Crash Bandicoot™ 4: It’s About Time

[i]Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time[/i] is a return to form for a platformer series that was once among the best in Sony's PSX lineup. Heir to the original trilogy in both a gameplay and a narrative sense, it succeeds at introducing new elements while also preserving the identity of what Crash is like. It's no secret that the PS2 era has been unkind to our marsupial friend: [i]Wrath of Cortex[/i] was unambitious and droll, [i]Nitro Kart[/i] didn't play as well as [i]Team Racing[/i] did, [i]Twinsanity[/i], while inspired, was sadly beset by bugs and rushed out of the door to a half-baked state, [i]Tag Team Racing[/i] barely felt like it was part of the collective series... and the least we speak of the two [i]Titans[/i] games the better. [i]It's About Time[/i] harkens back to the Naughty Dog trilogy, at least in the first few levels, and though many could have been satisfied with just a simple rehash of nostalgic level design, the game is no slouch at introducing new gameplay mechanics, new obstacles and even new playable characters. It shakes up the formula in interesting ways, with new abilities that change the flow of space and time, but it never strays too far from the core aspect of breaking boxes, collecting wumpa fruits and avoiding dangers; the same can be said of the new characters, different enough to feel fresh yet not overly alien to warrant re-learning how to play. The story picks up right after [i]Warped[/i], featuring N. Tropy and Neo Cortex escaping from their prison and once again threatening the world with their evil plans, as well as N. Gin and N. Brio reprising their villainous roles. It's a funny and self-aware romp that feels like a natural continuation of that game's events, with a few cameos and nods to other titles in the series for the aficionados. Toys for Bob did their homework and managed to strike a good balance between callbacks and carving their own path. I'm still mixed over Alt-Tawna's addition and overall purpose in the story, but I did enjoy her sections and found the character herself to be fine; I'm just unsure if she truly needed to be an alternate universe replacement in the first place. [h3]A strong word of advice:[/h3] The game can be frustratingly hard to truly finish, it requires many replays and has some arbitrary requirements for 100% (+6) completion. It can be overwhelming and turn away people who were used to playing more casually in the previous titles, and this is where my main criticism of the game comes: There's [b]just. too. many.[/b] collectibles! Hundreds of gems, inverted levels, hidden gems, no death runs, wumpa fruit thresholds, it can be far too much work and you can easily miss boxes or hidden paths. If you want an experience like in the original trilogy, I [b]STRONGLY[/b] recommend to download the [i]"N. Hanced"[/i] mod. It heavily cuts back on the egregious busywork and more frustrating elements of the game, while keeping the fun parts and toughest sections intact. It's definitely less stressful and on track with the amount of effort that a Crash title usually expects of you. Recommended, but bear this consideration to mind. I don't usually endorse mods on the very first playthroughs of a game, but this one could be the difference between endless frustration or a tough but fair challenge. Don't pass it up if the game proves to be too much.