What I want from Skylanders 5, and more

In my last rambling, I let loose some steam on the state of things in the toys-to-life market. The subject is one of increasing passion for me, as not long ago I was unexpectedly sucked into a Portal of Power and wound up with about 50 Skylander figurines, not including those of my girlfriend's. I've yet to recover, but that doesn't seem to cause me any distress. The series is a fantastic co-op experience, though local only and limited to just a pair of players. As her and I were already enthusiastic about toy collecting, the match was easily made. Others like us have come to know something about this genre of plastic baubles that outsiders just don't understand: There's something intangibly captivating about putting a toy on a pedestal and watching it animate on the screen before you.

image credit: Thelostlighthouse.com

Every character looks, plays, even sounds completely different from the other. The fun is derived from mining the kaleidoscopic variety of creatures and discovering all their idiosyncrasies. And it's a concept that could work brilliantly amongst a wealth of fictional universes, but has frustratingly failed on that promise in all but one case.

With the reveal of Disney Infinity 3.0, that might start to change. The company is recruiting outside help to remedy the mediocre gameplay mechanics and lacking selection of playsets, while continuing to make it easier for players to use the Toy Box to quickly turn a blank slab into something bustling and fun. While it looks as though they're paying attention to criticisms with previous entries, my judgement remains reserved for now until we see more proof.

Lego Dimensions is trying to drum up similar excitement with announcements for future content in the pipe, wielding widely appealing licenses like Jurassic World, The Simpsons, and Scooby-Doo, while also catering to adult nerds with more eccentric tastes via Doctor Who, and Valve's Portal 2. They're also not shy about taking pot-shots at the big guys with comments like:

"Future expansion pack purchases will continue to work with the Lego Dimensions Starter Pack, even in the fall of next year. No Compatibility Chart necessary."

Ouch! But it's refreshing to hear them talk about the simplicity of their TTL line-up, a goal other makers, especially Disney, could take notes on. They've also been keeping their guns loaded with gameplay trailers at a steady clip, including this one:

Which just tugs on nerd heartstrings like mine with ruthless abandon.

But one fact remains: Skylanders is still the king to beat. Earlier this year I found myself with a few figures, because they looked cool and were on sale, and why not? Then I had a Trap Team Starter Pack, and after finishing the story and most of the content a few months later, I'm well on the way to finishing Swap Force now too. Soon the next game will be upon us, and while virtually no details have been revealed as of yet, we do have this one, unfinished prototype figure to look to for a taste of what's to come.

If that figure's any indication, the designs and sculpts of Skylanders 5 will continue the franchise trend of increasing quality and creativity. And I'm excited. Before long I'll run out of Skylanders to buy, and game content to parse through (leaving alone Spyro's Adventure and Giants which are a notable step back in the presentation quality compared to the two most recent entries). I'll need a new game, and new figures to satisfy this insatiable hunger I now have for Skylands heroes.

Without any concrete information, except the assurance the game exists and will be out at the expected time this year, there's only speculation to keep fans going. And wishlists. So here's mine!

Improved Graphics
With Trap Team's introduction, all the new features and gameplay possibilities couldn't hide one inescapable flaw: The game just didn't look as good as Swap Force. The texture quality, shaders, lighting techniques, and sheer detail in the environments all took a step back from the last game, a disappointing fact that should never be the case in an annualized series.

Longer Levels
Another advantage Swap Force had over its newer brother was in the length of its levels. You were immersed in each varied environment for much longer, soaking in the character of their designs, and being exposed to more types of areas and features. You could take a moment of your day to play through one level, and feel satisfied that you've had your fill until next time.

More Challenging, Less Filler Gameplay
Once again harping on a flaw of Trap Team, the overuse of tedious block pushing, ball rolling, or... *shudder* crane pick-up segments did nothing but waste time and attempt to poorly mask the short length of its levels. Gameplay, aside from some of the bosses, was also noticeably less challenging, with somewhat fewer combat sections than seemed appropriate for a Skylanders game.

More Play-testing and Polish
Trap Team may have suffered from a rushed development period, as indicated by the unpleasant number of glitches and issues that, at times, might be a nuisance you'd have to work around (like not being able to move your character for a moment), or at worst, weirdly stopping a boss fight from continuing to the next phase. Sometimes secrets wouldn't trigger, other times mouths wouldn't move when talking. None of it was game-breaking, but it hurt the presentation and sense of quality of the product.

No More Kaos...at least this time
A common request I see others make for the next game is one that I find myself agreeing with. It may be time to retire the diminutive evil-doer in favor of a more menacing and refreshing baddy staking their claim over the world of Skylands. Plus most Trap Team owners have him locked in a villain trap, so it wouldn't make much sense.

Speaking of Traps
Keep going with it! There are clearly more varieties of traps out in stores than there are enemies to put in them, so it seems obvious this is where they're going anyway. This would also mean letting us re-use the current Portal of Power, something the series only did once. It might be nice to save some money on a Portal Owner's Pack rather than buying another plastic base with which to take up space.

Bring Back the Giants!
This one is more in the dreamscape than the rest of the wishlist, but nevertheless. Giants were some of my favorite Skylanders, not only because they were large and towering over their "core" counterparts, but also because they were so detailed, powerful, and hey! They also lit up! For that matter, bring us more Lightcore figures too!

Reissue Someone New For a Change
Not that I don't love having four Gill Grunts, but let's give some other characters a second look. Some of the forgotten characters from Spyro's Adventure, like Ghost Roaster, Dino-Rang, and Sunburn. Or even some newer characters, like Scratch, Chopper, Grim Creeper, Flip Wreck, or Star Strike.

Other Honorable mentions include:
*No More Soul Gems!
*More Kaos Challenges!
*More Minis!
*Heroic Challenges!
*Less unskippable dialog!
*Allow backtracking through levels!
*Online features!
*More gradual hub world building! I liked that!

Swap Force developer Vicarious Visions is expected to be working on Skylanders 5, so a lot of my criticisms stemming from Toys for Bob's approach may well be addressed by default. Going back and playing through Swap Force gets me more excited for the potential of the next game to be the greatest Skylanders to-date, and whether my wishlist turns out to be prophetic or not, it will undoubtedly be a must-by for any Portal Master out there. It just remains to be seen what gimmick they use to top swappable figures or trappable villains, and that alone might be the most tantalizing prospect to think about.