The reveal of a new Spyro game at the June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase put the purple dragon back in the conversation for the first time in a decade. The Reignited Trilogy is on Steam and still the best way to play the originals, but it’s a three-game arc that finishes quickly, and the new entry is months away. The 3D platformer category has quietly stayed alive in the years since Spyro went dormant, and several PC games do specific parts of the gliding, collecting, dragon-flame loop better than nostalgia suggests.
We ranked 7 Spyro alternatives for PC that are on Steam, finished, and worth the time between the Reignited Trilogy and the new Spyro game’s PC port. The list spans the obvious successors in the collectathon category, the linear character platformers that share Spyro’s tight controls, and a wildcard that hits the same childhood-cartoon energy from a different angle.
Why people want Spyro alternatives
The Reignited Trilogy released in 2018 on consoles and 2019 on Steam, and the original three games are short by modern standards — around 30 to 40 hours total to 100 percent everything. Once that’s done:
- The trilogy ends, and the post-Activision Spyro entries are not on Steam.
- The 3D collectathon genre has rebuilt itself since 2017, but most picks fly under the radar compared to platformer juggernauts like Mario.
- PC players want games with controller-first feel, since Spyro is a controller game at its core.
- Nostalgia is the trap. The good alternatives don’t try to be Spyro; they take one thing he did and improve on it.
Quick comparison
| Game | Best for | Price (approx.) | Spyro similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Hat in Time | Collectathon platforming with charm | Around $30 | High |
| Yooka-Laylee | Banjo-Kazooie-style worlds | Around $20 | High |
| Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy | Linear precision platforming | Around $40 | High |
| Psychonauts 2 | Story-driven 3D platforming | Around $60 | Medium-high |
| Super Lucky’s Tale | Family-friendly 3D platforming | Around $30 | Medium-high |
| SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated | Cartoon collectathon | Around $30 | Medium-high |
| Ty the Tasmanian Tiger | 2000s-era platformer revival | Around $15 | Medium |
The 7 best Spyro alternatives on PC
A Hat in Time — best collectathon platforming with charm
A Hat in Time is the closest spiritual successor to Spyro on PC. Gears for Breakfast’s 2017 platformer puts Hat Kid in a set of self-contained worlds, each with its own theme and Time Pieces to collect. The movement is tight, the camera works, and the writing is funnier than a platformer has any right to be. Mod support on Steam Workshop adds dozens of community chapters, which extends the game well past its initial 10-hour run.
Where it falls short: The combat is light by design. Players who liked Spyro for the flame-charge-tackle rhythm will find A Hat in Time more of a movement game than a combat one.
Pricing:
- Around $30 standard, regularly on sale below $15.
- DLC chapters add about $15.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: comparable price, deeper movement, lighter combat.
Migrating from Spyro: The controller feel transfers immediately. Camera and movement instincts carry over.
Bottom line: Pick this first when you want the closest modern Spyro on PC.
Yooka-Laylee — best Banjo-Kazooie-style worlds
Yooka-Laylee from Playtonic is built by ex-Rare developers and openly courts the Banjo-Kazooie audience, which puts it adjacent to Spyro’s lineage. Five large open worlds, each with a chameleon-and-bat duo collecting Pagies, quills, and ghost writers. The 2024 remaster, Yooka-Replaylee, adds a modern camera and quality-of-life fixes that the 2017 original needed.
Where it falls short: The worlds are huge but sparse in spots, and the camera in the original release was a real problem. If you can find the Replaylee version, take it.
Pricing:
- Around $20 standard, sales below $10.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: cheaper, larger worlds, slower pacing.
Migrating from Spyro: Movement, gliding, and breath attacks all have direct equivalents. The structure feels familiar.
Bottom line: Pick this if Spyro’s big-world exploration was the hook.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy — best linear precision platforming
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is the natural pairing for Spyro players — the two franchises were sister series on the original PlayStation. The trilogy remasters Crash 1, 2, and 3 with modern visuals and a tighter control feel. The platforming is linear rather than open, and the precision demand is higher than Spyro ever was, especially in Crash 1.
Where it falls short: Crash 1 is genuinely difficult by modern platformer standards, and the linear levels can feel claustrophobic after Spyro’s open worlds. The trilogy is also showing its 2017 remaster age in some animations.
Pricing:
- Around $40 standard, frequent sales below $15.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: comparable price, more linear, more challenging.
Migrating from Spyro: Controller feel transfers. The level structure is the adjustment.
Bottom line: Pick this if you played both originals and want the other half of the late-90s mascot platformer canon.
Psychonauts 2 — best story-driven 3D platforming
Psychonauts 2 from Double Fine is the most narratively ambitious 3D platformer of the last decade. Raz returns to a roster of psychic worlds, each built around a character’s mental landscape, with creative level design and platforming mechanics that change per level. The combat is more present than in Spyro, but the platforming is the focus.
Where it falls short: The price is high relative to indie peers, and the story-first design means fewer collectibles to chase between checkpoints. Players who played Spyro purely for the loot-and-explore loop may find Psychonauts 2 too linear.
Pricing:
- Around $60 standard, sales below $25.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: pricier, more cinematic, lighter on free-form exploration.
Migrating from Spyro: Movement is a different idiom — more grounded, less dragon-glide. The platforming language translates after a few hours.
Bottom line: Pick this if Spyro’s worlds were the appeal and you want them filtered through a writer’s room.
Super Lucky’s Tale — best family-friendly 3D platforming
Super Lucky’s Tale is the most accessible pick on this list. Playful Studios’ Lucky-the-fox stars in a set of small, self-contained levels with low difficulty, a forgiving checkpoint system, and a tone that matches the original Spyro’s all-ages register. The 2017 release was a launch title for Xbox One X and ported cleanly to PC.
Where it falls short: The levels are short and the depth ceiling is low. Adult players will run out of new ideas before the credit roll.
Pricing:
- Around $30 standard, sales below $10.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: cheaper, simpler, much shorter.
Migrating from Spyro: The all-ages tone and movement feel transfer most directly here. Older Spyro players may find it too easy.
Bottom line: Pick this for younger players or for a low-stakes weekend platformer.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated — best cartoon collectathon
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated is the 2020 remaster of the 2003 platformer, and it lands closer to Spyro than most realize. Three playable characters, six themed Bikini Bottom zones, golden spatulas as the collectible, and platforming that holds up better than the licensing suggests. The remaster cleaned up visuals without disturbing the level design.
Where it falls short: The licensed-game stigma kept this off many radars, and the difficulty is uneven — some collectibles are gated behind precise platforming that the rest of the game doesn’t prepare you for.
Pricing:
- Around $30 standard, sales below $10.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: comparable price, similar collectible loop.
Migrating from Spyro: Worlds are open and exploration-driven, with similar collectible density.
Bottom line: Pick this if you grew up with both franchises and want a forgotten platformer at the same quality bar.
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger — best 2000s-era platformer revival
Ty the Tasmanian Tiger is the deep cut on this list. Krome Studios’ 2002 platformer was rereleased on Steam in 2016 with cleaner visuals and modern controller support, and the sequels followed. The boomerang combat and Australian outback levels were aiming at the Spyro audience at launch, and the game has aged better than its 2002 reputation suggests.
Where it falls short: This is unambiguously a 2002 game inside a 2016 wrapper. Animations, voice direction, and load times all show it. The combat is repetitive once the boomerang upgrades stop arriving.
Pricing:
- Around $15 standard, sales below $5.
- vs Spyro Reignited Trilogy: much cheaper, older feel, more dated polish.
Migrating from Spyro: The era and the audience are the same. Movement is heavier than Spyro’s glide.
Bottom line: Pick this if you want a forgotten 2000s platformer rerun and the trilogy is on sale.
How to choose
Pick A Hat in Time if you want the closest modern Spyro on PC. Pick Yooka-Laylee if you want bigger worlds with the Banjo-Kazooie family tree. Pick Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy if the original PlayStation pairing was the appeal. Pick Psychonauts 2 if Spyro’s worlds were the hook and you want them written by Tim Schafer.
Pick Super Lucky’s Tale for younger players or low-stakes platforming. Pick SpongeBob Rehydrated if you want a forgotten same-era collectathon. Pick Ty the Tasmanian Tiger if the early 2000s era is the appeal.
Stay with the Reignited Trilogy only if you have not finished all three games. After that, this list is where to go next while waiting for the new Spyro game’s PC port.
FAQ
When does the new Spyro game come out on PC?
The June 2026 Xbox Games Showcase teased a new Spyro game, but the showcase did not announce a PC release date. Recent Activision releases have shipped on Steam day-one when Microsoft is the publisher, so a same-day PC launch is the more likely outcome when the date arrives.
Is there a 3D platformer better than Spyro on PC?
A Hat in Time is the closest spiritual successor on Steam and arguably a tighter game per hour than the original Spyro. Yooka-Laylee Replaylee is the strongest pick if Banjo-Kazooie-style open worlds were the appeal. The answer depends on which part of Spyro mattered most.
Are there any Spyro games on PC other than the Reignited Trilogy?
No. The post-Activision Spyro entries — Skylanders and various mobile titles — are not on Steam. The Reignited Trilogy is the only first-party Spyro experience available on PC right now.
Can you play Spyro Reignited Trilogy on Steam Deck?
Yes. The Reignited Trilogy is Steam Deck Verified and runs at a stable 60 fps. It’s one of the most controller-native picks in the library.
What’s the best free Spyro alternative on PC?
There’s no first-party free pick. The closest is to wait for a Steam sale on A Hat in Time or Yooka-Laylee, both of which drop below $10 multiple times a year. Free 3D platformer mods like Super Mario 64 PC ports exist but live in legally grey territory.
