In the series first new entry in ten years, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is coming out for PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 2.
While it’s technically the eighth platformer in the series, developer Toys for Bob is continuing the storyline and play style of the first three games from Naughty Dog that launched on the original PlayStation. Three characters will be playable, including: Crash and Coco, who will share the same moveset and be interchangeable throughout the entirety of the game, as well as villain Doctor Neo Cortex, who will have more methodical playstyle than the fast-paced platforming of Crash and Coco.
As for how It’s About Time is going to modernize a 20-year-old formula, the game will include “Quantum Masks,” which, when worn, will give Crash and Coco powers that will change up level design and gameplay. Two out of four of these masks were revealed today, including a “Time Mask,” which will slow down time and make it easier to jump on moving platforms, and also the “Gravity Mask,” which will let you walk on the ceiling to find a new path to proceed.
Check out the full trailer below:
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Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time leaked earlier this week due to the game’s rating showing up online, which revealed the name, box art, and a plot synopsis that confirmed there would be some time travel and multiverse nonsense, which would allow the game to safely switch over to the old canon without affecting anything else in the series.
Crash is relaxing and exploring his island in his time, 1998, when he finds a mysterious mask hidden away in a cave, Lani-Loli. The mask is one of the Quantum Masks and apparently knows Aku-Aku, Crash’s mask friend! With the Quantum Masks returning and a Quantum Rift appearing near our heroes, they decide to bravely head through to different times and dimensions to stop whoever is responsible.
Toys for Bob helped work on the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, which brought full-fledged remakes of the first three games in the series to modern platforms back in 2017, as well as the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy, which followed the next year. So the team seems a natural fit for development on a fourth mainline game. The success of those remakes prompted publisher Activision to declare remakes and remasters a major pillar of its business, but based on its greenlighting a new Crash game instead of a remake, it sounds like the company has seen enough interest in the franchise to invest in new games again after the franchise going quiet about ten years ago. The last time an original Crash game came out was in 2010, and it was a mobile kart racing spin-off called Crash Bandicoot: Nitro Kart 2. After the success of the N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, it’s nice to see Crash getting new, original games out.
