Playtonic, the creators of Yooka-Laylee, is laying off some of its staff, the developer and publisher announced on social media. The post doesn't mention how many members of Playtonic will be effected, but does credit the layoffs to the company's struggle with "a period of profound change in how games are created and funded." Based on a LinkedIn post shared by Playtonic brand manager Anni Valkama, the layoffs include staff members who worked in production, various art departments, game design, narrative design and UI/UX design. Playtonic only lists around 50 staff members on LinkedIn, but given the studios growth into a publisher and its upcoming release of Yooka-Replaylee, its possible the actual team is a bit larger. pic.twitter.com/A8th7spU3n— Playtonic - CATTLE COUNTRY OUT NOW! (@PlaytonicGames) May 30, 2025 While Playtonic likely isn't safe from the problems of funding and selling games that other developers have, hiring up for a new project like Yooka-Replaylee and then laying those new hires off before the game is released is a fairly common practice. There's no way to know if that's the case here without more information, but it's worth stating. Yooka-Laylee was pitched as a spiritual sequel to Banjo-Kazooie and other character-focused action-platformers when it debuted on Kickstarter in 2015, perhaps unsurprising given that Playtonic was founded by former developers from Rare, the creators of Banjo-Kazooie and newer hits like Sea of Thieves. In fact, many of the games Playtonic has published under its "Playtonic Friends" publishing label fall in that Rare sweet spot, whether its the cute action-adventure game Lil Gator Game or the difficult platformer Demon Turf.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/yooka-laylee-developer-playtonic-is-laying-off-over-a-dozen-staff-211759308.html?src=rss

Image: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games Warning: This article delves into spoiler territory for The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy. If you've yet to play the game and want to go in blind, we recommend you come back at another time... I’m not a fan of tactical RPGs… is what I would have told you before I played The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy. Heck, I’m still not sure I would call myself a 'fan' of the genre, necessarily; one game perhaps isn’t enough to sway me that much. The Hundred Line, though..? Yeah, I’m a fan of The Hundred Line.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814kWatch on YouTube In fact, it's easily my Game of the Year so far, and even with the Switch 2 on the horizon, it’s going to take something truly special to usurp its throne. Mitch gave it an 'Excellent' 9/10 in our review, but what he didn’t cover – what he couldn’t cover without spoiling anything – is just how ridiculously ambitious Too Kyo Games’ visual novel / tactical RPG hybrid really is. So, if you’re sensitive about spoilers and want to go into this one completely fresh, consider this your last warning. We’re going in, folks. Images: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games Before I waltz headfirst into what is undoubtedly The Big Twist™, I want to first look at the wonderful cast of characters. Much like Danganronpa before it, the entire premise of The Hundred Line — survive and protect your school against invaders over the course of one hundred days — would have crashed and burned were it not for the likes of Takumi Sumino, Darumi Amemiya, Shouma Ginzaki, Nozomi Kirifuji, and the rest of those loveable goofballs. Character work is truly where directors Kazutaka Kodaka and Kotaro Uchikoshi shine brightest. They managed to make every member of the 'Special Defense Unit' completely unique and special in their own way. Take Tsubasa Kawana, for instance. Whenever she’s placed in a stressful situation, she immediately feels nauseous, and it makes for some wonderful comedic relief. I lost count of the number of times I giggled whenever the story took a dark turn, and the camera switched over to Tsubasa loudly dry heaving. In addition to the comic relief, however, we also learn a lot about Tsubasa’s background, including her passion for machinery fostered by fixing cars with her grandfather as a child. We get similar deep dives into every character, to the point where we begin to understand the potential causes behind their various quirks. Even total prats like Ima Tsukumo, whose obsessive devotion to his ‘Dear Sister’ Kako proves deeply concerning, gets his own moment of redemption through both his backstory and the way the plot progresses. By the time I reached the credits, I really didn’t want the game to end. I’d grown to love these characters, and a couple of significant losses actually brought a tear to my eye during the final stages; something that no game before it has accomplished. Couldn’t I just keep going? Just for a bit..? Well, here’s the thing: it didn’t end. When you reach the last couple of days in the basic hundred-day timeline, you learn that through powers gained via absorption of your enemies, protagonist Takumi can actually go back in time to day one and re-do the whole thing again. Only this time, you’re free to make significant changes to the story and work your way toward one of a potential hundred different endings. Whoa – hold my beer, Nier Automata! Image: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games I know what you’re probably thinking, and no, you don’t have to play through the entire game a hundred times. Effectively, the story can branch off into several different paths, each of which has a number of potential endings, and the game even gives you the ability to jump back to specific days in order to change your decisions and alter the story’s path. Some endings may be exceedingly short, others a bit lengthier… some good, and some very bad. One might see you become the villain of the story, while another may conclude with the adorably loyal samurai Kyoshika Magadori being devoured by your zombified friends. The variety of avenues is simply absurd, and discovering each one is a joy. These are just a couple of the more, shall we say, ‘insignificant’ possible endings. I won’t go into those which might actually spoil the overarching plot; even if you’re still with me at this point, I’d like you to enjoy The Hundred Line’s story on your own terms. It’s safe to say, however, that the run through those initial one hundred days could definitely be considered a ‘prologue’, even though it comfortably stands as a compelling story in its own right with a beginning, middle, and end. Images: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games So you can definitely stop there and have a grand ol’ time, but if you’re looking for something a bit more ambitious — something that throws the rulebook out of the window — I’d encourage you to keep going and see exactly what The Hundred Line has up its sleeve. It’s simply magnificent. There are so many reasons why I love this game. I love figuring out what to do during ‘free time’ sessions in which you can either chat to your fellow students, venture out into the world in a board-game-inspired minigame of sorts, or dive straight into a few battle simulations to potentially upgrade your abilities. The biggest surprise for me, however, was how much I loved the battle system itself. As I mentioned at the start, I’m normally not one for tactical RPGs, but The Hundred Line’s turn-based structure just works so well. I often get overwhelmed when it comes to deciding how to approach tactical gameplay: how do these characters function? Why can’t I move more than two spaces? Just what the heck do I do? The Hundred Line made it easy, though, and it’s once again thanks to the remarkably unique and diverse cast. Their artistic design makes it easy to distinguish one from another, and it only took a couple of battles until I memorised their strengths and weaknesses, along with how their attacks play out on the field of battle. It got to the point where, after a handful of quiet days full of ‘free time’, the warbling alarm to signify an incoming battle filled me with excitement. Images: Nintendo Life / Aniplex / XSEED Games Most of the battles felt doable and I never felt completely helpless against the hordes of invaders, but there were still a few that I managed to botch straight away and lose within just a few minutes. In those instances, the game gives you the option to redo the battle with significant boosts to your manpower, instantly giving you 300% 'voltage' (which essentially gives you three uses of your extra-powerful special attacks) and refilling your squad's health. Is it cheating? Sure, I guess... But it also makes the game significantly more approachable for tactical newcomers like myself. I adore the Danganronpa series. I think they’re wonderful games that remain just as compelling now as they were back when they first launched, and if it weren’t for Danganronpa, I don’t think The Hundred Line would even exist. I have to be honest with myself, though… The Hundred Line is better. It’s a masterpiece. Co-director Kazutaka Kodaka has recently confirmed that the game is "selling well", but I still feel like not enough people are talking about it. I suspect, however, that as the years go by and more people play it through word of mouth, it’ll go down as one of the greatest visual novels of all time. There’s simply nothing else quite like it. Have you played through The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy yet? What do you make of it? Do you have a favourite character / ending? Let us know with a comment in the usual place. Sirei-iously good According to its director, at least Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814k Related Games See Also Share:30 3 Nintendo Life’s resident horror fanatic, when he’s not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Detailed Fixes for Switch version delayed Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Yooka-Laylee Dev Playtonic Is The Latest Studio Hit By Layoffs Others are "at risk" of losing jobs

Update [Sun 25th May 2025, 5am]: Level-5 has shared an “important notice" regarding the Switch and also the Xbox version of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time - mentioning how scheduling adjustments for the update rollout are “expected to be delayed”. These issues are scheduled to be resolved in the Version 1.2.1 update, “planned for release around May 29”. In the meantime, here are the following issues popping up for Switch and Xbox, along with "other planned fixes" for the game:Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube814kWatch on YouTube Important Notice (22nd May 2025) Switch & Xbox: In quests for Crafting Lives, some Recipes may be hard to find in the Recipe Menu, making it feel like progression is not possible. Workaround If you can’t locate the required Recipe for a quest, go to the “Quests” tab on the Recipe Menu and scroll down to find it. Switch: While inside a Treasure Grove or a shrine in Ginormosia, if a player edits and saves Stickers/Emotes/Quick Texts in the Greetings tab of the Options and then restarts the game immediately afterward, a progression-blocking bug may occur. Workaround There are several workarounds for this issue. If the bug occurs inside a Treasure Grove: Select "Give Up" on the Weird Pad to exit the Treasure Grove. This will allow you to continue playing the game. If the bug occurs inside a shrine in Ginormosia outside of Chapter 2, "Head towards Skelegon": Select "Teleportation Gate" on the Weird Pad to leave the shrine and continue playing. If the bug occurs in a shrine on Ginormosia during Chapter 2, "Head towards Skelegon":This issue is scheduled to be fixed in version 1.2.1, planned for release around May 29. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. Switch & Xbox: During the Main Story Chapter 6, "Go to the Cave of Trials," if you travel to Ginormosia and watch the event scene which plays after clearing multiple shrine minigames, you may become unable to enter the Cave of Trials, preventing progression. Workaround If you have the Story Quest selected, the upper right of the screen will display "Go to the Cave of Trials." While this message is shown, please avoid triggering the event scene that plays after clearing multiple shrine minigames on Ginormosia. Switch & Xbox: If a player triggers the Guild Office expansion event scene while carrying a Guild Office Relocation Kit, and uses the kit afterward, two Guild Offices will appear. Workaround If you are carrying a Guild Office Relocation Kit, please avoid triggering the Guild Office expansion event scene that occurs when recruiting new companions. There are also some other planned fixes: Other Planned Fixes Switch & Xbox: Fixing an issue where players are unable to draw their weapon during the first battle tutorial, preventing progression. Adjusting the UI in the "Life Challenges" tab of the Quests Menu to make it clearer that a Life can be selected. Adding a new feature called "Instant Help" to support players as they progress through their adventure. Fixing an issue where the "!" icon on the Quests Menu would not disappear. Adjusting multiplayer so that progress can be made on accepted quests even during multiplayer sessions. Switch: Fixing an issue occurring on certain cutscenes, where pausing the game while the "Auto" setting is enabled causes all inputs except for "Skip" to become unresponsive. Fixing an issue that prevents the acquisition of certain Recipes as quest completion rewards, in case the Tailor or Artist Novice Challenges were skipped. Original Story: [Sun 18th May, 2025 02:55 BST]: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time arrives on the Switch next week and ahead of release Level-5 is rolling out an early access update on select platforms, bumping the game up to Version 1.1.1. This will be slightly different on the Switch front - with Version 1.1.0 apparently reflecting "some of the contents of this update" on 22nd May (JST). The version that reflects "most" of the content will be released in the future as Version 1.2.0. "For the Nintendo Switch version, "ver.1.1.0", which reflects some of the contents of this update, will be released on Thursday, May 22nd (JST). The version that reflects most of the contents will be released in the future as "ver.1.2.0"." Here's a translation of the full patch notes from Level-5's official website: Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time (Early Access Update) - Version 1.1.1 Feature additions/adjustments Adding a signature function to crafted items ●You can add a sign to equipment you create (weapons, shields, life tools, armor). There are various designs for signs, so you can set the sign you want to use by examining the workbench and selecting "Choose Sign." Added "Control Settings" to the options menu ●A menu has been added to the options that allows you to change button assignments for some actions. Added the ability to move to the Life Master ●A function has been added to the lives screen that allows you to move to the master position of each life. *This will become effective after clearing the "Apprentice Trial" for each life. Adjusted so that the companions selected in the production settings are remembered. ●When crafting an item at a workbench, the state of the companion selected on the crafting settings screen will be saved and will be displayed in the selected state the next time you craft an item. Adjusting the number of items that can be made in one production ●The maximum number of items that can be made in one production run for the recipes for "Plants," "Fences," and "Streetlights" has been increased. Organized the information about skills displayed on the equipment screen ●The content of skills displayed in the details window on the right side of the equipment screen has been reorganized. When Life is Focused - Adjusted to display only unique skills When an item is focused - Adjusted so that only equipement skills are displayedBase UI Adjustments ●Adjusted the icon display of vegetables in fields. ●Names are now displayed on placed buildings. Made crafting area objects easier to grab Made it easier to grab objects in the crafting area. Adjusted the clear condition text for the Gachadan Tree In the Gacha Dungeon Tree, when the clear condition is to "obtain a Fruit of Time," we have adjusted the text to make it easier to understand which target will drop the Fruit of Time. Map screen adjustments ●Icons have been added to the map screen/minimap to make it easier to see exits and ascending and descending levels within dungeons. Adjustment of recording prohibited areas ●Adjusted the prohibited areas for recording on the main unit. Add guides/adjust content ●The following additions/adjustments have been made to the in-game "Guide". 【addition】 "sign" Explanation of signatures that can be included in crafted items Support for production by peers Explanation of the support provided by companion NPCs in the production mini-game 『Eye & Hair Catalog』 Explanation of the "catalog" that allows you to add eyes and hairstyles [Adjustment] Coliseum Quest Adding retirement explanation "Phantom Fellows" Added explanation regarding experience distribution How to grow vegetables Added instructions on sowing and watering "Tension Techniques for Combat Life" / "Tension Techniques for Gathering Life"The same guide for combat and gathering life has been split into separate guides. Balance Changes Main story related parameter adjustments ●The parameters of enemies and gatherable items that appear in the main story have been adjusted to make the story more enjoyable to play. ●To make the storyline more enjoyable, we have adjusted the parameters required for recipes that need to be created in the main story. Area Challenge related parameter adjustments ●The conditions for achieving a gold ranking in the Legendary Challenge have been relaxed. ●The conditions for achieving a gold rating in delivery challenges have been relaxed. Bug Fixes ●Fixed an issue where players would not be guided correctly to destinations in the Main Story, Life Trials, and Requests from Everyone. ●Fixed an issue that prevented progress from occurring if you were incapacitated in battle between the start of the game and reaching Tokinone Village. ●Fixed an issue that caused progression to be impossible if the number of items received in the Life Guild receiving box exceeded the limit. ●Fixed a bug regarding obtaining items in Chapter 5 of the main story. ●Fixed a bug that occurred with obtaining items at the Mujin Sales Office. ●Fixed an issue where the parameters of equipment obtained from some treasure chests were incorrect. *After applying this patch, the parameters will be automatically corrected. Fixed an issue on the Baka Dekkana continent where following NPCs/enemies were not moving correctly relative to the terrain. ●Fixed an issue where phantom character status did not change depending on area rank. ●Fixed an issue where experience points were not distributed when obtaining an experience orb or clearing the crafting mini-game if a phantom character was in the party. Fixed an issue where skipping the Tailor and Artist Apprentice Trials would result in players not being able to obtain some of the recipes that should be obtained upon completing the trials. *After applying this patch, recipes that were not available will be automatically granted if the conditions are met. ●Fixed an issue where appearing NPCs would remain hidden when skipping the Apprentice Trial in some lives. Fixed an issue where the target would not be registered in the Pokédex when requesting gathering from a companion NPC and completing the task. ●Fixed an issue that caused the game to become uncontrollable when requesting production and attempting to produce an item that was at the maximum quantity when no companion was selected. Fixed an issue where objects could not be placed on the third level of the ground at bases. ●Fixed an issue that prevented the base message board quest "Get the highest rating in the gallery" from being completed. ●Fixed an issue in the Gachadan Tree where items buried in the Aging Altar could not be digged up. Fixed an issue where the age of a gifted aged weapon would not be displayed to the recipient. Fixed an issue where players would be unable to progress if they edited a stamp/emote/free template in the "Greetings" tab of options in the Gachadan Tree/Baka Dekkana Continent Shrine and then immediately restarted the game after saving. *We are working to recover save data that will be unable to progress after applying this patch. Fixed unintended behavior that occurred in the menu when performing renovations. ●Fixed an issue that caused buttons to become unusable after the tutorial ended depending on when the tutorial occurred. ●Fixed an issue in some event scenes where pausing the scene while it was set to "Auto" would result in no operations being accepted other than skipping. Fixed a bug that occurred in some quests. ●Fixed an issue where Trip's pinning effect did not target the correct targets when playing cooperatively with Trip (2P Family Play). ●Various bugs in multiplayer have been fixed. ●Some Japanese text and translated text have been corrected. ●Other minor bugs have been fixed. Earlier this week, the Japanese publication Famitsu awarded Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time 36 out of 40. The game's local release will kick off on 21st May, with the early access period beginning on 18th May for select platforms. A fantasy score? Will you be getting this game when it arrives on Switch next week? Let us know in the comments. [source fantasylife.jp] Related Games See Also Share:0 4 Liam is a news writer and reviewer across Hookshot Media. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of many iconic video game characters. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Four More Titles Available today Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Switch Update Arrives Next Week Here's what you can expect Yooka-Laylee Dev Playtonic Is The Latest Studio Hit By Layoffs Others are "at risk" of losing jobs

Image: PlaytonicA handful of staff at UK-based studio Playtonic, best known for creating Yooka-Laylee and for forming the indie publishing label Playtonic Friends, are sharing messages on social media as they have been made "redundant" at the developer. We were first alerted to the news by a Bluesky post from former community manager Steve James, who left the company just two weeks ago (on his own terms). "Should be a week of happiness and positivity for me but instead I’m sad, angry and concerned for my former colleagues." Steve says "Many talented folks are “at risk” of redundancy at Playtonic, if you see them posting for jobs, please help them out." On LinkedIn, Steve along with current brand manager at Playtonic Anni Valkama have been sharing posts from former colleagues who are now looking for work. These include Junior VFX Artist Joupin Ahmed and Assistant Producer Mae Davidson. Alongside them, UI Artists James Feakins is "at risk of redundancy". We hope those affected land on their feet and wish them the best. Playtonic Friends is just lining up to release Castle Pixel's Cattle Country, a Western life/farm sim. On the main dev side, it's also working on a remake of its very first game, titled Yooka-Replaylee, which is coming to Switch 2. And, unfortunately, things aren't getting any easier as layoffs continue to pummel the industry, with EA and Respawn taking a huge blow just a few weeks ago. Long-standing online publication Polygon was also hit by layoffs after being sold by Vox Media to Valnet. Sadly, these are just a couple of recent examples. We've reached out to Playtonic's Managing Director Gavin Price for comment. Between 300 to 400 people have lost their job "IT IS coming in 2025" [source bsky.app] Related Games See Also Share:0 2 Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her first love, Nintendo is a close second. She enjoys nothing more than overthinking battle strategies, characters, and stories. She also wishes she was a Sega air pirate. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles Nintendo Unveils Diddy Kong's Brand New Design Cap's off The First Review For Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Is In A fantasy score? 12 Switch Games Are Getting Free Switch 2 Upgrades, Here's What You Can Expect Nintendo's free updates arrive next month Round Up: The First Impressions Of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time Are In Here's what players are saying