Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, the latest release in Activision’s long series of platforms, will hit the PC on March 26.
As the ‘4’ in the title indicates, It’s About Time is a direct sequel to 1998’s Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped – a game that had a beautiful remake as a third of the 2017 Crash Bandicoot N. Sane trilogy – and is very much inspired by the platform action brand of the first series.
The formula has some wrinkles, of course, including masks that shorten time, reverse gravity and phase objects and disappear, as well as several new playable modes and characters – each with their own unique abilities and stages – but it should everything will be familiarized immediately to Crash fans. It’s About Time leans even to the brutal difficulty of the first games – although a choice between Modern and Retro modes helps to alleviate the sometimes immense challenge.
Crash Bandicoot 4 – Trailer for new platforms.
“Yes, the studio may have interpreted the notorious difficulty of the originals a little too literally,” wrote Chris Tapsell of Eurogamer in his review, “but he also paid attention to the rest of those games … brushing the best parts of the originals, but also surprisingly close to the idea that you have of them in your head. A jewel fails, but no less brilliant. “
If a solidly fun explosion of nostalgic platform with a modern twist is something that pleases, Crash Bandicoot 4 will be available for PC – exclusively through Activision’s Battle.net service – on March 26th. And if you’re curious about other platforms, Digital Foundry recently took a look at the recently released Switch and PS5 versions of the game.