Game profile
Banjo-Kazooie
This Rare classic is considered one of the best 3D collectathon platformers on N64 and is playable today through Nintendo Switch Online as well as Xbox backward compatibility. Humor, creative worlds and clever abilities still define the game today.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Platformer / Adventure, set in a fantasy world. Visually it is leaning into a retro look, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. Sessions of an hour or two sit at the sweet spot here.
The difficulty is moderate and fair, demanding attention without punishing you for it. Story exists mostly as background texture rather than a reason to keep going. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It runs on 2 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Creative collectible worlds
- Humorous characters
- Versatile abilities
This fits you if
- exploring for its own sake is the point for you
- you would rather build something than be told what to do
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
- you like a deliberate retro look over photorealism
- you want something light that leaves you in a good mood
Look elsewhere if
- you specifically want an open world to roam
- you want to play it side by side with someone
- you want something with real weight to it
- you want either a pure challenge or pure relaxation, not the middle
How long is Banjo-Kazooie?
About 12 hours in total. At three evenings a week and two hours each, you will be busy for roughly 2 weeks, or 6 sessions.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 92 out of 100, which puts it above 93 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 61 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Platformer averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 9 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 371 collected ratings.
Released in 1998, which makes it 28 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 1998
- Genres
- Platformer, Adventure
- Playtime
- approx. 12 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Moderate, fair
- Story weight
- Background flavour
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Fantasy
- Visual style
- Retro
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- Switch, Xbox
- Critic rating
- 92 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banjo-Kazooie | 1998 | approx. 12 hrs. | 92 | Budget |
| A Hat in Time | 2017 | approx. 12 hrs. | 80 | Mid price |
| The Plucky Squire | 2024 | approx. 10 hrs. | 88 | Mid price |
| Constance | 2025 | approx. 15 hrs. | 76 | Mid price |
If you liked this, try these
- 80/100 A Hat in Time Shared: Platformer, Adventure, Fantasy
- 88/100 The Plucky Squire Shared: Platformer, Adventure, Fantasy
- 76/100 Constance Shared: Platformer, Adventure, Fantasy
- 81/100 Terraria Shared: Platformer, Adventure, Fantasy, longer
- 84/100 Kena: Bridge of Spirits Shared: Platformer, Adventure, Fantasy
- 89/100 Owlboy Shared: Platformer, Adventure, Fantasy