A new Banjo Kazooie game is here ... sort of, and it's not on Xbox

When you think of the storied game developer Rare these days, you probably think of its acclaimed live-service Xbox title Sea of Thieves, or perhaps its infamously canceled action-adventure game Everwild. But many years ago, the studio also created the beloved 3D platformer Banjo-Kazooie, a series that follows the wacky adventures of brown bear Banjo and his backpack-riding avian companion named — you guessed it — Kazooie.

Like Super Mario 64 before it, the original 1998 Banjo-Kazooie is widely considered to be a genre-defining classic, and its sequels Banjo-Tooie and Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty's Revenge are acclaimed as well. 2008's experimental Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts controversially shifted the gameplay focus to vehicle construction, however, and was met with a more mixed reception.

Tragically, Rare hasn't made a new Banjo-Kazooie game since, and with the developer still focusing on making Sea of Thieves content, it's unclear if we'll ever see it build one under Xbox Game Studios. But as it turns out, there's actually a new Banjo-Kazooie game you can play right now! ... Sort of.

That game is Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania, a fan-made title created by a tiny team using the 2020 PlayStation game-making tool Dreams. It's available to play now through Dreams for free, as all user-created content on it is, though Dreams itself is $20 (it's also on PlayStation Plus). You can watch the trailer for it here or below.

Sadly, Dreams never got a port to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, or Windows PC, so you won't be able to check Mumbomania out if you don't have a PS5 or PS4. Still, the game looks terrific, and you should absolutely check it out if you own one of Sony's consoles.

Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania | Launch Trailer - YouTube

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Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania features one massive singular tropical island level with 30 "jiggy" (think Super Mario 64 stars) puzzle pieces to collect; the original game had 100, to provide a comparison. In addition to Banjo and Kazooie, it also introduces Mumbo, a colorful disembodied skull that floats around and helps "collect, fight, and transform into a variety of strange beings."

As you'd expect, you can jump, roll, and punch with Banjo, and fly or shoot eggs with Kazooie. Mumbo, meanwhile, is able to fetch certain items in the environment for you, and can transform Banjo into animated versions of objects like giant boulders or cannons that give you access to unique abilities.

A full playthrough will take you about an hour or so, and completionists aiming to find every collectible and solve every puzzle can expect a playtime double that.

I wouldn't even question it if you told me this was an official release from Rare and not a Dreams fan game; clearly, a ton of work went into making Mumbomania feel as authentically Banjo-Kazooie as possible. In fact, director William "Eupholace" Butkevicius noted that it took "About 14 months" and "800+ hours of work" to finish, and all of that invested time and effort shows.

Contributing alongside him was PieceofCraft who handled the game's animations and scripting logic, as well as The Game Brass who created Mumbomania's upbeat, high-energy soundtrack.

Where is Xbox's answer to Dreams?

The release of Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania is a remarkable achievement for the passionate, talented fans of the franchise that made it. With that said, I can't help but feel rather bittersweet about its arrival, as it's a painful reminder that Microsoft, Xbox, and Rare (update: Rare has tipped its hat to Mumbomania) have sat on this franchise for upwards of 20 years without developing a new entry in it.

Astro Bot winning Game of the Year in 2024 was a strong reminder that the market for platformers is as strong as ever, and that Xbox really needs to invest in creating some. Perhaps Crash Bandicoot and Spyro developer Toys for Bob will make a new Banjo-Kazooie; after all, the studio said it would love to in the wake of its departure from Xbox to independence, as it was notably exploring a partnership opportunity despite exiting Xbox Game Studios.

Regardless, Mumbomania's exclusive availability on PS5 and PS4 due to Dreams' PlayStation exclusivity also highlights the fact there's really nothing like Dreams on Xbox, or even on PC for that matter.

Games like Battlefield 6 and Halo Infinite have powerful creation tools like Portal and Forge, sure, but even those are quite limited in comparison. Mumbomania is nigh-indistinguishable from an official Banjo-Kazooie game, and that's not something I could make in Battlefield or Halo.

Ultimately, it's a cruel irony that Xbox owns Banjo-Kazooie, yet the best (and only) Banjo-Kazooie experience we've gotten since 2008 is only playable if you're on PlayStation. And because there's not a Dreams-like game on Microsoft's console, Xbox fans can't even make one of their own.

Dreams | $19.99 at Amazon

Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania is playable exclusively through Dreams — the PlayStation-exclusive game creation tool that was used to make it. It's $20 on PS5 and PS4.

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