Crash Bandicoot is one of the games that defined the original PlayStation for me. I still remember my P.E. teacher at school getting excited telling me about how good it was, only to then bring it in a few days later so that I could borrow it and experience it for myself. It was fun, challenging and I just loved the design of Crash himself. Although the series fell off after the third game, my love for the Bandicoot never waned.
I always hoped at some point he would return to prominence – however unlikely that seemed. So to get the N. Sane Trilogy back in 2017 was such a joy. The best three games remade from the ground up, looking and playing better than ever. We even got the incredible Crash Team Racing remade! Then, when the sales exceeded all expectations it became a matter of time before we got a proper new entry. But would it be as good as the original games? Could Toys for Bob get that lightning in a bottle? As it turns out, they absolutely could!
GRAPHICS & PERFORMANCE
Let’s start off with one of the most striking things when you put this game on for the first time; the graphics. Crash 4 looks incredible. Every corner of the map is polished to an excitingly high level. The character models also look amazing both in cutscenes and during moment to moment gameplay. The game runs with an unlocked framerate and while I am told it can occasionally drop to around 50fps for short periods of time on the PS4 Pro, it was never something that I noticed. The unlocked framerate should also come in handy for when the game launches on next-gen hardware.
GAMEPLAY
The game is an absolute joy to play. Crash still has all of his classic moves like the spin attack, the slide – which can also be combo’d into a higher jump, the body slam and more. But for this outing, there are so many extra mechanics under the hood that it is both brilliant and initially frustrating. You see the Bandicoot’s return is a hard game. Like a really hard game.
A lot of these new mechanics come from the four quantum masks we encounter during our inter-dimensional travels. First up there’s Lani-Loli. With this mask, you can tap make certain objects appear and disappear. Objects you are able to make appear are able to be seen as a ghostly outline, but can only be used when brought into your dimension.
Akano is a mask of dark matter. Activating this one causes either Crash or Coco to spin violently until you manually stop it. With this mask activated you can break otherwise unbreakable objects and defeat larger enemies. You can also jump higher and then hover in the air for a short amount of time to reach distant platforms.
Kupuna-Wa is able to slow down time to help you navigate fast-moving platforms and enemies, while the Ika-Ika mask is able to flip gravity, allowing you to walk on ceilings. Again these are all activated using 
or 
at the appropriate time. Further to this, there are more playable characters this time around, including the nefarious Dr Neo Cortex, who has his own unique move-set.
At this point I know what you are thinking; this seems like a lot. What happened to that simple Bandicoot game where you used a spin attack or a bounce on the head to take down an enemy and navigate the levels? But Toys for Bob have executed so well on their vision that none of the mechanics ever feel overly complicated. The actions they ask you to perform with them may require a level of precision that you end up kicking a hole in a wall before eventually pulling off, but it never feels unfair or confusing.
LEVEL DESIGN
Each of the levels is so well designed that it both clearly outlines what you need to do while taunting you that you may well not be able to do it. Where previous Crash games would have a theme, like running away from the screen while being chased by a boulder for the entire level, this new Crash keeps things fresh. There still are chase sequences, but now they are seamlessly slid into sections of levels. This always kept levels exciting and you never knew what was around the next corner.
There are also flashback levels to tackle. To access these off-shoot levels you need to collect flashback tapes. These are picked up in the base levels, usually in plain sight. The catch is that you are only able to pick it up if you get to its location in the level without losing a life. Die even once before reaching the tape and it will merely be a silhouette, mocking you.
GEMS, GEMS AND MORE GEMS
Crash 4 has a lot of gems to collect. There are gems for collecting over a certain amount of the apples, smashing every box and even dying under a set amount of time. I started out my journey wanting to collect them all, but when one of them requires you to die less than 3 times on a level that you plummeted to your death 19 times in… you have to know when to quit. The sense of accomplishment people must have when they 100% this game must be incredible though. I’d tour the world doing speaking engagements all about my feat of brilliance.
VALUE
Honestly, this game could keep you going for a long, long time. For a start, there are 43 levels to ‘roll credits’ and unless you are some kind of 3D platforming Jedi, simply beating the game is going to take you a significant amount of time (and tears). Then, there are the same 43 levels N. Verted and also 21 flashback levels. That totals 107 levels. Then if you are a lunatic you can attempt to get all the gems and go for what will be an ultra-rare platinum trophy.
TROPHIES
There are no two ways about it. This is a tough, tough platinum. As things currently stand the platinum rarity even on PSN Profiles is even 2.07%. I feel like whenever anything is deemed hard these days, it’s labelled “The Dark Souls of _____” but honestly, this might be the best analogy. Earning all of the gems and the platinum time trial relics in this game will be a major test to even the most skilled gamers.
-Jock 🤪
VERDICT
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is a truly exceptional game. Going in I just wanted a sequel that did the original three games proud, but what we have here is the best Crash game to date. It’s visually stunning, difficult yet accessible and always has a trick up its sleeve. This is a must-buy game.
Best price as of review: £54.99 @ Amazon
A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4.
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