Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time briefly appeared during yesterday’s gamescom: Opening Night Live stream. While Crash himself was busy roaming around Cologne, Germany (poor guy didn’t get the memo that gamescom was cancelled this year), developer Toys For Bob unveiled a brand-new mode, Flashback Tapes. These levels will allow players to rewind to the 1990s, before the first Crash Bandicoot entry when Neo Cortex performed experiments on Crash and Coco.
During Opening Night Live, host Geoff Keighley interviewed Producer Lou Studdert, who described the Flashback Levels as “devious puzzle rooms.” According to Studdert, such levels were designed to provide an incredibly difficult challenge. Players access each one by finding Flashback Tapes that are strewn about Crash Bandicoot 4’s various levels. As a tribute to the original trilogy’s Death Routes, Studdert divulged, the only way to actually pick up a Flashback Tape is by reaching it in a level without dying. A challenge to unlock another challenge.
In addition to offering a classic platforming experience, Flashback Levels “layer in a unique perspective to the franchise” that’s never been seen before, an era prior to Crash and Coco escaping Cortex’s clutches in the opening of the first game. Notably, Neo Cortex at this point still thinks Crash will be loyal to his side. Since this is an area of the series’ lore that hasn’t previously been explored in any real depth, it seems Toys For Bob aims to take the franchise’s narrative paths to new heights in this regard, filled with ample amounts of Crash Bandicoot challenge, of course.
Watch Crash Bandicoot 4’s full Opening Night Live presentation in the video linked below:
Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time hits the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this fall on October 2nd. Though there are reports suggesting a PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X release in the future, neither Toys For Bob nor Activision have officially confirmed as much, though the current-gen version should be compatible with next-gen consoles regardless.
[Source: GameSpot Trailers]
