Highlights
- Skylanders: Swap Force is the best game in the series, thanks to its innovative gimmick of separable halves and jump ability.
- Skylanders: Trap Team stands out for its unique trap gimmick and additional side modes like tower defense.
- Skylanders: Superchargers is divisive due to its racing mechanic, but it offers a solid plot and deserves a chance from fans.
Even though it has now been dormant for more than six years, Skylanders was at one point Activision's main franchise for the children's target demographic. While Call of Duty dominated the market for young adults, this toys-to-life series was all the rage for young players, as it expanded into a television show, novels, and more.
Ironically, Skylanders was born as a spin-off from the Spyro universe, and it faded away just as Crash Bandicoot and Spyro made their triumphant return. However, this series still has some good fun to offer, so here's a list of all the main games, ranked from worst to best. As a side note, Nintendo 3DS versions won't be listed here, as they're completely different games compared to the main console entries.
6 Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Wii U, PC
The first game released in the series, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is also the only one to feature Spyro as a prominent protagonist, both in the title and in the Starter Set figures. This game introduced the Skylanders concept for the first time, a platformer game where some of the content is unlocked by adding more toys to the collection. The game is fairly accessible, something that made it very beginner-friendly (but hardcore players already have their good share of challenging platformers).
While this first outing was not bad per se (and it would make the case for a good entry in the Spyro series), the reason why it is at the bottom of this list is because every subsequent entry improved its formula. Everything that would make this series great in the future is already here, at least as a concept. But it wouldn't be until later games that the series would reach higher levels of quality.
5 Skylanders: Imaginators
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Skylanders: Imaginators is, as of today, the last entry in the main series of games. The series was already experiencing declining sales, and at that point, its height in popularity was far beyond. There had already been signs of running out of ideas, probably also due to the taxing annual release schedule. However, that does not mean that Skylanders: Imaginators was a bad game, far from it.
As for every game after the original, Skylanders: Imaginators introduced a new gimmick, giving the player the ability to create his own custom character. While this feature was loved by some players (especially those who love freeing their creative side), others found it too limited. Another new feature was the introduction of an open world map, in contrast to the hub world of the older games. This proved very divisive in the community and is one of the reasons why the game is so low on the list.
4 Skylanders: Giants
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
As the first sequel in this series, Skylanders: Giants was the first game to introduce a new gimmick to the formula, a pattern that would be repeated with every other entry in this franchise. Skylanders: Giants' gimmick is, of course, the presence of the titular Giants (something that seems to be pretty popular in the gaming world). In truth, they do not do much to shake up the gameplay, which remains pretty much unaltered from the first game.
Even though Skylanders: Giants is what could be defined as a "safe" sequel, it still did improve upon the first game, with bigger levels, and with a much better level design. This makes the game a good choice if you miss old-fashioned collect-a-thon platformers. Some players place this game at the top of their lists, and it's easy to see why: while it may lack the "wow" factor of some of the later games, Skylanders: Giants is still a solid platformer experience.
3 Skylanders: Superchagers
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Along with Skylanders: Imaginators, Skylanders: Superchargers is probably the most divisive entry in the series, with some players ranking it as the bottom of the barrel and others as one of the better outings of the franchise. The reason for this is to be found in the game's gimmick, which is the introduction of racing. While this new mechanic was poorly received at the time, it received greater appreciation during the following years (even though the game might not make the cut for being among the best in the genre).
But racing is not everything Skylanders: Superchargers is all about. The game offers what's probably the best plot in the entire franchise, with some unexpected dark twists along the way. While there are some better options in the series, Superchargers is still a solid experience, that deserves a shot from every fan.
2 Skylanders: Trap Team
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Skylanders: Trap Team is the fourth main entry in the series, and it has one of the most interesting gimmicks in the whole franchise, coming in the form of traps. These traps (which have to be bought separately) could be used in-game to capture enemy characters and turn them into heroes for the players to use. This added a sense of "gotta collect them all" to the game (something that can be found in games other than Pokemon), making every new enemy encounter exciting at the prospect of trapping said enemy.
Unfortunately, the trap gimmick was never brought back in full force, but that's one of the reasons why this entry is still so unique many years later. Other than that, the game provided a good level design and introduced some new side modes, like a tower defense survival mode that could also be played in multiplayer, which proved to be a fan favorite.
1 Skylanders: Swap Force
Platforms: PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
There are two main reasons why Skylanders: Swap Force is at the top of this list. The first one is the gimmick. The game introduced new features that had separable halves; this allowed for characters to be combined, making it possible to create up to 256 combinations of heroes. It was a game-changing feature and one that fans still hold as a favorite to this day.
The other reason why the game is at the top of the list is simply because it perfected the game's formula. Not only was level design at its best, but the game also introduced a jump ability, which completely revolutionized how the game worked and played.