Most of us nurse a small, stubborn hope that one nostalgic series will make a comeback when announcement season rolls around. For me, that franchise is Banjo-Kazooie. After waiting 25 years for a follow-up like Banjo-Threeie on Xbox, I’d almost stopped expecting it — but an ambitious fan developer has stepped in with a breathtaking tribute made in Dreams.
Dreams is the imaginative creation suite from Media Molecule (the studio behind LittleBigPlanet), and while official PlayStation support wound down in 2023, community creators have kept the tool alive. One of those creators — William “Eupholace” Butkevicius — has used Dreams to craft an astonishingly faithful Banjo fan experience.
Mumbomania is deliberately modest in scope — it’s a single level rather than a full sequel — but what it recreates is meticulous. The developer has rebuilt Treasure Trove Cove (the second world from the original) and added fresh obstacles and mechanics, so even with an estimated 30-minute run time, the level feels substantial and inventive.
Banjo-Kazooie: Mumbomania | 100% Walkthrough (no commentary) – YouTube
The project even caught the attention of the original team. Gregg Mayles — who led development on the original Banjo-Kazooie — retweeted the announcement and called it “splendid.” Composer Grant Kirkhope also shared the news, and Rare’s official account chimed in too: “Put our fanciest hat on just so we could tip it to this. Incredible work!”
But Eupholace isn’t only a standout fan creator — he’s also a level designer at Moon Studios working on the action-RPG No Rest for the Wicked. It sounds like Mumbomania may be his capstone for large Dreams projects.
“Mumbomania is just one level and there are no plans to add any more,” Eupholace writes in a tweet. “I’d like to move away from big Dreams projects now, so unless I get the opportunity to work on an official Banjo-Threeie (which I would be thrilled to), this is it for now.”
Source: gamesradar.com
