A new mod for Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy allows players to step into the shoes of Crash's arch-nemesis, Dr. Neo Cortex.
This mod is essentially a pallet swap for Crash, replacing him as the main playable character. Cortex has all of the same moves and attacks as Crash, but feels unique by having his own voice clips and a few custom animations. A second file that can be downloaded replaces Crash's life counter with Cortex's, as well as replacing the traditional Aku Aku masks with the evil Uka Uka masks.
It is noteworthy that the mod is not without its own set of issues, with various graphical and gameplay bugs. All vehicle sections have one graphical glitch or another, making all of Crash 2's vehicle sections somewhat unplayable. There is also a running animation glitch that is present in the first two games, and while not making it necessarily unplayable, it does pose some additional challenges. Crash 3 is fully playable, and doesn't seem to have any game-breaking glitches with the mod. So other than some minor glitches, most of the N. Sane Trilogy is playable as Cortex.
The mod comes from user ARD, and can be easily downloaded from the website The Warp Zone. The mod is incredibly easy to install, and can be done within minutes. On the download page, ARD notes the mod is not perfect, and that he plans on creating more Crash Bandicoot mods in the future, including a possible playable version of other bosses, like Dingodile.
In addition to his standard lab coat outfit, ARD has released several costumes for Cortex, including a red, green, and blue-colored Cortex as well as Toga Cortex, which is his outfit from the Tiny boss fight in Crash Warped.
This mod just so happens to have released very close to the launch of Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time! which is coming later this October. It was already announced that Dr. Neo Cortex will be playable in the upcoming title, but fans wishing to play as him now can do so with this new mod. In addition to Crash, Coco, and Cortex, Crash 4 will also introduce Dingodile as a playable character for the first time, with more playable characters still potentially yet to be revealed.
Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time! launches on October 2, 2020, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with more platforms likely to be announced at a later date.
Source: The Warp Room