Crash Bandicoot, everyone’s favorite board-shorts-and-sneakers-clad deranged marsupial, is back in the franchise’s first official sequel to the original trilogy in over 20 years. Initially released on PS4 and Xbox One last October, Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time recently got a dazzling new next-gen update to take advantage of the increased horsepower of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S. If you’ve already played the last-gen version of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, this is the exact same game with a fresh new coat of graphical paint. But if you haven’t played the game at all yet, you are cheating yourself out of experiencing one of the best action platformers in years.

Crash Bandicoot fans will be able to jump, slide, and spin right into It’s About Time without missing a beat. It’s an extremely well-polished platforming collect-a-thon, requiring you to nimbly guide Crash through each level, navigating obstacles and vanquishing enemies with a mixture of precise jumping and careful timing and positioning. In classic Crash Bandicoot fashion, each stage also features a number of additional items to collect, including the gems you earn by smashing every crate, which have been a staple of the series since the very first game. Time trials make a return as well, tasking players with completing the level in a set amount of time to earn three different color ankhs. I experienced more than a few flashbacks to my frequent all-night gaming sessions in high school as I struggled to drag Crash across the finish line in time – virtually every ankh I successfully nabbed was the result of a nail-biting photo finish. There are also hidden gems cleverly tucked away in each level to reward the most intrepid explorer, as many of these are deviously well-concealed. In short, if you grew up playing Crash Bandicoot in the 90s, everything you’d want from another installment is present here, updated for the current generation of gaming.

There’s something to be said for a game that’s just fun to play. It’s About Time pays homage to the somewhat intense difficulty of previous franchise entries (particularly that first game, oof) by allowing you to seamlessly toggle between a “Retro” mode that gives you a set number of lives, just like the old school platformers woven into the series’ DNA. But the game’s default setting is an infinitely more forgiving infinite lives system that allows you to just keep retrying a particular level checkpoint or boss fight until you beat it. That may sound like bumper bowling – I know my dyed-in-the-wool Mega Man fan ass initially scoffed at the very notion of infinite lives – but it’s a major quality-of-life improvement that surprisingly doesn’t really diminish the game’s challenge. If anything, it makes the challenge a bit less artificial, allowing you to focus on perfecting your gameplay without the disheartening stress of losing all your progress. From Software already has plenty of excellent titles to offer you if that’s the sort of challenge you’re looking for; I prefer this approach for an action platformer, and it’s a better fit for Crash Bandicoot’s cheerfully wacky tone.

Speaking of which, the goofy charm of Naughty Dog’s original trilogy is perfectly represented by this new installment. It’s About Time picks up right where Warped left off way back in 1998, with franchise villains Dr. Neo Cortex and Dr. N. Tropy trapped in another dimension with the evil magic mask Uka Uka. The bad guys use Uka Uka’s magic to bust out, which fragments the universe into a bunch of alternate dimensions that serve as the game’s various regions. It’s similar to Warped in that each area is themed after a specific time period in the past or future, such as a 17th century pirate cove and a Mad Max apocalyptic wasteland. The Crash Bandicoot series has never had trouble with level variety, and It’s About Time features an admirable mix of settings to keep things from getting stale. On top of that, there are also a series of “classic levels” you can unlock by collecting VHS tapes in certain stages. In terms of sheer platforming, these are hands down the most challenging levels in the game, and are sure to keep platforming addicts busy well after they topple the final boss. I consider myself an above-average platformer guy, and I’ve still only managed to clear a few of these stages with every crate smashed.

Another feather in It’s About Time’s variety cap are the number of different playable characters at your disposal. You can switch between Crash and his sister Coco at any time, and their playstyles and move lists are more or less identical. But there are several points in the game where you take control of Tawna, Crash’s girlfriend in the first game; Dingodile, a boss character from Warped; and the evil Dr. Neo Cortex himself, each sporting a unique gadget that completely alters gameplay. Tawna carries a grappling hook that allows her to latch onto certain surfaces as well as smash crates from afar, forcing you to retrain your brain in order to clear some dynamic (and extremely satisfying) platforming chains and spot every collectible within her extended reach. Dingodile wields a vacuum cannon that can suck up both enemies and crates and launch them back out as projectiles, which similarly requires you to rethink your approach to each level. And Dr. Cortex sports a ray gun that can temporarily transform enemies into different kinds of platforms, leading to some of the game’s most unique puzzles.

Really the only strike I can count against It’s About Time is specifically an issue with this new next-gen port, which is that the cutscenes don't appear to have received the same graphical overhaul from the last-gen versions. The cinematics have a slightly muddy, compressed look, which is in stark contrast with the absolutely gorgeous visuals and vibrant colors present in the rest of the game. It’s an extremely minor complaint, but it is admittedly jarring to be locked into the groove of a jaw-dropping level only to be snapped out of it by a dimly-lit cutscene. But again, this is a small gripe, and the cutscenes are generally brief and entertaining enough for me to forgive their slightly dated look.

If you already own the PS4 version of Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, you can update to this slick new port for no additional cost, which I wholeheartedly recommend you do immediately. And if you missed it when it came out last October, it’s definitely time to rectify that. This is the best possible version of a very good game that faithfully resurrects a franchise that had been dormant for far too long. Now let’s get an animated series going, Netflix.

Grade: A