Skylanders: Imaginators

Skylanders as a series holds a lot of nostalgia for me. I got the first game for Christmas when it came out, and played the series for years with my dad and brothers. In that time, we collectively amassed nearly 200 figures, all of which I recently rediscovered. Aching to relive that nostalgia, but not wanting to glue myself to a couch, I decided to play the only game in the series to make it to the Nintendo Switch. As the last game in the series, I expected some changes and growth in Skylanders Imaginators that would bring the series to a new level, but I was surprised to find that it really just rehashed the story and mechanics of the first two entries, while adding light platforming of Swap Force.

Like every other game in the series, Skylanders Imaginators asks you to protect the Skylands from the immature, power-hungry villain, Kaos. Instead of doing this with a set player-character, you can play as any one of the Skylanders released throughout the lifetime of the franchise, as long as you have the respective figure. However, any character other than those released alongside this game was severely nerfed, so much so that the later levels are practically unplayable with a legacy collection of toys. This was disappointing, but the new characters I collected were fun enough, so I was able to get over it.

Once your Skylander is in the game, what ensues is a fairly simple brawler with puzzle elements. You just beat up bad guys, push blocks, and pick locks as you progress through the story, which is truthfully more fun than I made it sound. As with each Skylanders game, Imaginators has a central gimmick to try and make its toys more fun than the older ones, which, in this case, was the ability to create your own Skylanders. As you play the game, you'll collect body parts, gear, and weapons that can be combined to make some pretty neat custom creations. You're unfortunately limited to humanoid body styles, and the toys themselves are pretty generic and boring, but I actually had more fun playing as my customized character than as any of the new official Skylanders, so I'm not too mad about it.

Once you boil it all down, Imaginators can seem like just another soulless rehash in an annual series, like the Madden's and Call of Duty's we all know. However, there's a kind of magic to the color, humor, and imagination (forgive me) that gets packed into each Skylanders game but passes over the other annual money-pushers. It's clear to me that this isn't a game for everyone, but for people like me who don't mind if something is kid-friendly, this can be a pretty solid way to spend a few hours.

Although the game is no longer being distributed, you can learn more about it here (as of 12/27/21): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylanders:_Imaginators

Popular posts from this blog

Meow Tower: Nonogram Pictogram

Image
I seem to have a thing for mobile games about cats, and I am a huge fan of Nintendo 's Picross series. Normally those two interests don't overlap, but Meow Tower changed that. Combining the fun of befriending cute cartoon cats and solving intricate number puzzles hooked me immediately. While it's technically not a Picross game, seeing as that is a Nintendo trademark, the nonogram puzzles are still the same, and I loved being able to play them on my phone. Granted, there have been plenty of options to play these kinds of puzzles on the phone for years, but Meow Tower  sets itself apart from the rabble thanks to its stellar aesthetic. The developers behind this game are true artists. While it's a solid, straightforward nonogram game at its core, Meow Tower just looks so much better to play than any of the numerous generic options that crowd the app stores. The bubbly sticker-book style used for the art and menus gives Meow Tower a lot of charm and personality from t
Read more

Space Lich Omega

Image
Inspired by the ever popular Candy Box and Candy Box 2 , Space Lich Omega is an browser-based RPG adventure with an almost entirely ASCII display. However, it chose to step away from the established fantasy style of it's inspiration for a more science-fantasy theme. I ended up having a fun time with this game, despite its need for a little polish, thanks to the unique story and hilarious pop-culture Easter eggs that can be discovered throughout the different explorable locations. Despite the crude-ish interface, I never had any trouble navigating throughout the game. I actually ended up beating it in a relatively short time, especially when I had my gunk production going all out, allowing me to jump my health up enormously. Although I did need to do a little grinding every now and then for an item that I missed, that didn't interfere with my enjoyment too much. Ultimately, this is no Candy Box , but it still has its merits and is worth playing if you ever find yourself in
Read more

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Image
Reusing game engines has proven to be pretty popular in the Zelda series. It offers developers a chance to craft more experimental and risky games, as the initial investment on the engine was covered by the previous, more traditional release. As a huge fan of A Link Between Worlds , I was ecstatic to learn it was getting a pseudo-follow-up. My excitement only grew when Nintendo sent me an early-access demo, and I somehow had no concerns that this was another multiplayer-focused game, despite my preference for solo play. Since the previous multiplayer Zelda games had pretty functional single-player modes, I anticipated that I could expect the same here. Unfortunately, that wasn't an entirely accurate assumption. Like its predecessors , Tri Force Heroes is level-based in order to accommodate its multiplayer focus. All of the stages are designed like dungeons, so they hold up really well for puzzle-solving challenges, but they lack a lot of the same charm you can find in Four Swor
Read more