The combination of beautiful per-pixel motion blur and supremely high-quality animation work is just perfect. Character models are supremely detailed and super expressive it almost looks close to pre-rendered CGI animation in places. The games have been rebuilt from the ground up using Unreal Engine 4, unlike the Crash Bandicoot Trilogy, but the results are just as gorgeous, if not more so. Toys for Bob's visual overhaul is something else, however. This is very much a retro throwback, and the stages, story beats and flow of the game remain unchanged. But that's not to say it's a modern game - far from it. Reignited plays better than the originals, thanks to smoother and more responsive controls and a camera that can be controlled with the right stick - it simply feels more modern and polished. Spyro Reignited delivers exactly what you would expect: faithful versions of the three Insomniac Spyro games with a complete visual overhaul and a lot of gameplay tweaks. Insomniac also used some clever tricks to circumvent some of the PlayStation's weaknesses and run the game without distance fog - a common performance-saving technique at the time - which meant it could match Mario's crystal-clear, colourful look.īut after turning out two sequels in two consecutive years, Insomniac turned its back on Spyro for good, and no developer since has really managed to nail the classic Spyro experience - until now.

Spyro was designed with free roaming in mind, and although the stages were small compared to Mario 64, they were still impressively large for the hardware. Many believed this style of game would be impossible on PlayStation, but Insomniac set out to disprove that myth - and succeeded. Meanwhile, Sony was looking for more family-friendly games for PlayStation as well as a counter to the revolutionary Super Mario 64, which had upended expectations of what a 3D game could be with its massive levels and open-ended style.

It couldn't be more different from Spyro, but that's the point - the studio had proven its talent but was looking for a new audience.

Developer Insomniac was coming off the back of its first release, a technically impressive and critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful first-person shooter for PlayStation called Disruptor. If you grew up with a PlayStation in the late 90s, chances are you have fond memories of Spyro. Spyro Reignited Trilogy brings Insomniac's three Spyro The Dragon games to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in a visually lush conversion by industry veteran Toys for Bob - the studio responsible for classic games such as Star Control 2 as well as the Skylanders series. Following the immense success of last year's Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy, Activision has wasted little time in resurrecting another fondly remembered 90s platforming hero for modern consoles.

First spyro game