[STEAM] As a Spyro fan from the '90s, here's what Spyro: A Realm Beyond needs to get right

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When I was a kid, I'd play a handful of games on rotation. Spyro was one of them. Like most seven-year-olds, I was a pretty big fan of dragons and having one front an adventure game was enough to lure me in. I also enjoyed that I could actually play it without having to ask for my parents' help, a real gamechanger for little Grace.

It was simple, really – gliding around, picking up gems, and roasting butterflies to bring back my dragonfly friend, Sparx. It aged well, too, staying in my rotation for an unprecedented amount of time. Almost three decades on (gulp), I've been through a myriad of console generations and developed a taste for different genres. Yet, I still feel like there's a dragon-shaped hole in my heart waiting to be filled.

Imagine my surprise when

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, Spyro: A Realm Beyond, during June's Xbox Games Showcase. That's the same team who remastered the OG titles in the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy and the studio even created a new entry into another of my favorite childhood franchises, ****** Bandicoot.

As excited as I am about the return of my purple fire-breathing friend, one question still hangs over my head. How will Toys for Bob bridge the gap between the much-loved '90s Spyro and the modern world? It's a much less forgiving landscape for games these days and it's also mighty competitive.

Take flight

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(Image credit: Sony)

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In comparison, playing PlayStation in the 1990s was like living off scraps. I'd grab PlayStation Official Magazine to get demos to play on repeat (here's looking at you, Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee). Sure, Toys for Bob successfully remastered the Spyro trilogy, but it also actually made it harder than I remember it being – which was fine for me now, but seven-year-old me would've been mighty sad.

If Spyro: A Realm Beyond wants to appeal to both millennials and Gen Alphas (and the in-betweens), there's a few things I think need to happen. Spyro, at the end of the day, had all the features of a great adventure game from exploration to abundant storytelling to clever mechanics. But, will they translate as well now?

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(Image credit: Toys for Bob) For now, there's not too much to go on. The Xbox Games Showcase reveal lasted just over a minute, with little of the new features on show, although ut there was enough to know one thing for certain. In Spyro: A Realm Beyond you'll be able to

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. In 1998, Spyro glided between areas, but as a little purple dragon, he never flew. Introducing that mechanic to a whole new world of Spyro is a pretty big deal.

But, I think it's equally important for Spyro to stay true to what made it great originally. Take the well-rounded level design and the plentiful movement combinations. And while I didn't spot Sparx in the trailer, I hope to still have a companion that you can love as much as you love Spyro.

"The world needs more radically joyful, colorful games,"

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. And as the trailer demonstrates, there's going to be a whole lot of color and a whole lot of modernization, blending the old with the new.

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If you can't wait for Spyro...

These are the

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out there right now

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