Crash Bandicoot™ 4: It’s About Time

Difficilissimo ma molto bello.

I’m going to be completely honest with you, I have… a bit of a history with this game. And not in a good way to. Because when Crash Bandicoot 4 It’s About Time originally came out back in 2020, despite how much I love the Crash Bandicoot series, I wasn’t a fan of this game. In fact, I actually had a really sour experience with it originally. And there were A LOT of reasons for that from how overboard the difficulty in terms of 100%ing the game was, some questionable gameplay decisions that made no sense and how it felt like it was trying WAY to hard to pander to the fanbase with certain parts. Yeah, I didn’t have the best opinion on this game back then and considering this was also the height of COVID which did a number on my mental state, how tired I’ve gotten of Multiverse stories that aren’t Spider-Verse in recent years because of how it feels like it’s the only premise anyone ever ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ writes anymore, how it was the only new original mainline Crash game we have gotten that wasn’t a remake since 2008, we have heard nothing about a new game since then and just one look at what kind of game Crash Team Rumble was going to be was enough for me to lose interest instantly I honestly felt like I my opinion on It’s About Time was getting even worse as the years went on and was actually convinced that the only reason people were loving this game as much as they were was because it WAS the only new Crash game we had gotten since Mind Over Mutant. Now, with it being some time since then, but more importantly me distancing myself from gamers and a lot of other communities which were also contributing to my mental and emotional states being so poor for so long I felt like it was time to finally give It’s About Time another shot. And I am so glad I did because I have A MUCH better opinion on this actually really dam good game now than I did six years ago. The controls feel perfect and even without the Power Ups from Wrapped minus the double jump which is an inherit ability this time anyway I’d still say It’s About Time it one of the best controlling platformers in recent years. Mainly because of the little circle that appears below you when jumping so you can better judge where to move to when in the air. And once you start using the new Quantum Mask powers, oh god yes these things are fun to use. From being able to slow down time to walking on the roof to phasing objects in and out of existence. You can only use them in specific parts of the levels but dam are they fun to use. Speaking of fun to use, I never knew how much I wanted alternate costumes in a Crash game outside of the Titan games until now! Honestly, I find myself going for the Gems purely because of the alt skins, I adore them. Oh, and gems are a lot more interesting in this game two! You can still get them from breaking all the boxes in a level and finding hidden ones in those levels but this time you can also get them from collecting a large amount of Wumpa Fruits or clearing the levels with a minimal amount of deaths. So, unless we are talking about some of the later costumes which require a ridiculous amount of Gems to unlock, filling up your wardrobe isn’t that hard. Plus, I just adore this games art style. It’s just a perfect blend of cartoony and detailed and it leads to some really pretty and really memorible locations. Another first for this series is that unlike the previous games where the level themes were kinda random for each level this one you get's various set's of levels themed around the universe your in which is really cool and helps this game stand out. So yeah, there’s a lot about this game I have grown to really appreciate a lot over the years. But even stills, there’s still a lot I still dislike and haven’t changed my opinion on. Mainly, the absolutely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ requirements this game asks of you for 100% completion. Because unlike the previous game which could get challenging when trying to 100% them but were also fair with what you had to do, It’s About Time is absolutely sadistic! Not only do you have to actually get the Platinum Time Trial relics this time around compared to some of the previous games where you only had to get Gold at minimum but there’s a new kind of collectible called the N.Sanely Perfect Relic where you not only have to break all of the boxes in a level but also do it all without dying once! Which I actually didn’t think I’d mind fully at first considering the number of times I’ve 100%ed the original PS1 version of Crash Bandicoot 1 which asked you to do the exact same thing to get the gems except It’s About Time’s levels are WAY more complex than Crash 1’s! Oh, and you have to do it twice because of the N.Verterd versions of these levels. Which is ANOTHER thing I’m not to fond of. N.Verted levels are basically mirrored versions of the normal levels just with a filter over them. I’m really not into these. Because again, they are literally just the same levels just mirrored and they are honestly only rivalled by the Green Stars in Super Mario Galaxy 2 in regard to lazy ways of extending the game. And then, there’s the Timeline Levels, levels that I SHOULD like because they let you play as other characters. And to be fair, Tawna, Dingodile and Cortex are all a hell of a lot of fun to play as in this game! My issue is that you’re only playing as them for HALF of these levels! Then, the game makes you go straight back to playing as Crash/Coco in levels you have already played! It’s even more egregious when the Crash/Coco portions are longer than the Tawna/Dingodile/Cortex parts so what’s even the point of playing these!? My opinion has softened on a lot from this game, but this? This is the one thing I will NEVER understand why it’s the way it is! Okay, even with the headache that is the timeline levels, even with the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ it asks you to do for 100%, even with how in your face some of the ways I feel this game tries to pander to the fanbase, do I still think It’s About Time is a good game? Absolutely! It’s one of the best controlling games in the series with one of the best art styles two, has some fun level design and I’m really upset at myself for taking this long to appreciate it. So yes, this game is a big recommend. Just like how I recommend we get a new game soon lol.