It looks like Crash Bandicoot might be getting his first (new) console game since 2009. A new advert for PlayStation appears to have teased a brand new adventure for everyone's favourite fuzzy orange icon, at least according to the more eagle-eyed fans out there. This is another piece of evidence in an existing heap of intriguing teases and rumours that suggest Crash will be making his grand return soon.
The advert, called It's Time to Play, is a pretty charming piece of work that features a bunch of real people interacting with various video game characters. Kratos tears it up, Cloud Strife fights a robot in a library, and Crash and the gang race through a parking lot with little regard for human life.
It's in the brief section featuring Crash that fans think they've spotted the crucial clue that proves a new game is on the way. Specifically, there's a floating mask just behind Coco that looks nothing like any of the floating masks we've ever seen in a Crash game before.
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You can check out the mask I'm talking about below, just so we're all on the same page. But was this a mistake? An old piece of concept art given a new lease on life? Something more? WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
The fires of speculation were further stoked by none other than developer Toys For Bob, who handled development on last year's excellent Spyro remake and the Switch port of the Crash remake. Nicholas Kole, an artist for the company, sent people into a frenzy by responding to an image of the mystery mask with an infuriatingly vague emoji.
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Earlier in the year, the same artist retweeted what fans assumed was concept art for a new Crash character that was uploaded to (and swiftly removed) from the official Toys For Bob Twitter account.
As if that wasn't enough, there's another clue hiding in the It's Time To Play trailer. On the side of the bus in one shot, there's an image of Crash. Innocent enough at first glance perhaps, but fans have pointed out that this is a brand new model of the character, and not the one that was used in the N. Sane Trilogy or Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.
Given that this version of the character appears in the trailer riding a kart through a parking lot, why else would a different Crash design show up on the side of a bus? It can only mean a new game is on the way, surely.
Finally, there are the claims from the same industry insider who accurately leaked the announcements of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled. Off the back of this trailer and fresh round of speculation, they suggest that the mysterious mask and newly-designed Crash are indeed from a new game called Crash Bandicoot Worlds, due out next year.
According to the leaker, the game has been in development under Toys For Bob and Vicarious Visions since October, and that an announcement is coming in December. Oh hey, The Game Awards 2019 are scheduled for December 13th, and host Geoff Keighley always prepares a raft of big announcements and trailers for the show.
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Last year, for example, The Game Awards saw the unveiling of Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled. If you're a Crash fan, I'd mark your calendars now.
Featured Image Credit: ActivisionTopics: Crash Bandicoot, PlayStation, Activision, PS4
