CRASH BANDICOOT 4 It's About Time

Great game

Great game

As a big Crash Bandicoot fan since the early days of PlayStation I was thrilled to see after the remasters of 1-3, that a fresh new entry was upon us with popping visuals and a return to its original platforming formula, complete with zany characters and PG humour. The game now also offers a free PS5 upgrade on purchase of the PS4 version which amps everything up to 4K alongside quicker loading times (which make a world of difference since they were rather slow on the PS4 version). The game does a superb job of delivering nostalgia for returning fans as a lot of the level design takes cues from the previous entries. They also did not shy away from the difficulty either, as some levels can be very punishing if your timing is off! There's a 'beginners trap' in almost every level which forces a trial and error style of approach. In light of this, the devs have added a feature that removes lives and simply allows you to play each level dying as many times as necessary to finish without starting from scratch, and instead just respawning at the last check point. You can however turn this feature off, at your own risk, for an extra challenge. As a whole, I did enjoy the game early on but as the levels began to get longer and trickier - especially if you're a completionist like myself and like to smash every box for those Gems - it began to stagger my play through as I would get fed up of the tireless juggling of new mechanics that are brought in to the game via the Power Masks, and the box locations can be very frustrating, especially in the Bonus stages. It can also feel at times as if the game is trying too hard to be a Crash game (if that makes sense!), almost like it's trying to outshine its predecessors in a slightly arrogant way. The character dialogue is a bit cringy in places in my opinion and by the time I'd reached the last dimension, I was kind of relieved that it had finished. One redeeming factor for the game is the Flashback Tapes, which are pretty much short-lived box smashing puzzles that require surgical precision platforming, along with some old school Crash music from precious games in the background and Cortex throwing a few quips along the way. It's a nice refreshing change from the standard part of the game, however you do have to go through the pain of reaching a checkpoint in each level without dying AT ALL to obtain them, some of which are gruelling without repeat play throughs. I'd recommend this game for anyone looking for a challenging platformer that feels fresh and original at times, but does require some patience if you want to squeeze the very best out of the game. For me, I wouldn't class it as a true Crash game - Warped is my personal favourite - but certainly worth a go.

Bought as a suprise gift. Seems to have gone down a treat. There was no damage to the disk as far as I saw and I haven't heard any complaints yet

Pre-order arrived on time with tote bag. Game is incredible. It combines enough original content to be nostalgic whist also having some really cool new features to make it modern enough! The graphics make the different dimensions looks incredibly beautiful, colourful and really sets the mood. The story and gameplay is true to the original and the levels increasing difficulty, collectible hints and time trials make for an enjoyable yet challenging experience for all. Absolutely worth the almost £60 for a pre-order. One not to miss!

Great addition to the crash series!! We found the levels on this one are slightly more difficult that the other crash games, but loads of fun, and there are different characters you play as which we loved :) definitely worth buying!!

They really nailed this. It is incredible. Has a little bit of everything from all previous Crash games. I limited my expectations going into this game because let's be honest it has a lot to live up to. But I can honestly say that it exceeded my expectations in every way. It is also the most difficult Crash Bandicoot game EVER, which I love. I'll definitely spend a lot more time enjoying this over Christmas.

Really nice game to play in these times at home though I gotta say it's absolutely the hardest game in the entire series by far but it's definitely better than wrath of cortex which was considered as crash 4 up to this point, now hopefully we can get a new spyro game as well in the near future.