Crash Bandicoot 4 Dev Talks New Art Style, Level Design, And More In GameSpot Interview

Activision is bringing the Crash Bandicoot franchise back with the first mainline instalment in 20 years. Crash Bandicoot 4 is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on October 2, and it brings an end to the 20-year wait following 1998's Crash Bandicoot: Warped, for which it is a sequel.

As part of GameSpot's Play For All charity campaign, we sat down with producer Lou Studdert from developer Toys For Bob. In the interview, Studdert speaks about the game's new art style, new gameplay mechanics like collecting masks and bending time, and the new playable characters. You can play as Crash and Coco, while Studdert teased that you may be able to play as the evil Neo Cortex to give players the ability to see the story from a different perspective.

Also in the interview, Studdert speaks about the new and expanded Crash 4 boss battles and how the game makes use of a new engine to allow for better graphics and gameplay features.

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"It's been a complete dream come true for the studio," Studdert said. "They're fans of the franchise, but they're also fans of what the original franchise was actually trying to build upon. Which is this great history of animation. It's been a real fun thing for our studio to push on animation techniques; to look at the old animated cartoons that Crash and those original games were referencing. So to push the techniques, to push the emotive animation and fluidity of the character models, our studio has been having a blast doing."

Studdert also spent some time speaking about Crash 4's new level design, which incorporates "old-school" elements of the earlier games but now with expanded vistas and a bigger scope thanks to the power of the new consoles. Be sure to check out the full interview in the video above to hear everything Studdert had to say about Crash 4.

The new game sees Neo Cortex, Dr. N. Tropy, and Uka Uka finally escape from their remote plant and return for another attempt at multiverse domination. Of course, you stand in their way, and you'll have access to four special Quantum Masks to "bend the rules of reality" itself and make it through difficult areas. These include the Time Mask (slows down time) and the Gravity Mask (lets you platform upside down).

GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All--a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer's hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.