Spyro Reignited Trilogy

This review is a little late and the game has kind of dropped off the radar since its released, but I've been busy with other things. But here we are, so Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a remake of all three of the Spyro the Dragon games that debuted on the original PlayStation. Before playing this game I had only ever played one other game in the series before, I just can't remember which one it was, other than it being a PS1 title.

So I was looking forward to this release since the day it was first announced, I am always up for a platform game of any kind, and they don't come around too often. The announcement trailer was impressive, especially the visuals which were full of bright colours and charm. And that hasn't changed, all three games are absolutely gorgeous, along with the impressive voice-over work. It all culminates in feeling like you're controlling a cartoon in motion.

All three games are 3D platform collectathons, not too dissimilar to a lot of the Nintendo 64 games that were released at the time, Banjo Kazooie is just one example. Each game is split into a number of hub worlds which take you to each of the levels via these portals that are sometimes gated off if you don't have a specific amount of crystals at your disposal. It's these crystals that are the dominant collectable in the levels, you can obtain these through simple exploration, beating mini-games and killing enemies.

The levels are relatively short and broken up into different areas within a single environment, the platforming is simple but effective. There's a bigger emphasis on gradual fun and progression over complicated design and challenge. Seeing as you play as a dragon, you kill enemies by breathing fire and ramming into them. It's rather simple and does the job, but it can also be frustrating, in certain situations it's easy to lose control of Spyro when you're holding down the ram button to sprint, which then makes an otherwise good camera angle lose all sense of proportion.

The relatively short size of the levels was perfect for me, not once did I feel overwhelmed and every single design space was used to its fullest. Which is not the case for most 3D platformers, where intricate level design is replaced by large open worlds with far too many gaps between the actual gameplay moments. Yooka Laylee is a case in point.

The fantasy aesthetics of the levels fit perfectly with the games cartoon visuals, you'll be gliding across castles, taking on dinosaurs and riding a minecart. There is an abundance of imagination that is simply breathtaking.

But for all of this, the core gameplay never really evolves much, you can get new moves that help you traverse the landscape in different ways, but it just feels like you're doing the same thing over and over. The enemies might be different but they all try to kill you in the same way, and while the levels are nice looking they're not particularly memorable from a design point of view. For the most part, the only challenge is in spite of the game, which does bring me onto the boss battles which were the hardest part. Which is to be expected I suppose, boss fights should be tough, but the difficulty spike in these games really took me by surprise.

There are a lot of mini games thrown into the mix as well, most of these were timed missions where you'll have to fly through rings. A particular skateboard mission was a delight in the second game. Individually all three games were thoroughly enjoyable, but nothing special outside of the way they looked. If you play each one in succession, as I did, you notice that each game is nigh on identical to one another.

Spyro Reignited is a glorious remake of three decent platformers with plenty of content. Although I don't have the nostalgia for them others have, it was a pleasure getting the chance to play them with a new coat of paint. Fans of the franchise would be foolish not to pick this up, and for those unfamiliar to it, the trilogy of games are pure fun and different to other titles that have been released in the latter quarter of the year. I'd also recommend this for a children under the age of eleven, an often forgotten gaming audience.  


7/10

Ralph Breaks the Internet review

Running time: 1 hour and 52 minutes


Ralph Breaks the internet is a sequel to Disney's Wreck it Ralph (2012), an excellent animated movie about a video game character that lives inside of an arcade machine. The idea was wonderfully flipped because Ralph is a villain with a kind personality, who's voiced brilliantly by John C. Reilly. Outside of the beautiful animation and fun concept, the characters were an abundance of innocent charm. It was also a nostalgia throwback with some of gaming's biggest names making cameo appearances.

We return to Litwak's Arcade where a new Wifi system has been installed, but it's strictly off limits to those inside of the arcade machines. Ralph and Venellope (Sarah Silverman) decide to venture inside of the internet when the steering wheel to Venellope's game, Sugar Rush, breaks off. With only one left, they have to find a way of raising over twenty seven thousand dollars to buy it on ebay before the machine is sent away for scrap parts.

The classic videogame character cameos return from the first movie, but aside from Sonic the hedgehog and Zangief from Street fighter, most are just there in the background. The futuristic looking world of the Internet is ablaze with visual elegance, where everyone on the outside world has their own small avatar that lives out the choices they make on the world wide web.

As Ralph and Vennelope go from one misadventure to the next, the movie does a good job of making gags about modern society's obsession with wanting to be liked on social media, and the popularity of click-bait videos. Without being overly mocking.

But the movie does get far too busy in the last third of its run time, and for all of its heart and warmth, the plot is a little all over the place with stuff just happening to service the characters. There is also a gross and questionable amount of self promotion when the characters visit a Disney themed website in the internet world. We get storm troopers and just about every other Disney character clog up the screen for an entire five minute period of time. It all serves a purpose but it did feel like it was included for the sake of it.

But it's the two leads that elevate the whole experience, the pair are perfectly voiced, giving the characters a sense of optimism and levity in an otherwise emotional narrative. Their friendship feels real, and the two different personalities bounce off of one another to create an unlikely but wholesome duo. One particular moment was heart wrenching but delightfully silly at the same time.

Ralph Breaks the Internet could have been better, it lacks the pacing and story of the first movie. But it's still a thoroughly enjoyable piece of entertainment that's worth going to see if you liked the first one, or even if you're willing to spend the money to take the kids or the family out at the weekend.

3.5/5