After some cryptic messaging and a leak, developer Toys For Bob revealed Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time on June 23rd, 2020 during Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest. While the eighth mainline entry in the series, it is purposefully given the number four to state the game’s intention of continuing from where Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped left off.
This return to form gives fans hope that It’s About Time will be the new Crash Bandicoot adventure they have been clamoring for all these years. Additionally, the developer’s previous work porting the N. Sane Trilogy to the switch is also an encouraging sign.
10 Want: Difficulty
The first Crash Bandicoot from 1996 was a brutal platforming challenge from beginning to end, while the two sequels had a smoother difficulty curve. If the game is catering towards veteran fans who played the original trilogy on the PlayStation in the ’90s, then they would be wise to include a high level of difficulty to test even the most seasoned player’s skill.
Of course, they need to make some of it accessible to children and less experienced gamers as well.
9 Don’t Want: Open Exploration
The interview after the trailer already assuages this concern, fortunately. The original Crash Bandicoot games are all about the direct challenge of going from point A to point B.
The platforming obstacles are directly presented to them instead of making the player search and explore. The first time the series became a true “open-world” 3D platformer was Crash Twinsanity, and while it was a valiant effort, a short development time prevented it from reaching its full potential.
8 Want: Humor
Even before voice acting and cutscenes were a major part of the equation, Crash always had a quirky and effective sense of humor.
Dying is made less frustrating by the ridiculous death animations. The trailer cracks a few jokes that feel right at home with the series’ tone. The name itself if a double-entendre. It’s About Time refers to the long wait for fans and the story literally concerning time travel.
7 Don’t Want: Too Many Vehicles And Gimmicks
Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex, was the first non-Naughty Dog Crash platformer. It was a decent effort by Traveller’s Tales, although it relied too heavily on vehicle levels and gimmicky mechanics.
Fans want more pure platforming than riding in a car or flying a plane. While these serve as a nice diversion, they cannot overtake the traditional levels.
6 Want: Same Musical Style
The music of the original trilogy, along with Crash Team Racing, was composed by Josh Mancell and produced by Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh. The infectious tunes playing throughout the levels have been in gamers’ minds for decades, and are the perfect accompaniment to the jolly platforming romps.
Unfortunately, Josh Mancell has confirmed he isn’t returning on his Twitter. Hopefully whoever the composer is can manage to recapture the same feel from the original games with their music.
5 Don’t Want: Too Much Focus On Combat
Crash Bandicoot is first and foremost a platformer. The anthropomorphic character’s only offensive moves are a spin, jump, and later on a bazooka. When a game focuses too much on dispatching enemies rather than progressing through a level, it loses some of the genre’s purity and becomes more of an action game than a platformer.
Crash does not need a punch, punch, kick combo, and it does not appear that he will have one in this game, fortunately.
4 Want: Returning Bad Guys
Each new game needs some new characters, but given the long gap since Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, it would be a real treat to see a plethora of returning villains as bosses. It was a pleasure to see their updated looks in the N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled, but fans want to see what new ideas Toys For Bob has for classic bosses like Tiny the Tiger, Pinstripe Potoroo, and Dr. N Tropy.
3 Don’t Want: Bad Camera
Platformers live and die by their camerawork. Crash Twinsanity, for example, would have been a significantly better game if the camera was not so poor, often obscuring Crash behind objects and making precision platforming nearly impossible.
Because it is not an open 3D platformer, this should be less of an issue, but it is still something the developers have to consider.
2 Want: Secrets Galore
The best part of the old Crash Bandicoot games is the plethora of the secrets found in the levels, whether that be hidden warp rooms, easter eggs, or death routes. Here’s hoping these return in full force.
Given the collective intelligence of online communities, a game is often stripped bare of secrets within a few days of release. Toys For Bob should put in hidden treats so obtuse, people will only discover them months afterward.
1 Don’t Want: Microtransactions
Certain publishers have a reputation of indulging in microtransactions where they absolutely are not needed or wanted. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled went as far as to add them into the game months after release.
It is hard to imagine where one could fit this feature into a game, but there’s no telling what some will do to squeeze money out of consumers. Keep them out of the game and give players the full package with a single sixty dollar purchase.
