The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon review

He's back, but is eighth time the charm?

12DOVE Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Starts off so well

  • +

    Detailed and atmospheric

  • +

    Mostly impressive voice acting

Cons

  • -

    Descends into mindless combat

  • -

    Confusing

  • -

    aimless exploration

  • -

    Lack of in-game hints

Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Ever since Spyro the Dragon first glided onto the PlayStation 10 years ago, he%26rsquo;s been struggling to find solid footing in the platform gaming world. His games have been criticized in the past for being overly complicated for younger gamers yet too childish for older ones. Unfortunately, Dawn of the Dragon is pretty much more of the same.

You know when the very first thing a game chucks at you is a load of enemies followed by a huge God of War-style boss battle involving a giant rock monster attacking you from a pit of lava that Dawn of the Dragon is trying its best to impress. And impress it does. For the most part it%26rsquo;s an extremely detailed and atmospheric game, with some nice graphical set-pieces and the like. The voice-acting%26rsquo;s also impressive for the most part, with Elijah Wood returning to voice the purple lad alongside the likes of Gary Oldman and Christina Ricci. Less likeable is Sparx, Spyro%26rsquo;s dragonfly mate, who used to be a good laugh back in the day, but is now a pain in the arse.

Unfortunately, where the game begins to fall down is on the gameplay side of things. It%26rsquo;s not all bad: the combat system works well and it%26rsquo;s quite easy to string together all sorts of diverse, smoothly-linked combos using a mixture of weak and strong attacks, jumps and grabs. The problem is that the game often decides to chuck hoards of enemies at you in numerous waves and it quickly begins to feel pretty mindless. Even more annoying is the lack of in-game hints. Now, we%26rsquo;re not saying we%26rsquo;re a bad gamer but when a game infuriates us because there%26rsquo;s no indication as to how to defeat a certain boss or get past a certain obstacle, then we can see younger gamers getting pissed off fairly quickly. As in %26lsquo;second level%26rsquo; quickly.

The best thing the game has going for it is the drop in/drop out co-op play, where the second player takes control of Spyro%26rsquo;s companion Cynder. There%26rsquo;s a neat mechanic where both players are bound to each other by a magical force, so it plays out interestingly in the way you must solve puzzles together. For instance, one player can hang onto a ledge on a wall while the other uses the magic %26ldquo;chain%26rdquo; to swing to a new position. It works quite well, even in single-player, when the AI controls Cynder.

This latest Spyro game looks great and has plenty of ambition, and we applaud the developer for trying to make it feel grander and more epic in scale than previous games in the series. We%26rsquo;re just not massively convinced by the confusing and irritating gameplay.

Nov 5, 2008

More info

GenreAction
DescriptionOnce again Spyro can do no better than be too boring and difficult for the kids it wants to sell to, while being too kiddy for adults. On the other hand the drop-in/drop-out co-op is good, and Elijah Wood is good as Spyro's voice actor.
Franchise nameSpyro
UK franchise nameSpyro
Platform"PS3","Xbox 360","Wii","PS2","DS"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+","Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating"7+","7+","7+","7+","7+"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
More
CATEGORIES
Latest in Action
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago"
Beyond the Ice Palace 2
After 37 years, this Commodore 64 classic returns with a new Metroidvania sequel that gives serious old-school Castlevania vibes
Fortnite's Lara croft skin in front of a building
Fortnite has had Tomb Raider's Lara Croft locked away in battle pass exclusivity jail for almost 4 years, but she's reportedly getting a new skin very soon
The Last of Us 2
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann sounds like he's contemplating the end of his career: "When is it time to stop?"
Screenshot of Neil in Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says he chose Death Stranding 2's Solid Snake lookalike because he needed an actor who "would surpass" Mads Mikkelsen
Latest in Reviews
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"
Three SteelSeries QcK Performance mouse pads on a wooden desk
I didn't expect to prefer a coarser mouse pad, but SteelSeries' new QcK Performance range has changed my mind
Boro and Alta sit on a bench together in Wanderstop
Wanderstop review: "Exalting the transformative power of tea"