Okay I worked out one of the problems I was having with Yooka Laylee.

This lizard unlocks your moves for a price, but you have the choice of what order you get them in.

However if you pick the moves further down the list, you don't pick up important moves. These aren't explained to you, so you amble up to inert objects in the levels that you can't interact with. And the game doesn't tell you why or what you need to do.

Once I just unlocked everything more options opened up. It's still an average game but is a tolerable time waster.

I find it much more playable in portable mode, feels more appropriate to this kind of old game style.