As the ‘4’ in the title indicates, It’s About Time is a direct continuation of 1998’s Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped - a game that got a gorgeous remake as one third of 2017’s Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - and very much takes inspiration from the early series’ brand of platform action. There are wrinkles to the formula, of course, including masks that slow time, flip gravity, and phase objects in and out of existence, as well as various new modes and playable characters - each with their own unique abilities and stages - but it should all be immediately familiar to Crash fans. It’s About Time even leans into the early games’ brutal difficulty - although a choice between Modern and Retro modes help ease the sometimes immense challenge. “Yes, the studio might’ve taken the originals’ notorious difficulty a little too literally,” Eurogamer’s Chris Tapsell wrote in his review, “but it’s paid attention to the rest of those games too…Brushing up against the better parts of the originals, but also getting surprisingly close to the idea you have of them in your head. A flawed gem, but no less brilliant.” If a solidly entertaining blast of nostalgic platforming with a modern twist is something that appeals, Crash Bandicoot 4 will be available on PC - exclusively via Activision’s Battle.net service - on 26th March. And if you’re curious about other platforms, Digital Foundry recently took a look at the newly released Switch and PS5 versions of the game.
