Spyro Reignited Trilogy Review

"Burning all the Grass"

Campaign

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy is a beautiful remastered package that contains three iconic entries from the franchise. These are individual games that have been piled together through a hub menu selection and have all been updated to provide a cohesive experience. The included releases are Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage! and Spyro: Year of the Dragon which were all originally created by Insomniac. With this particular package they've been revamped from the ground up to stunning results. This is a special release as we get to once again witness the thrills of this friendly dragon that's very appropriate for all ages to enjoy.

The little fire breather feels authentic to the original design while providing a wonderful new visual style. That aside, the narrative itself is interesting as the three games provide a cohesive take. In the first release you're attempting to free dragons, collect gems and battle back against this one individual. The sequel has you once again collecting gems and doing so in new ways as your moves have been leveled up. This second release has you tasked with collecting special artifacts after just trying to get a vacation in.

The third entry is once again about collecting dragons, but in the forms of eggs this time while also grabbing those gems. It would appear a kingdom needs the magic back and wacky folks are behind this. There's a nice sense of evolution between the releases as you start to swim, are able to buy special things and enjoy expanded environments.

Gameplay

The visuals are gorgeous in this and that same distinct style is carried across the releases. It looks fantastic as you scorch the breezing grass, hop across vast backdrops and charge head first into any dangerous creature that gets in your way. It's a simple platformer so don't expect anything too challenging, but they do get more creative as you play through the various titles. They further expand upon the core experience as well with the worlds becoming more dense with content while also having a larger scope to them.

There are of course secrets to discover and little mini games that can be played if you hit up the right spot of the map. In general you're moving through open hub areas and then hopping into portals to face off against fresh enemies and various biomes. The Spyro titles certainly feature a plethora of environments and differing challenges to each of them. There are also ways to easily move between worlds and levels, right from the menu guidebook. For those that have a desire to collect things, there are tons of gems and other similar items to lust for throughout.

When it comes to the Spyro Reignited Trilogy Xbox One X enhancement I felt they could have done a bit more with the resolution. There was also a weird mix of in-game and pre-rendered cinematics as you could see there was a slight quality drop. It still looks gorgeous, but I felt they could have achieved more with the games in terms of visuals.

The Conclusion

Spyro Reignited Trilogy brings back a beloved character with visual enhancements that truly delivers across three classic and now cohesive titles. The art style really does shine here with a selection of games that feel similar and look the same which works so well for making this one large package. I was rather impressed to revisit these past worlds, but in what felt like a brand new game. It handles very well presenting some sharp moves for the little purple dragon and it was just fun.

It's purely enchanting and a splendid time as Spyro prances across lovely fields of grass to then incinerate enemies. There are a wide range of worlds to explore, plenty of collectibles to find and of course three separate narratives to experience. They're standalone, yet do work well together since they were direct sequels. This is a lovely package for all ages and it's great to see this classic character return in such a vibrant way.

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Spyro Reignited Trilogy Review on Xbox One X
Review Code Provided by Activision

Rating Overall: 8.5