Which, if we’re being real here, makes this vision all the more impressive. On that note, I remember reading that the new team built these remakes from the ground up without any of the original source code, allegedly because Insomniac misplaced it (how do you lose a PS1 Greatest Hit?). Even on PS1, these titles were a joy to play, but somehow Toys For Bob has managed to fashion ‘good’ into ‘perfect’. The funny thing is, Spyro never controlled badly, at least in my opinion. Now I want to live in them.Īnd, with a set of controls that rival some of the best 3D platforming has to offer, it’s been routinely difficult to pull myself away from all the amazing eye candy.

I wanted to explore these environments two decades ago. The worlds and stages are, with zero irony here, childlike fantasy made playable. Characters are huge, emotive and evoke CG movie magic. Animations that Insomniac heroically pulled off on the PlayStation have now been amplified tenfold, showcasing tons of nuance and personality. Water effects and reflections are hypnotizing. Truthfully, the graphical overhaul is that good. It’s almost like the PS1 games were just prototypes waiting to be fully realized into current generation masterpieces. Reignited takes that 32-bit ambition and makes each and every asset look like a rudimentary blueprint for the real deal. Back in the late 90s and early 2000s, I thought the original Spyro games-with their pastel shading, panoramic vistas and breathtaking draw distances-were impressive, especially considering the aging hardware they were programmed for. Let’s begin with the visuals: They’re gorgeous.

New spyro game