Spyro Reignited Trilogy: PS4 Review

Spyro Reignited Trilogy: PS4 Review

Released by Activision
Platform: PS4

Everything old is new again.

What with the
release of the PlayStation Classic console, Crash Bandicoot, remasters of the likes of Tetris and WipeOut, PlayStation's gone back to the late 90s in a wave of nostalgia.

Unsurprisingly joining this party is Toys For Bob's rehash of the three Spyro The Dragon games.

For those unfamiliar with the purple dragon, The Reignited Trilogy brings together Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon; all of which were originally developed by Insomniac Games, with music from The Police drummer Stewart Copeland.

And it's pertinent to note that your nostalgia's not been messed with either, with level layouts and item locations the same as they were in the first games some two decades ago.

But what Toys for Bob has done is given the whole thing a spit and polish.

Spyro feels more formed and kind of cutesy than he did originally, his purple skin given a fleshy feel and a lick of paint which is both fluid and eye-catching. The camera motion issues which irritated in the originals still lingers though, making portions of the jumping and reaching higher up difficult to negotiate.

At its heart, this is a nostalgia raid on your heart - and in all honesty, the platforming is fairly simple with the cutesy edges you need to feel like you're pulling on an old jumper locked away in the back of the cupboard for years and only recently rediscovered.

If you're not a fan of the originals or have never even played them, there's still much to adore here. Simply put, The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is solely about platfom gaming, and given the simplicity with which it's executed here, it's endlessly playable whether you're new to it or not.

A few minor niggles with the camera aside, Toys for Bob has turned The Spyro Reignited Trilogy into a nice cosy remaster - it shines when it should in its HD coat, and also reminds you of why the games from 20 years ago still work - they're about playability, not sophistication and show that inclusivity comes in all forms and doesn't need you to work at it to enjoy.