New Crash Bandicoot Game Lets You Play as Coco, Cortex, and even Dingodile
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time will let players play as Coco throughout the entire game. Cortex and Dingodile will also be playable.
Crash Bandicoot fans were given a deeper dive into Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time during today's PlayStation Showcase. The Crash Bandicoot series, originally developed by Uncharted and The Last of Us studio Naughty Dog, is one of the most iconic PlayStation franchises of all time. The titular marsupial has long served as one of the original PlayStation's most recognizable mascots. The mainline games have players taking the role of Crash as he jumps, spins, and slides through a vibrant, cartoony world while fighting eccentric bosses and mad scientists.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time was announced earlier this year, and is the first mainline game since 2008's Mind over Mutant. This followed the success of the remakes of some of the PS1-era Crash games. Some details about the game were announced previously, including having as many levels as the first three games combined. While the later, non-Naughty Dog Crash Bandicoot games were less popular critically and commercially, previews of the new game show a return to what made the original games great, with a healthy mixture of new and improved mechanics.
During today's showcase, and later shown on YouTube, Sony revealed a lot more about the story and gameplay of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time. As the name implies, Crash and the gang will be traveling through time, with the help of 4 new Quantum Masks that give him new abilities – such as the power to flip the direction of gravity. Crash's younger sister Coco will be playable throughout the entire game, and will have a bigger impact on the story than in previous games. Other playable characters include long-running antagonist Dr. Neo Cortex and Dingodile, a formerly villainous Dingo/Crocodile hybrid who is avenging the destruction of his diner.
Other gameplay mechanics new to the Crash Bandicoot series include wall-running, rope-swinging, and zip-lining. Crash can equip dozens of cosmetic outfits that Toys For Bob claimed could be earned in-game, contradicting earlier reports of microtransactions in the game. A special "Inverted Mode" will allow players to take on completed levels from a new perspective and themed gameplay tweaks. One level was made to look like an old movie, while another was completely bank, requiring Crash to paint the world as he went along. Toys For Bob claimed that more details, such as the abilities of a fourth mask, were soon to come.
The golden era of mascot-centric platformers has certainly passed, but Toys For Bob has added to what made the original Crash Bandicoot games so successful on top of the gorgeous new visuals that further realizes the franchise's cartoon-inspired aesthetic. While the game could possibly hit PC in the future, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time has all the markings of being a late PS4 - and early PS5 - hit.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time will crash onto PS4 and Xbox One on October 2nd, 2020.
Source: YouTube