Ok, so this game was my SHIT back in 2014. I was really into Skylanders as a whole actually, specifically Skylanders Giants. I actually never played Swap Force because I played Giants through the entire life-cycle of Giants and Swap Force. I didn't have a million Skylanders like others had, but I cherished the ones that I had. I really liked the whole toys-to-life gimmick for that matter. I liked the idea of having toys that also acted as gateways into these worlds, and this game took this concept to its peak for me. The new gimmick with this game was my favorite. Instead of bringing something from the real world into the game, now you take something from the game into the real world. Now, kid-me was losing his shit at this. "HOLY SHIT! KAOS IN MY HOUSE???? THIS GAME IS CRAZY!!!" I LOVED this game as a kid, to put it lightly. I've soaked so much time into this game. It's a little embarrassing, to be honest. Recently, I've been playing games that I really liked as a kid to see how they would hold up now, and this was a game that I couldn't skip.
When playing this game now, I had a sudden realization. I had an epiphany. Maybe, this game isn't good as I thought it was. Shocker, right? Yeah, it's no secret that the Skylanders series is commonly regarded as being just ok, and this game isn't a miraculous exemption. But I didn't just play this game in the normal way. No, no, no. I decided I was going to play this game with my sister to change up the experience. Not only that, but I decided to play the game on Nightmare difficulty for my first time ever because I had played this game so many times that I know every nook and cranny, so I needed a challenge. This newfound difficulty would become a factor throughout my playthrough.
When starting this playthrough, I knew what I was getting into. The same story, characters, blah blah blah. I knew the gist by now. For me, this game wasn't really thought of as being great because of these aspects. I just liked the villains talking to me through the traps. Playing this game now, after basically being numbed to the whole gimmick, was a major reality check. Yeah, the game is just kind of ok. The game really has some major elements that I think help it a lot; Specifically, Nightmare difficulty. If I ever play this game again, this mode is the only mode I will ever play this game on. The boss fights, usually, don't really feel like they have much impact. Now, there are actual stakes since the bosses actually provide a pretty decent challenge. Nothing makes this more clear than the final fight: Kaos.
I've only heard about how difficult Kaos is on Nightmare difficulty. I've never played the fight on that difficulty. I think his entire level is really good, but his fight is easily my favorite of the franchise. It was incredibly fun, but it was never really difficult. But, oh my god, when I tell you that this fight is hard, I don't just mean "hard." I mean it kicks you in the nuts and leaves you there to cry to yourself. I'm not going to act like this is the hardest fight in video game history, but it's still a pretty hard fight. There is so much stupid bullshit happening all at once. You have 0 chance to breathe. You always have to jump over some shit. Kaos has no fucking chill on this boss fight. Without Broccoli Guy constantly healing my team, me and my sister would've never beaten the bald-headed punk. My sister, for the matter, lost every Skylander around the midway point of the fight, so I had to do the entire fight with just Wallop and all of my trapped villains. Thank GOD that Wolfgang has that ranged attack because I don't know what I'd do without that move. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed the fight, but my god. That shit was tough. That is probably Trap Team's biggest upside, but there are some major duds.
Trap Team just loves having the most boring, mind-numbing levels I have ever played. For every Kaos fight, there are 8-fucking shooter levels. The game would've been infinitely better if it was just a boss rush of all of the Doom Raiders + Kaos. If that were the case, the game probably be a 4 1/2 out of 5. The Doom Raider fights are pretty fun and challenging, but since there are only so many of those, there non-Doom Raider fights are just kinda there. I mean, I do like the designs of the non-Doom Raiders like Hood Sickle and Blaster-Tron, but their fights are kind of bland when you sandwich them in between actual Doom Raider fights. This also goes for every level after Kaos's. Those levels are BORING. I am ASLEEP during those levels. Those levels SUCK. Midnight Museum is the worst level in the game, and I will hear absolutely no one out.
Overall, the game's cool and has some highs but some actually atrocious lows. I think if the game was more focused on the fights, the game could've been pretty darn cool, but as of now? Eh, it's fine. A little above average, but I'm not losing my shit over it like I used to. Oh, and I didn't feel like mentioning the story, characters, and plot of the game because no one gives a fuck about the Skylanders: Trap Team plot.
When playing this game now, I had a sudden realization. I had an epiphany. Maybe, this game isn't good as I thought it was. Shocker, right? Yeah, it's no secret that the Skylanders series is commonly regarded as being just ok, and this game isn't a miraculous exemption. But I didn't just play this game in the normal way. No, no, no. I decided I was going to play this game with my sister to change up the experience. Not only that, but I decided to play the game on Nightmare difficulty for my first time ever because I had played this game so many times that I know every nook and cranny, so I needed a challenge. This newfound difficulty would become a factor throughout my playthrough.
When starting this playthrough, I knew what I was getting into. The same story, characters, blah blah blah. I knew the gist by now. For me, this game wasn't really thought of as being great because of these aspects. I just liked the villains talking to me through the traps. Playing this game now, after basically being numbed to the whole gimmick, was a major reality check. Yeah, the game is just kind of ok. The game really has some major elements that I think help it a lot; Specifically, Nightmare difficulty. If I ever play this game again, this mode is the only mode I will ever play this game on. The boss fights, usually, don't really feel like they have much impact. Now, there are actual stakes since the bosses actually provide a pretty decent challenge. Nothing makes this more clear than the final fight: Kaos.
I've only heard about how difficult Kaos is on Nightmare difficulty. I've never played the fight on that difficulty. I think his entire level is really good, but his fight is easily my favorite of the franchise. It was incredibly fun, but it was never really difficult. But, oh my god, when I tell you that this fight is hard, I don't just mean "hard." I mean it kicks you in the nuts and leaves you there to cry to yourself. I'm not going to act like this is the hardest fight in video game history, but it's still a pretty hard fight. There is so much stupid bullshit happening all at once. You have 0 chance to breathe. You always have to jump over some shit. Kaos has no fucking chill on this boss fight. Without Broccoli Guy constantly healing my team, me and my sister would've never beaten the bald-headed punk. My sister, for the matter, lost every Skylander around the midway point of the fight, so I had to do the entire fight with just Wallop and all of my trapped villains. Thank GOD that Wolfgang has that ranged attack because I don't know what I'd do without that move. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed the fight, but my god. That shit was tough. That is probably Trap Team's biggest upside, but there are some major duds.
Trap Team just loves having the most boring, mind-numbing levels I have ever played. For every Kaos fight, there are 8-fucking shooter levels. The game would've been infinitely better if it was just a boss rush of all of the Doom Raiders + Kaos. If that were the case, the game probably be a 4 1/2 out of 5. The Doom Raider fights are pretty fun and challenging, but since there are only so many of those, there non-Doom Raider fights are just kinda there. I mean, I do like the designs of the non-Doom Raiders like Hood Sickle and Blaster-Tron, but their fights are kind of bland when you sandwich them in between actual Doom Raider fights. This also goes for every level after Kaos's. Those levels are BORING. I am ASLEEP during those levels. Those levels SUCK. Midnight Museum is the worst level in the game, and I will hear absolutely no one out.
Overall, the game's cool and has some highs but some actually atrocious lows. I think if the game was more focused on the fights, the game could've been pretty darn cool, but as of now? Eh, it's fine. A little above average, but I'm not losing my shit over it like I used to. Oh, and I didn't feel like mentioning the story, characters, and plot of the game because no one gives a fuck about the Skylanders: Trap Team plot.