but personally I'm happy with my performance. Game was still a blast and I'm perfectly satisfied having completed it at 36% only. Platforming is great, it's challenging but forgiving in just about the right way that it keeps you coming back to it. Appearently going for a 100% is one of the most frustrating experiences for any game's full completion, but it's not like I plan to go there anytime soon.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

Player Score

robiu013