Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

"Crash Bandicoot - you banished me to the past... but all it did was give me more time to plan your doom!" - Doctor Neo Cortex

Crash Bandicoot's back, and it's about time! Literally. During 2020's Summer Game Fest, game journalist Geoff Keighley announced the return of the orange marsupial, along with... well, the orange marsupial himself (or, at least a guy dressed in the Crash suit). Titled Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, the game seems to be about... well, you get the idea.

Roll the trailer.

Plenty to discuss? Too right!

"Totally tubular skins"

The first thing about Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (Crash 4) that will slap you 'round the face like a fuzzy cushion is the artstyle. Crash 4 is looking visually stunning, but also very different to what's come before.

Crash Bandicoot 1-3's remakes, released as the N.Sane Trilogy (2017), had a very distinctly different artstyle. Crash was fuzzy, the beaches looked cartoony and the animals looked... strangely realistic at points. In short, it was a great trilogy of remakes but the artstyle wasn't particularly a cohesive whole. Crash 4 opts for a more stylised and vibrant look which, honestly, looks like it does the game a big favour. That doesn't mean to say there will be plenty of people out there who won't like the change, but I do feel this change is one in the right direction.

The N.Sane Trilogy looked great, but it had an inconsistent artstyle

In fact, I would say the cartoony and vibrant artstyle bears some similarities to those shown in the Spryro Reignited Trilogy (2018), which was developed primarily by Toys for Bob. The developers have returned, bringing some of that style to Crash 4, and it's all the more welcome for it.

Interestingly, that will mean Crash will have had three different developers for mainline games since his return: Vicarious Visions on the N.Sane Trilogy (2017), Beenox on Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled (2019) and Toys for Bob on Crash 4 (2020).

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled was a blast, developed by Beenox.

"Really?! Only 3? Funny. Seems like more."

Next up, you will have noticed the emphasis on the 4.

Toys for Bob are specificially developing the title as a sequel to Crash Bandicoot 3: WARPED (1998). With the recent re-release of WARPED in the N.Sane Trilogy, that not only makes sense from a 'fresh in the mind' perspective, but also in that it is stating it wants to emulate the successful playstyle of those games. Excellent.

Cortex even opens up the trailer by referencing what happens to him, Dr. N.Tropy and Uka Uka at the tail-end of WARPED, being banished to a different point in time as babies. That means ol' Cortex has had to grow back up and escape the past. In doing so, he has ruptured the timelines and it looks like it's up to Crash, Coco and the use of four new masks to set things right. Four new masks that aren't The Wrath of Cortex's (2001) Elementals, thank goodness.

Coco Bandicoot grabs her goggles from Mind Over Mutant (2008) and prepares her futuresight. Because it's a futuristic city. Ah, forget it.

With a shiny new plot and artstyle, does that mean the rest of the series has been disregarded? Well, no. In fact, the trailer even goes out of its way to acknowledge that there are it's felt like the bandicoots have defeated Cortex more than three times. And with the timelines ruptured and heavy hinting at dimensional hopping, it's feeling more like the other Crash games still take place, just in different timelines and dimensions. Nice.

This story could entail all kinds of exciting things. Different timelines and dimensions mean meeting other versions of characters, like a pirate Tawna who's literally the opposite of a damsel in distress. Or how about travelling to the 5th dimension and beating up N.Trance on his home turf? I like speculating. Speculating is fun.

The levels look amazingly much more open than in the past

"It's about new powers."

Ah, yes. Powers. The four new chrono masks will give Crash all kinds of new powers in pre-determined sections of the 100+ new levels. The trailer reveals two already: slowing down time and reversing gravity. I love both of these. Slowing down time will mean passing platforms that were otherwise too fast, much like how the Grimly worked in Crash: Mind Over Mutant (2008), or jumping on Nitro crates before their explosion rips Crash a new one. Reversing gravity means you can run about on ceilings and become the new Gravity Rush protagonist.

But what about the other two masks? My guess is that one mask will also temporarily stop time. The fourth could honestly be anything, but I'm hoping it's not something as simple as speeding up time unless it's used in ways more imaginative than I can think up. Perhaps reversing time like in Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2001)? Anything's possible!

Crash plays with gravity near.... as Gasmoxian?!

"How many times have you beaten this clown, anyway?"

Cortex is playable. There, I said it. Crash and Coco are fully playable throughout the game, but Cortex looks to have his own unique gameplay style. This focuses on using his ray gun to create platforms to help him progress in more puzzle-based areas of levels.

Dr. N.Gin is also clearly back, rocking out on some kind of guerilla statue in a scene that reminds me of him jamming on an organ in Crash of the Titans (2007). And that's just it, there are clear references and parallels to the more successful elements of later games, but being lovingly brought to life in the gameplay style of the original trilogy. That is perfect to me.

Cortex smiles as he sports a design more akin to his Crash of the Titans and Mind Over Mutant design

I think I've rambled on enough about what's in the trailer and beyond. However, let's just say I'm super hyped for what's coming for the bandicoot and I can't wait to hear some of the music and see more of the levels at play.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time released on 2nd October 2020. And I'm here for it.