I was created by he who calls himself Portal Master. He created everything I am today, from the size of my muscles to the tone of my voice. I wouldn’t exist without the help of the Portal Master, I am thankful for his time but I’m wondering why I woke up in such a violent world. This world of Skylanders isn’t at peace, I must defeat a lot of others while I’m still learning how to use new skills. Lucky for me, there are plenty of wise sensei, willing to teach me secret skills.
A new year, a new Skylanders
Like many other franchises, Skylanders returns right in time for the Holiday season. Where a lot of other franchises offer the same experience over and over again, Skylanders always tries to do something different with a new release. Last year, we were introduced to races in the Skylanders universe, this year we can do something a lot of fans have been asking for right from the start, we can finally create our own Skylander! Well, not really a Skylander but an Imaginator.
You can start the game with the creation of your own Imaginator. In order to do so, you’ll have a lot of menus with a lot of possibilities. Everything you see and hear can be changed using the enormous creator. Before I knew it, I was losing myself in the options in search of the perfect hero for my adventures. The best part about the creator is perhaps even the ability to change the voice and personality of your new hero. Just like the aesthetics, there are a lot of voice options and a lot of extra unlockable. During your adventure, you´ll be able to gain more options to customize your hero. The best part about it all is that you can change the appearance of your hero anytime you want, with just one push of the button, you´ll jump back into the editor in no time, enabling you to constantly improve your hero.
Don’t want to create? Invite a Sensei over!
So now that you’re able to create your own Imaginator, you might wonder if Activision is dropping the whole toys-to-life idea since you can’t buy your own Imaginator in stores. Well, you don’t need to worry about that since Activision added the Sensei to keep their toys-to-life market going. The Sensei are famous characters, both good or evil, that you can use in the game. If you get the Starters pack, you’ll get Master King Pen and the Golden Queen to start with. Not only will you control the Sensei once it is scanned, each Sensei will also increase the maximum level of your Imaginator (max level is 20) and will unlock a certain skill for your Imaginator. Depending on the class of your hero, you’ll gain a specific skill to aid you in combat. There are a lot of well-known Sensei but there are three really special ones, worth mentioning:
Kaos: Revealed at Gamescom for the first time and a true surprise is the addition of Kaos as Sensei and playable character. Kaos has always been the nemesis of the Skylanders but due to some weird twists of faith, he ends up helping the Imaginators. The reason why is because Kaos created a clone of himself that needs to be stopped no matter the cost. Needless to say, Kaos is a very powerful character since he’s the only one able to perform attacks from every class. This means you can combine a nice set of attacks into one big combo. Each Sensei also has a special attack, Kaos transforms into a giant laser-shooting flying head, raining down madness on his enemies. He feels overpowered for sure but it’s a great character to control.
Crash Bandicoot: The second important Sensei is Crash Bandicoot, to celebrate his anniversary, the former PlayStation mascot decided to join this Skylanders game as a guest. The developers really honored the original character and made sure they added all of his signature moves. There’s something great about scanning that amazing new figurine and seeing the iconic character come back to life after all those years. It’s a very nostalgic trip that only got bigger thanks to the special Thumpin’ Wanda Islands level. This level is an homage to the original game and it feels great to play it as Crash. You are allowed to play the level with other characters but you’ll miss out on certain Crash exclusive missions. Bringing back Crash and the Wanda Islands is perhaps the best thing about this Imaginators.
Dr. Neo Cortex: A Bandicoot reunion without the nemesis wouldn’t be a true reunion right? No need to worry since Dr. Neo Cortex also made the jump to Skylanders as a Sensei. He’s using his guns as main weapon so you’ll need a different kind of strategy playing as him but it’s a lot of fun without a doubt. His special attack enables him to bring down the thunder on his opponents, leaving the opponents wishing they never crossed paths.
The return of Crash Bandicoot
This return of Crash Bandicoot truly is amazing and it really feels like a traditional Crash Bandicoot game rather than a Skylanders game. While playing as Crash, I noticed just how close the two franchise are when you look at the gameplay alone. Like I would have done in any other Skylanders game, I was jumping around as Crash, beating enemies and crates to get special items and fought some bosses from time to time. It’s a fun experience and it will leave you behind wanting for more, I’m sure the Crash Bandicoot remaster will bring a lot of joy next year! The only problem about this Crash Bandicoot return is that the figurines are PlayStation exclusive, meaning you can’t enjoy the iconic return if you’re playing on a different platform. If you’re able to pick a platform, go for the PlayStation 4 version and buy the Crash Bandicoot pack, this one will result in the most fun without a doubt.
A lot of content
That being said, this new Skylanders game does offer a lot of content on every platform. It’s the perfect adventure game for young and old and I’m sure every type of gamer can find some kind of enjoyment in games like these. The gameplay hasn’t changed that much, meaning you’ll still run around in 3D environments, discovering secrets, solving puzzles and defeating enemies. Bosses also make a return but have some balance issues. Some bosses are extremely easy to defeat while others will take multiple tries. During boss battles, you’ll be interrupted by the Kaos clone a lot, shouting some random stuff towards the player. It’s fun at first but it starts to get annoying rather fast.
Skylanders: Imaginators also includes the popular races that were introduced earlier and those are still playable in local co-op, a nice extra if you ask us! Of course, a Skylanders game wouldn’t be a Skylanders game without the extra figurines. Just like the other games, you’ll be able to get a lot of extra figurines in stores. These unlock new paths and new challenges, meaning you can’t see everything if you don’t own every figurine. You’re never forced to get all of those figurines but it’s still rather frustrating if you can’t advance because you don’t own the right figurine. Smart marketing but frustrating gaming experience from time to time!
Conclusion:
Skylanders Imaginators is another great entry in the Skylanders franchise. By giving the players the option to create their own character, this is the most personal Skylanders ever. It offers a lot of fun thanks to the new missions and new playable Sensei characters. The PlayStation 4 version even includes the great return of Crash Bandicoot and Dr. Neo Cortex, which is really amazing! If you enjoyed previous Skylanders games, you’ll adore this one. If you never played one before, this might be the perfect gift to get this Holiday season.
8/10
Nintendo Switch version (written by Timmy)
Having a portable Skylanders, when I first realized it was happening thanks to the Nintendo Switch, man, I was excited! I personally love the Skylanders games, having played the previous installment on the Wii U for way too many hours, Super chargers is one of my all time faves on the console, I knew I had to wait to play Imaginators until the Switch version was out so I could just take it anywhere. I was one of the lucky few who got the console early, aside from the Zelda game, this was the second game I bought. Ok, so I was lucky and unlucky at the same time, as the game indicates, the manual can be found online, but I couldn’t find em before the official release. Now I can hear you ask, why does this matter? Who reads manuals anyway, right? Well, I had to, I was unlucky enough to just take my Switch with me, having scanned all my Skylanders once, I thought I was ready to go. But alas! When I was at work, I tend to play during my
Ok, so I was lucky and unlucky at the same time, as the game indicates, the manual can be found online, but I couldn’t find it before the official release. Now I can hear you ask, why does this matter? Who reads manuals anyway, right? Well, I had to, I was unlucky enough to just take my Switch with me, having scanned all my Skylanders once, I thought I was ready to go. But alas! When I was at work, I tend to play during my 1-hour break at noon, I found myself without playable Skylanders in the game. Finally figuring out you need to scan the figures twice to really save them to the system. Another fact that kinda bummed me out, you get no support for traps or vehicles and while this is quite a big change compared to the Wii U version, it did not hinder my gameplay at all. The main point, this is a great game, kids will love it and being able to play this anywhere now, for me, this is a dream come true!
