But what really cripples the game, in our eyes, are two things: the lousy camera and some terrible bugs. The camera is frequently set up in such a way that makes it difficult to see where Spyro needs to go - particularly in closed areas - and can make dodging enemy attacks a pain. We also frequently encountered noticeable glitches: getting stuck on walls and scenery, standing on thin air, even winding up in some areas we probably weren’t supposed to be yet. In some cases, these bugs were game-breaking. During one boss fight, we managed to get Spyro stuck in a position where he would do nothing but hop frantically in the same spot, leaving him unable to escape the enemy’s wrath. Hardly a noble death for the little dragon.

If we just took the core elements into consideration - the gameplay, level design, enemies, etc. - Spyro: The Eternal Night would simply be an OK (though hardly noteworthy) portable platformer. But combine those with a frustrating camera and sometimes crippling glitches and you wind up with a title that we simply cannot recommend. Clearly, this dragon has seen better days.