The members of the Beetalion each give Yooka and Laylee an extra hit point for use on the final level, the eponymous "Impossible Lair".

[6] Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair was developed by Playtonic Games, a studio composed of former Rare employees.

[11][10][12][13] IGN gave the game a glowing review, calling it an "excellent modernized spin on the 2D platformer".

Destructoid's Brett Makedonski, while having overall enjoyed the game, describing the levels and controls as "not innovative" and "good enough".

[23] Hayden Dingman of PC World found the game's difficulty too "taxing" to be enjoyable, giving it 3/5 stars.