Crash Bandicoot 4 Demo Impressions

The Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time demo is now available for anyone who preordered the game to take Crash for a spin — yes, pun intended — and what an entertaining spin it is.

The demo comes with three levels: Snow Way Out, Dino Dash and Ship Happens, each from mid-game. Ship Happens is a side level from Snow Way Out that lets you play as Dr. Cortex, before lining back up with the Snow Way Out timeline at the end.

Crash 4 is immediately familiar to longtime gamers who have played the series in the past. It’s a challenging platformer that requires precision and a bit of creative thinking. And it’s bright, colorful and absolutely gorgeous to look at.

A key mechanic this time around is the variety of masks and the different abilities they give to Crash along the way. In the demo, the mask allows you to slow time. The mechanic works in a number of interesting ways, from slowing enemy attacks to keeping boxes around for you to smash them, to slowing platforms to jump on. I really like the time slowing mechanic, and missed it when it wasn’t available.

There’s a handy death counter in the top right hand corner of the screen. I died an awful lot.

In the demo — and I assume the main game — you have the ability to switch between “Modern Mode” and “Classic Mode”… and let me just say that I can’t quite hang with the classic mode, which limits available lives. I imagine most will stick to Modern Mode to see what the game has available.

I really enjoyed playing the demo and can’t wait for the full game to release on Oct. 2!