Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is a platformer title that serves as a retcon of the games that initially succeeded Crash Bandicoot: Warped. It was developed by Toys for Bob (with help from Beenox) and published by Activision. Despite its name, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is the eighth installment of the main Crash Bandicoot series. The game was first released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2020, and was later released for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, the Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows in 2021.

Story
Following their defeat at the hands of Crash Bandicoot in Crash Bandicoot: Warped, Uka Uka attempts to bust himself, Dr. Neo Cortex, and Dr. N. Tropy from their prison in the past. His latest effort tears open a hole in the fabric of space and time and puts him in a deep sleep due to exhaustion. Cortex and N. Tropy swiftly escape, leaving Uka Uka, and discover that the rift they use links their universe to the rest of the multiverse, leading them deciding to make use of it to conquer all dimensions. To ensure success, the pair creates a generator capable of opening other space-time rifts and recruit aid from Dr. N. Gin and Dr. N. Brio to provide an army in anticipation of their enemies' interference. Meanwhile, Aku Aku, Uka Uka's older twin brother, senses the disturbance in space and time emanating from N. Sanity Peak and enjoins Crash to investigate. Upon arriving, he comes across Lani-Loli, whom Aku Aku recognizes as one of the Quantum Masks – four ancient witch doctor masks that have great power over space and time, and who would only appear if something has opened up the multiverse. Lani spots a rift and suspects there is suspense, leading to Crash and his sister Coco agreeing to follow him across the multiverse and find the other Quantum Masks, while dealing with the anarchy Cortex is creating.

During their adventures, the pair meet an alternate version of Tawna, Crash's old girlfriend, who offers her help while undertaking an adventure of her own. At the same time, Dingodile, who was recently retired from villainy to run his own restaurant, finds himself caught up in the chaos when his business is burned down by a rival restaurant and he is sucked into another dimension by a spacial disruption. While Dingodile does not interact with Crash's adventure at first, his actions inadvertently assist Crash and Coco at various points in space and time. Crash and Coco find two more of the Quantum Masks, named 'Akano and Kupuna-Wa, and defeat N. Gin and N. Brio. Following their confrontation against Cortex, N. Tropy betrays him and reveals that he and his new partner (eventually revealed to be an alternate version of himself from Tawna's universe) are seeking to reset the timeline in all dimensions as gods. They put all existence in turmoil and plan to subsequently erase Cortex, the bandicoots, and the Masks from existence. A mad Cortex agrees to team up with the bandicoots and the three rescue the last Quantum Mask, Ika-Ika, and eventually meet up with Dingodile and Tawna. Together, the team successfully tracks down and defeat the two doctors and the Quantum Masks destroy the Rift Generator, sealing all the space-time disruptions.

However, when the group takes a celebratory trip to Neon City, Cortex accidentally kidnaps Kupuna-Wa and uses her powers to travel back in time to 1996—the year of his original bid for world domination—in an attempt to preclude Crash's creation. In the end, he is unsuccessful in both convincing his past self to cancel the experiment and killing the present Crash, Coco and Aku Aku, who followed him from the future. When the Quantum Masks banish him to the end of the universe, the past Cortex proceeds with the experiment, preparing to brainwash the past Crash with the Cortex Vortex; the present Crash inadvertently destroys the Vortex's power source, causing it to malfunction and fail to brainwash his past self, thereby ensuring his own creation thanks to a casual loop. Dingodile rebuilds and reopens his diner, Cortex relaxes on a beach and enjoys the peace and quiet, and Crash, Coco, Tawna, Aku Aku and the Quantum Masks play video games at their home on N. Sanity Island. Following an epilogue narrated by Crash detailing the fates and whereabouts of the game's characters, Cortex's relaxation is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Uka Uka.

Playable

 * Crash Bandicoot
 * Coco Bandicoot
 * Tawna Bandicoot
 * Dingodile
 * Dr. Neo Cortex

Bosses

 * Dr. N. Gin
 * Dr. N. Brio
 * Dr. Neo Cortex
 * Dr. N. Tropy
 * Dr. N. Tropy (female)

Levels

 * N. Sanity Island, Present Day
 * The Hazardous Wastes, 2084
 * Salty Wharf, 1717
 * Tranquility Falls, 1402
 * Mosquito Marsh, A Few Days Ago
 * The 11th Dimension, 1954
 * Eggipus Dimension, 88 Million B.C.B
 * Bermugula's Orbit, ???
 * The Sn@xx Dimension, 3023
 * Cortex Island, 1996

Chronology placement
It's About Time is set in alternate timeline following the events of the first three games, while all other mainline titles, including a couple of Crash GBA spin-off games, are retconned in its place. Despite its placement, some characters who do not appear physically, like Crunch Bandicoot and Nina Cortex, have a visual cameos.