Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time Review
Behind the times
The first Crash Bandicoot game to ever come out was released on September 9th, 1996, for the original PlayStation console. Since then, the franchise has become a pillar of gaming culture, with its semi-addictive platforming, extremely satisfying sound effects, humor, and a great soundtrack.
Crash as a character has existed longer than I’ve been alive. Growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, I occasionally saw ads for Crash games on Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Saturday morning cartoons. I had one or two McDonald’s Happy Meals toys related to the franchise, and I might have seen them lining the shelves of Blockbuster’s video game rental section (back when Blockbuster was a thing.)
But I never was super inclined to dive into the game series. Other games of the time like the Jak and Daxter series, the Mario games, the Pokemon series, Scribblenauts, Drawn to Life, Lego Star Wars, and Star Wars: Battlefront II occupied a significant portion of my budding gamer lifestyle. Luckily for me, the PlayStation Plus Essential games for July 2022 included the latest Crash game, and I finally got to play a part of the series that was always in the back of my mind in my childhood.
So, is Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time worth it?
Platforming Hell
As the eighth game in the series (no, really, it is), the developers wanted the latest iteration to be more accessible to newcomers. Like in previous entries, you run across a map, smashing crates, collecting Wumpa fruit, and bypassing environmental puzzles.
This time around, your character has a shadow underneath them to make it easier to judge where they will land after a jump. Another fix to the game is the addition of “Modern” mode, where players will be returned to a checkpoint after dying as compared to “Retro” mode, where players will be starting the whole level after dying a certain number of times.
Players can play as Crash or his sister Coco and can unlock skins for both characters by completing all of the objectives within a level. There’s a new skin for every level in the game, but achieving all the objectives within a given level was more difficult than I had originally anticipated.
I found myself missing one crate after beating the first level of the game, and I figured it was no big deal. The next few levels, however, ramped up the difficulty.
Instead of having a fun afternoon of platforming, breaking crates, and collecting Wumpa fruits, I was getting increasingly frustrated with how easily I’d die. My goal for each level became “pass the level” instead of “collect all the items in the level and pass the level without dying.”
For those that aren’t completionists, there’s a small selection of custom skins available for Crash and Coco unlocked at the start of the game, so at least you can change the default appearance if you want.
Final thoughts
When I play video games, I use them as a form of relaxation and escapism. Grand Theft Auto Online allows me to micromanage a criminal empire. Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag lets me be a pirate, sing shanties, and customize a pirate ship. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim encourages me to kill dragons, explore dungeons, and go through fascinating questlines.
When I play Fortnite, I get angry when I die, but that’s usually either due to a miscalculation of strategy on my part or because the other players are more skilled at the game than me. I can’t master Crash Bandicoot 4’s platforming mechanics, and that’s what separates the enjoyment I have with it from a traditional Mario sidescrolling platformer.
While the “Modern” gameplay mode has taken steps in the right direction for adapting the classic game to contemporary audiences, I cannot see myself getting into this game as much as I thought I would. This isn’t a game for me, but I’m grateful I had the opportunity to try it out for free with my PlayStation Plus Essential membership.
