Skylanders: Imaginators

Skylanders Imaginators is saved by its focus on character customisation.

Skylanders Imaginators is rich with customisation options, and a genuine sense of fun makes this a brilliant addition to the series.

A strange deviation from the traditional, action-figured based formula that succeeds in rewarding players, but comes up short in story, levels, and collectability

Even with a few uninspired stages, Skylanders Imaginators manages to nail the childlike whimsy of the beat-'em-up genre so many of us grew up with. It's still a blast with friends, and even more-so now that you can share your creations and tweak them together. The series has shown signs of slowing down in recent years here and there, but it's not done yet.

After a dozen hours romping around the Skylands with Faemily, Seamusbot, Archer Rex, Bird Kirkilton and Dadcat Robot, it feels like I’ve made the game my own. This is my Skylanders.

The overall experience at the centre of all Skylanders: Imaginators' toys and loot chests is so charming and feature-rich that kids will enjoy it and adults won't begrudge playing it alongside them. If you don't mind the potentially large financial undertaking that a Skylanders game represents, then this is perfect for younger players. The return of Crash is also good value; it's simply heartening to see that the 90s mascot feels at home in a modern platformer.

While the Wii U version is undoubtedly inferior to the PS4 and Xbox One offerings in terms of presentation, there's no denying that the Skylanders Imaginators offers a lot of value thanks to its character creation mode. While some might argue that this focus on virtual creatures goes against the tactile experience so beloved of toys to life players, it's an interesting new direction for a series which needed a change to maintain consumer interest. If you're a long-standing follower of Skylanders then you'll find a lot to like here.

Maybe as a result of the sheer growing mass of Skylanders games, though, the level design here is particularly uninspired. Most maps are simple A-to-B affairs, with some simplistic puzzles dotting the landscape. It carries some legacy issues, like the frustratingly slow block-pushing puzzles, and the inability to easily read ahead when characters are slowly delivering their dialogue points. Plus the central hub, called M.A.P.S., is a bit more confusing than most of the past hub worlds, since it consists of several floating islands without obvious paths between them.

The sixth installment of Activision's Skylanders toys-to-life series just might be the best one yet.

Skylanders Imaginators remains the same great game on Nintendo Switch as it was on other consoles, but with a few drawbacks and additions.