As often in Skylanders, the indestructible Kaos has set up yet another plan to take over Skylands. In Imaginators, the Master of the Portal will have to deal with the Doomlanders, bosses whose abilities can be boosted in the middle of combat by the main antagonist. If the idea is attractive on paper, the developers of Toys For Bob – who are however far from broken arms – execute it rather poorly. In fact, the level of difficulty is so badly dosed that we will perhaps fight during the first third of the confrontation, before mistreating the golgoth during the next two. Logic would have it to be the opposite; and this imbalance, one observes it from the beginning to the end. Suddenly, it kills the charisma of the Doomlanders when there was probably a way to make them more formidable bosses. It's a shame, because the realization of Skylanders Imaginators is great once again. Afterwards, the developers would still have to look seriously at the animations of the characters, which are a bit rigid at times, but we can understand that the bright colors and certain visual details mask these imperfections. And then, as always, the main campaign is armored with well-done cut scenes, which reinforces this impression of facing an interactive cartoon. In short, without forcing, the game puts all the little ones in the pocket. The older ones will not forget that the main selling point of Imaginators is the possibility of creating your own Skylanders; a bit like Kaos and his Doomlanders, after all. At first, it is a question of choosing the profile of his character among ten classes: Shooter, Sorcerer, Sentinel, Slugger, Swordsman, Archer, Bazooker, Knight, Ninja and Hammer. Then, of course, we can model the physical appearance of our Skylander according to several criteria such as eyes, ears, arms, head, etc.
Extremely effective with children, Skylanders Imaginators is in line with its predecessors with a production rich in colors, overflowing humor, a chiseled French version, and almost inexhaustible content.
The little darlings being the core target of Skylanders, we will also remember the sympathetic fetish phrase that we can assign to the character; the kind of detail to which toddlers are very sensitive. Where things get a bit more serious is when it comes to character gear. Indeed, like RPGs, each object will have an impact on the attack, defense and speed of the Skylander. If some of them make it possible to win in each area, others, on the other hand, favor certain criteria to the detriment of others. It's all about style of play – although that's a big word for Skylanders Imaginators – and you can counterbalance a moldy defense very well with powerful shots, for example. Note that a fourth characteristic is added to the other three: luck. Said like that, this element does not seem super crucial in the evolution of the character, but it is nevertheless this factor which will determine the value of the Imaginite that we will collect. Behind this term hides, in reality, the objects with which we will be able to customize the Skylander. Naturally, not all are in the same boat, and so there are four types of Imaginite: common, rare, epic, and ultimate. The progression of the character will therefore go through a long hunt for Imaginite chests which, sometimes, turns into an obsession, especially when you are lucky enough to have several creation crystals without which the personalized Skylanders cannot come to life. On this subject, it is important to underline that each crystal of creation depends on a well-defined element (Fire, Water, Air, Magic, Earth, Tech, etc.), which already represents a first constraint.
JUST AN ILLUSION
The second is that once we have decided on the class of our character, it will no longer be possible to change it, no matter what. For example, to have all the classes of the Undead element, you will need to obtain about ten creation crystals, the unit price of which is set at €8. In the event that the little one would like to have the full range of customized Skylanders, you can prepare a nice check for 800€. Since we're talking about the devastation that Skylanders Imaginators can do to the wallet, let's point out that the game includes microtransactions to get your hands on Imaginites. The copper chest (3 creation elements) will cost €1,99, while it will cost €4,99 for a mystery chest (9 creation elements). Finally, the price for a platinum chest (20 creation elements) is €9,99. Move of mercy ? Via the Skylanders Creator mobile application - in which we can transfer our creation, and vice versa - options allow us to buy goodies (a t-shirt at 23€, a collectible card at 14€ among others) at the effigy of our Skylander, but also and above all a real figurine capable of working with the Magic Portal. As the other would say, they are very very strong at Activision. With all these pecuniary considerations, we would almost forget that our character has several unlockable attacks as we accumulate experience points. What's handy is that you can change the moves on the fly once they're no longer grayed out; enough to bring some flexibility to the gameplay. Beyond the Skylanders that you can create yourself, there are of course the so-called classic models with the Sensei which are part of the novelties in Imaginators. References for our characters designed from head to toe, they need to spend coins at Persephone in order to improve their attacks, and are also able to unleash a fury to get rid of their opponents in the shortest possible time.
Move of mercy ? Via the Skylanders Creator mobile application - in which we can transfer our creation, and vice versa - options allow us to buy goodies (a t-shirt at 23€, a collectible card at 14€ among others) at the effigy of our Skylander, but also and above all a real figurine capable of working with the Magic Portal.
Skylanders obliges, there are several types of Sensei, and certain areas will not be accessible without the appropriate models. Rest assured, it is quite possible to complete Skylanders Imaginators only with the starter pack, but it is true that it amounts to cutting yourself off from part of the game content which does not last very long in a straight line. If you really have to fall for an extra figurine, we recommend the pack bringing together Crash Bandicoot and Doctor Neo Cortex and which offers the opportunity to explore the Wumpa Islands. A true homage to the 1996 game. Finally, Skylanders Imaginators is also all the perks that punctuate the adventure. We spent a lot of time on the very addictive Clash of Creation, completing the secondary objectives allows you to collect a maximum of Imaginite, and the races introduced in the SuperChargers episode are back. On this last point, we will notice that it is not necessary to place a vehicle on the Magic Portal, since they are automatically contained in the game. Finally, a mark of generosity on the part of Activision.
