The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning - hands-on

Every once in a while, an aging series needs a shot in the arm. When Spyro the Dragon originally debuted on PlayStation back in 1998, it was a cute platformer that still managed to be enjoyed by young and old alike. Eight years and over a dozen games later, the series has devolved into something mostly for the kids - who, in fact, largely ignore it.

As the title of the game implies, Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning hopes to reverse all that, taking the little purple guy back to his roots and giving the game a fresh infusion of creativity, both in production value and in gameplay design. Spyro's arsenal of maneuvers has grown to include combos and multiple breath weapons, while the design as a whole is a bit darker, more focused on an epic sense of adventure. Most notably, Hollywood talent has been brought in for the voice acting, with Gary Oldman as Ignitus, David Spade as the ever-present Sparx and Elijah Wood as Spyro himself.

In Legend of Spyro's newlyrevisedbackstory, Spyro turns out to be the last remaining dragon egg, saved from certain destruction by Ignitus. Ignitusfloats Spyro down the river, Moses-like, to be discovered and raised by a family of - appropriately enough - dragonflies. While outfrolicking around in the marsh, Spyro and his stepbrother Sparx are attacked by a roving band of uglies, who manage to get the word back to their ugly friends that a young dragon has survived. Stunned to finally learn what he is, Spyro embarks on a quest to uncover his true heritage, and eventually face down with the Dark Master’s most fearsome creation, Cinder.

Along the way, he'll encounter a number of other new challenges. Spyro's trademark headbutt hasn't been replaced so much as expanded upon - physical attacks can be chained together into three-hit combos. His breath weapons - fire, ice, electricity and earth - affect different enemies in different ways, and not every enemy is vulnerable to every kind of attack, which adds a puzzle element to some of the combat. Spyro can also unleash new Fury attacks, which impact every enemy nearby and which are charged up by collecting the series' signature currency: gems (that's right, collecting gems now actually has a purpose).

CATEGORIES
Latest in Action
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
Naoe looks over at a dense, lush, green forest in Assassin's Creed Shadows from a viewpoint
Getting Assassin's Creed Shadows on PS5 and Xbox Series X was all about adding "dynamism" to the open world, but the devs seem most proud about the trees
Naoe and Yasuke walk in the sunset in a screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows
Following Assassin's Creed Shadows controversy, Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director says "every big AAA game could be better," but players shouldn't be mad "just because some dude told you to"
Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted Status
How to remove Wanted status in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
God of War
20 years later, God of War's original monster art has been revealed: behold this army of stick figures slapped on a whiteboard, no clue Kratos is coming for them
Latest in Features
Naoe kills a target with a black and white filter over the camera highlighting the red of blood spray in Assassin's Creed Shadows, with an On The Radar orange frame
Assassin's Creed Shadows "has a little bit of Tarantino flavor", but its real secret ingredient is intrigue: "It's almost like you're watching an episode of Shogun"
Helldivers 2 Borderline Justice Warbond helldiver using hoverpack to shoot down with hunting rifle
Talking points from the Game Developers Conference 2025 and how they could impact the future of gaming
Flexispot E7 Plus with plant, monitor, soundbar, and controller on top next to white wall lighting.
Gaming desks vs regular desks: which surface should you buy?
Google Pixel 9a smartphones on a beige background
One Google Pixel 9a feature could make it a better gaming phone than most budget mainstream models
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Captain Planet #1
Captain Planet is back after 33 years with a "sexy" makeover and a message that's as important as ever: "Reality has gotten a lot less subtle"