“Today was my last day at Rare,” posted Mayles. “Thanks to everyone who played and enjoyed any of the games I helped create while I was there. Also thanks to all the people that worked on the games alongside me.”

Mayles has worked with Rare for quite a bit of time, with his first work with the studio involving the game Solar Jetman from all the way back in 1990. Since then, he has served various roles on different projects.

He also went on to work as game director on some of the most critically-acclaimed and beloved games Rare has made, from Super NES title Donkey Kong Country, to Banjoe-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie on the Nintendo 64, and even Viva Pinata on the Xbox 360. Most recently, Mayles also worked as creative director on multiplayer pirate game Sea of Thieves.

Mayles’ departure from Rare also poses doubts on the future of the Banjo-Kazooie franchise, since he also worked on the last game that the franchise had seen – Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts on the Xbox 360. Earlier this year, composer of the first game in the franchise, Grant Kirkhope, had noted that he had “zero hope” for a new game in the franchise.

“I’ve said it before … but .. I have zero hope for another Banjo game, plus all you die hard fans would instantly hate it and slag it off no matter how good it was, it never works,” posted Kirkhope on social media back in January. Despite this, however, he also said that he would be open to working on the soundtrack for a potential new Banjo-Kazooie game.

The departure of Mayles was likely part of a larger restructuring taking place at Rare in light of the cancellation of Everwild back in July. At the time, reports had indicated that, along with the game itself being cancelled, there would also be some changes coming to how Rare has functioned.

Interestingly, back in September, former Rare executive producer Louise O’Connor saw a major promotion, being appointed as the chief of staff for Xbox Game Studios as a whole. O’Connor had worked on quite a few projects at Rare before the promotion, with her first credit with the company showing up on adult-comedy platforming title Conker’s Bad Fur Day on the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 2001.

In the meantime, Rare has also confirmed that it is changing up how it releases content for Sea of Thieves. In a lengthy post, the developer revealed that, going forward, seasonal content for the multiplayer pirate game will be released over the course of three months in distinct phases. Along with this, it has also announced that the Sea of Thieves Insider Programme will be coming back in 2026.

“I’ve said it before … but .. I have zero hope for another Banjo game, plus all you die hard fans would instantly hate it and slag it off no matter how good it was, it never works,” posted Kirkhope on X.

For context, Kirkhope has been involved with the Banjo franchise since the first game, having worked on music for the original Banjo-Kazooie, the sequel Banjo-Tooie, as well as Xbox 360 title Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts. His comments on a potential sequel not happening came after answering a fan’s question on whether he would be open to working on a new game’s soundtrack. “Of course,” he responded.

This isn’t the first time that Kirkhope has spoken about how there will likely not be a new Banjo-Kazooie game. The composer revealed in an interview back in 2023 that the studio that originally made the game would be open to it if it had the right team for it, “but I don’t feel like that team exists,” said Kirkhope. “Also, I’m not convince the audience is there either.”

While no real news about a potential new Banjo-Kazooie sequel has popped up, Xbox executive Aaron Greenberg spoke about the franchise back in October, mentioning that he understands how much the franchise means to its fans. However, despite this statement, Microsoft has been quiet about the title despite having owned the IP for quite some time now. The most we’ve seen about Banjo-Kazooie is the inclusion of the first two titles to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, allowing players to play classic Nintendo 64 titles.

There have been rumours, however, that indicated that a new Banjo game might be in the works. These rumours stated that the new game would be a reboot of the original, with a complete overhaul of vision and scope. There has been no official word, however, and even rumours haven’t been able to speculate about what studio would be working on the title.

July 2024, however, brought about a new rumour that might dash the hopes of Banjo fans. The rumour indicated there is no Banjo-Kazooie game in the works. This is despite the fact that an earlier rumour stated that a Banjo project had been greenlit back in 2022. Interestingly, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has also spoken about Banjo-Kazooie back in 2023, also stating that the title would work “when we find the right team, and the right opportunity”.

In the mean time, aside from replaying the originals, the closest Banjo fans can get to experience the same kind of gameplay would be to either go with other titles like Yooka-Laylee, or perhaps go the Nintendo route with its Mario titles. Fans of the characters might also want to look at Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where Banjo-Kazooie were added to the platform fighter’s roster.

Of course

— Grant Kirkhope (@grantkirkhope) January 22, 2025

I’ve said it before … but .. I have zero hope for another Banjo game, plus all you die hard fans would instantly hate it and slag it off no matter how good it was , it never works.

— Grant Kirkhope (@grantkirkhope) January 23, 2025

Taking to Twitter, Nintendo announced that Rare’s acclaimed N64 platform Banjo-Tooie is coming to the service. Specifically, the game will be available for everyone subscribed to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack later this month, on October 25.

Of course, thanks to Rare and Microsoft’s efforts, the game has already been playable on modern Xbox hardware for several years, but now, its original Nintendo audience can dive back into it on their current platform of choice as well.

The original Banjo-Kazooie is also available on Switch via Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, which means Rare’s acclaimed platforming duo is now playable in its entirety on the console. 

Psycho Mantis (Metal Gear Solid)

Metal Gear Solid has a reputation for featuring boss fights that defy player expectations – and Psycho Mantis is definitely one such fight that really shocked gamers back in the day. You see, Psycho Mantis will always evade your moves since he’s reading them directly from the controller – which makes it impossible to damage the boss at first. Psycho Mantis can also read your memory card, and his dialogues will reflect what saves are present on your card.

The solution to beating him is to switch the controller from port 1 to port 2, which makes him open to attacks. Once that’s done, this boss fight becomes ridiculously easy and you can easily gun him down and get on with the story. On repeat playthroughs when you know what needs to be done, Psycho Mantis becomes a very silly albeit creative boss fight that poses little to no threat to the player.

While Xbox Game Pass has been praised for providing a wide selection of titles for both PC and Xbox subscribers, it also supports Android gaming via the cloud. This allows for playing big-name games on tablets and phones. But what if you wanted to turn your phone into a retro gaming device? Microsoft has you covered.

On Xbox Wire, the company announced that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers could now play 16 Xbox and Xbox 360 titles on Android phones and tablets via backwards compatible. Check out all of the games below with some having touch controls enabled.

• Banjo-Kazooie
• Banjo-Tooie
• Double Dragon Neon
• Fable 2
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Gears of War 2
• Gears of War 3
• Gears of War: Judgment
• Jetpac Refuelled (touch controls enabled)
• Kameo
• Perfect Dark
• Perfect Dark Zero
• The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
• The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion
• Viva Piñata (touch controls enabled)
• Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (touch controls enabled)

More games will be “coming soon” to the service, expanding on the retro functionality even more. Xbox Game Pass continues to grow with more games added each month. Even big new releases like People Can Fly’s Outriders are joining the service at launch. What the future holds for retro games remains to be seen but being able to take some of them on the go is a nice bonus.

Dark Souls Remastered

Combat in FromSoftware games always has a straightforward explanation – hit this button to attack, this button to dodge etc. However, the greater nuances like stamina management, invincibility frames while rolling, the significance of certain stats and what to build towards take more time to understand. That’s not even considering the design of bosses in games like Dark Souls Remastered or the order to go to certain areas given the game’s world design. Suffice it to say but if this or the original was your first Dark Souls, it was a struggle.

Grunty’s Furnace Fun – Banjo-Kazooie

The most immediate example that comes to mind is Banjo-Kazooie. Before fighting Gruntilda, she presents a rather odd puzzle to stop our heroes – Grunty’s Furnace Fun. There are unique panels that present everything from timed challenges (like the sandcastle puzzle) to identifying different worlds. You also have Grunty’s personal questions which are randomized each time and can only be answered by speaking to Brentilda, her sister, throughout the game.

Pinwheel – Dark Souls

Though it ultimately depends on the route players take, Pinwheel can be a big push-over since you’ve adequately levelled up at this point. The hilarious part is how Pinwheel isn’t even all that tough after the sheer torture that is The Catacombs. Having some of the lowest health of all the bosses in the game also doesn’t help. The fact that he’s not the only pushover boss in Dark Souls is also pretty funny, we suppose.

Sometimes boss battles end up being more about the spectacle, which isn’t necessarily always bad, sometimes they are meant as more of an introduction to the challenges the game will present to you going forward, in which case they’re inherently easier by design, while other times they feel like they’re just there to check off boxes, which in most cases is quite disappointing. In this feature, we’re going to take a look at 15 boss fights that, for some reason or the other, proved to be so easy you could waltz through them with your eyes closed.

Be warned, there might be some slight spoilers ahead.

THE JOKER (BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS)

The Joker boss fight in Batman: Arkham Asylum gets a lot of criticism from a lot of people, more because of its contextual setup than anything else, and though the Arkham City one is decidedly better than that one (especially because of how it ends), the fight itself is not all that memorable. The one we’re speaking of here, though, is the Caped Crusader’s encounter against the Clown Prince of Gotham in the incredible and often unfairly overlook Arkham Origins. The game might feature what is probably the best boss fight in the entire series, which is the Deathstroke fight, but it does also play host to one particularly underwhelming one. Batman’s encounter against The Joker in Origins devolves to little more than quick time events, and while it isn’t offensively bad by any means, it fails to provide any sort of a challenge.

"Many of the other games make up for it though. The retro section is fantastic for its breadth and I was ecstatic to re-experience games like Blast Corps and Banjo Kazooie again."

So it’s a given that you should own Rare Replay if you even have the slightest inkling or nostalgia towards any of these games. However, it’s also worth knowing what you’ll be getting into. The 30 games include classics like Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie, Battletoads Arcade, Saber Wolf and so on. The collection is noticeable for the missing games though including Goldeneye 007 and the Nintendo related properties like Diddy Kong Racing, Donkey Kong Country, Starfox Adventures, etc. This is pretty much a given since it didn’t seem realistic for Nintendo-licensed characters to appear on the Xbox One anyway. Regardless, that’s what you won’t be getting with Rare Replay.

Many of the other games make up for it though. The retro section is fantastic for its breadth and I was ecstatic to re-experience games like Blast Corps and Banjo Kazooie again. It should be noted that many games like Perfect Dark and Jetpac Refueled are actually Xbox Live Arcade titles which originally released on the Xbox 360 and must be downloaded separately to work with Rare Replay. This is all included in the same package but the bad news is that each one of these titles will require a separate update. That’s quite a bit of download time before you can get to some titles.

Some games, especially those released after Microsoft acquired Rare, also don’t really showcase the best that Rare has to offer. Kameo: Element of Power is a fairly decent time waster in retrospect while Viva Piñata is one of the more entertaining new IPs from the studio in a long time. But then there are titles like Grabbed by Ghoulies, Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts or Perfect Dark Zero. When you experience the best that Rare has to offer, it’ll be hard to chug through some of the lesser title for completion’s sake.

"Every game brings something to the table, whether it's the odd design of Jet Force Gemini, the fighting game bliss of Killer Instinct Gold, the gargantuan levels and exploration of Banjo-Tooie..."

Also, if you’re a newcomer to all of these games, then you’d best be prepared – Rare Replay immediately thrusts you into the action and leaves you to figure things out for yourself. This is to be expected in many of retro titles but it’s somewhat awkward to get used to some of the old-school elements. Perfect Dark’s lack of waypoints and mini-map make it more difficult than your average casual shooter – it’s also way less forgiving in terms of mission success. It won’t be hard to get into the swing of things but there aren’t any instructions, tutorials or introductions to familiarize yourself with first.

That being said, there’s just way too much gameplay value here to ignore. Many of these games, with the right amount of tweaking, would be right at home with today’s AAA releases. Rare’s character design and atmosphere is still iconic after all these years. Every game brings something to the table, whether it’s the odd design of Jet Force Gemini, the fighting game bliss of Killer Instinct Gold, the gargantuan levels and exploration of Banjo-Tooie or just the entire concept of Blast Corps. You’ll undoubtedly find a few games to treasure more than others but that’s the magic of this collection – it brings those games back to you, just as you remembered them, and throws in a few other quirky experiences as well to tide you over.

If you don’t want to plow through every single other game, you can always head to Snapshots and attempt to complete various challenges based on them. These earn you Stamps and when enough Stamps are acquired, you unlock a new documentary video detailing Rare’s history. If you don’t want to select one challenge at a time, you can enter into the Snapshot Playlist which gives you curated lists of Snapshots to complete.

"At the end of the day, I'm thankful for a compilation like Rare Replay, warts and all. It reveals a company that used to release experiences unique to the industry regardless of the time period."

On the one hand, I appreciate being able to work towards something other than Achievements which can be incredibly rewarding. On the other hand, I can sympathize with people who want the videos to be unlocked beforehand. What if someone just wants to sit back and explore the history of Rare? Why lock them out of many of these excellent videos and force them through the content? Once again, it’s a matter of preference but it would’ve been nice to see the Stamps go towards something else while the videos remained unlocked.

Those worried about the performance of these games on the Xbox One can rest easy – they run incredibly well and deliver fantastic experiences that may have been too heavy for their original consoles. Not everything is hunky dory, especially when it comes to multiplayer in some games like Conker’s Bad Fur Day which still see some frame rate issues when playing split-screen. Some of the oldest games also don’t feel like they’ve been emulated properly though they’re still playable for the most part. You’ll find many of the retro titles come with a “Rewind” button which moves gameplay back by 10 seconds if you hold down the Left Trigger. And boy will you ever need it since games like Snake Rattle ‘N Rolls can be fairly unforgiving for today’s player.

At the end of the day, I’m thankful for a compilation like Rare Replay, warts and all. It reveals a company that used to release experiences unique to the industry regardless of the time period. Even if it didn’t always deliver a top game, it always strove to bring something different to gamers each time. With its beautiful presentation, challenges and the overall content offered here, one can certainly hope that Rare Replay signals a return to the Rare we grew up with and loved.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.