Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time released to positive fanfare on October 2nd, 2020. Fans of the original Crash Bandicoot games for the PlayStation will love everything the package offers, including the unbearable difficulty.
This challenge shines exponentially when going for the relics, which task the player with beating a level without dying under a certain time limit while hitting yellow boxes which stop the timer for anywhere between one and three seconds. This added pressure makes even the simplest levels a challenge, but the later stages are especially daunting without checkpoints. Pretty much all of the relics are difficult to obtain, but these ten are absolute monsters.
10 Dino Dash
True to the series' roots, the game includes several sequences where Crash runs towards the camera often while being chased. This relatively long sequence in "Dino Dash" makes the relic quite difficult, since one has less time to react to obstacles, forcing the player to basically remember what is coming next. The fungi which slowdown the player also become a particularly annoying hindrance.
9 Bears Repeating
This level was pleasant for the surprise sequence involving Polar, but it unfortunately does not play as well as it does on the first PlayStation. It is significantly more difficult to hit the boxes with the same precision, and hitting four boxes at once grouped together is equally annoying. Even reaching this point requires an intense platforming challenge. While one might think it enough to dodge all the boxes while riding the bear, remember not to miss too many or else risk losing the relic even after beating the level.
8 Rush Hour
This level is special for including two of the optional characters: Tawna and Dingo Dile. The level starts with the latter and then switches to Tawna for the rest. Fortunately, the two play well enough for bonus characters, but the level itself is incredible difficult. It is made more frustrating by the level's place in the game. The heroes defeat who they think is the last boss, and this world is somewhat of a victory lap for them.
7 Out For Launch
It would not be a platformer without going into space, and this is where characters encounter Nitrous Oxide, the villain first introduced in Crash Team Racing. The whole level is actually fairly easy up until the finale.
It ends with the character riding on the rail while dodging a bunch or nitro boxes. progressing through the whole level only to die to these explosives is indescribably frustrating.
6 Run It Bayou
This level takes the character to an area the series has never been; the bayou. As cool as it is to be here, this is where the game first starts the really kick up in difficulty. The ending stretch is particularly gruesome. First the player has to ride up a boat while dodging nitro and TNT boxes. Afterwards, the player rides downstream while enemies detonate explosives resting on the river.
5 Crate Escape
Cortex's levels take the emphasis slightly away from platforming and instead focuses more on puzzles based around the villain's ability to transform enemies into platforms. "Crate Escape" leaves little room for error if players shoot the wrong enemy at the wrong time. One mistake typically ends in death, which sends the player back to the beginning of the stage during the time trial. The ending involves the player jumping on crates running towards the screen. Jumps forward are faster than usual, making precision particularly bothersome.
4 Off Beat
This is one of the most notable levels in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time for how the enemies and obstacles are timed with the music. It reminds one of the music themed levels from Rayman Legends or the way enemies march to the beat of the songs in New Super Mario Bros.. However, this rhythmic connection makes the level super difficult when going for the time trial.
3 Toxic Tunnels
The last world is cool for taking everything back to where it started. The levels live up to the series 1996 origins in terms of difficulty.
Beating "Toxic Tunnels" in any capacity is a headache, especially when going for the box gem, but beating the whole level without dying multiplies the difficult ten fold. Timing the jumps over the mine cart and balancing on the rotating cylinders are two standout sections that make this level a true monster.
2 Crash Landed
After hanging out in space, the crew land on an alien planet and must chase down N. Tropy and his alternate dimension counterpart. Up until this point in the game it is easily the hardest level, with several sections having the player jump on super fast moving platforms, and then another section harkening back to riding the polar bear cub, only this time the player is riding an alien.
1 Cortex Castle
Fortunately, the developers saved the absolute hardest for last. "Cortex Castle" includes the most ridiculous platform challenges of the main level path, and the last section includes an unbelievable gauntlet Crash or Coco must use all the masks to beat, including changing between two of them in the middle of a single jump. Plenty of players easily reached over seventy deaths during this section, so just imagine what it would be like to do the whole level flawlessly.