Skylanders Imaginators Review

Skylanders refuses to quit iterating on their solid foundation, and comes out with one of their best ‘gimmicks’ yet.

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Imaginators, for the first time in Skylanders history, flummoxed me. As I stood staring at the new bay at my local store and tried to understand the new myriad systems of Sensei figures, imagination crystals, blind-buy treasure chest bags and a whole host of new, colourful figures, I was stumped as to how it all fit together. More than ever this year will be a tricky one for parents trying to comprehend the new gadgets their kids are screaming for.

But, for me, at least, once I opened up the new starter pack and began playing, it all started to make sense.

Story:

Skylanders Imaginators is, as always, about all-around loveable bad guy Kaos trying to take over the Skylands. Sure, he can create his own bad guys (Doomlanders) in the same way you can create Skylanders, but for the most part this is all standard fare.

I don’t know if Skylanders ever needs to do more than this, but I sure would like to see them try. It’s an especially appealing idea because, with every game, the Skylanders storytelling formula gets more and more confident. Cutscenes are now a laugh riot for kids (and I’m not ashamed to admit I found myself guffawing along to more than a couple of the jokes) and everything is animated and acted beautifully.

If developer Toys for Bob really put their minds to it, I truly believe this series could offer something very special that can’t be found elsewhere, especially for younger gamers.

Gameplay:

The core of Imaginators is the same platforming beat-em-up we’ve been playing for six generations of Skylanders games now. This isn’t a bad thing: Skylanders has a good mix of simplistic puzzle solving, platform leaping and engaging, colourful fights that will keep kids entertained for many more generations to come, I’d wager. For more intrepid explorers there’s the usual wealth of secrets, collectibles and bonus challenges, all of which are satisfying to hunt down or best.

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The reoccurring annoyance of some of these being locked behind specific elemental doors and the like rears its head here, but no one was expecting this to go away. This is how Activision are able to sell dozens of characters to any one child, because of all that bonus content locked behind it.

The new hook with Imaginators is right there in the title: Kids are able to put an Imagination crystal onto the Portal of Power and craft their very own Skylander. At its announce I was apprehensive about just how ‘customizable’ these things would be, but as I’ve found out over the last week this character customization suite is HUGE. I’m hesitant to agree with the hyperbolic ‘the possibilities are limitless’ but if you can think it up, chances are you can make it. There’s a ton of bits and pieces to craft your very own Skylander out of, and as you make your way through the game you’ll unlock even more options to tweak your Skylanders with.

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If you’re anything like me, you and your kids will connect with your creations in a way you never did with the prebuilt figures of the past. That’s not to say they’re useless now – they can unlock extra abilities for your creations and some of this year’s range are some of my all-time favourite designs from Skylanders – but I found myself definitely favouring the creations that I’d personally crafted and perfected over the hours.

Good

  • Incredible customization
  • Looks and sounds brilliant

Bad

  • Story isn’t as ambitious as it could be
  • Expensive to start, expensive to continue
8.3

Great

Story - 8
Graphics - 8.5
Sound - 9
Gameplay - 8.5
Value - 7.5
Reviewer - GamerKnights

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