PlayStation’s original mascot platformer is still a fun play 30 years later
What Is It? Crash Bandicoot was an early PlayStation mascot. He was an orange marsupial with attitude and Sony leaned heavily into this in their competition with the Nintendo 64 in the mid-90s. Crash is an instantly recognizable entity by now, perhaps to the point where the character itself has overshadowed the actual games. We have only received one new, original Crash entry in the last 18 years. With all of that history out of the way, let’s turn to the point of this review: how does the original Crash Bandicoot hold up today? Spoiler alert: pretty darn well.
I’ve always considered the Crash games to be 2.5D platformers. You can move in three directions but one of those directions is always limited. Compare this to a Super Mario 64 style game where you can run anywhere you want within its large 3D levels. A classic Crash level has you viewing Crash from behind as he runs up on the screen while also having a bit of freedom to move left and right. The levels are tunnelled to the point where you are always limited to the space on the screen in the left-right directions. The game also features some side-scrolling levels as well as “running from the boulder” levels which flip the traditional setup upside down.
You control Crash with the goal of each level being to reach the end. In this game, you are armed with a spin move and a jump. Certain enemies can only be defeated with one or the other. Most of the game is based around platforming which will require many tight jumps.
Levels are varied in their design; you will run through woods, snow, and evil lab levels as you make your way through the game’s 27(ish) levels. Scattered along the way are boss fights which are fairly plain.
This is a straightforward platforming game once you get past the cool 2.5D concept. There is, of course, nothing wrong with that. It’s well made with fun, challenging levels that mostly never push to the point of being frustrating. There are a couple of infamously difficult levels here, but the game doles out extra lives so much that it rarely becomes an issue. Each level features multiple checkpoints as well. The most annoying part of the difficulty is the save system which prevents you from saving unless you collect three tokens within a level or hit every box in a level. The tokens aren’t too tough to find, but do add a bit of unneeded stress to the proceedings.
The Best Part: The classic 2.5 Crash levels still hit perfectly. Adding just enough freedom in a third dimension was such a wonderful addition to the genre. I vividly remember playing this game for the first time in the ‘90s and being amazed at the camera angle and how novel the whole concept was compared to what existed at the time. I’m happy to report that these levels are still a lot of fun.
The Worst Part: A boring answer, but the existence of the sequels makes this game seem bare bones. As is often the case, particularly in the era Crash Bandicoot was released, the first game in the series established the baseline while the sequels expanded on it and brought to life the full potential of the game. This isn’t a knock on what Crash 1 offers, just calling out that it is the weakest of the original trilogy.
The Verdict: Crash Bandicoot is a wonderful playthrough in 2026. The game will challenge and occasionally frustrate you with some particular levels still driving me crazy even after many playthroughs. The save system is an annoying cherry on top as you have to collect specific boxes in a level (or hit every box, good luck with that) and then make it to the end of a bonus level to earn a save. The counterpoint to this is that drip feeding savepoints ramps up the tension quite a bit, if that is appealing to you.
The basic formula established in Crash Bandicoot was improved upon later, but the original remains a fun, worthy playthrough. The easiest way to play it now is through the N-Sane Trilogy which is a full remake of the first three Crash games and is available on all modern consoles.
How to Play: PlayStation 1*. Remake: PlayStation 4/5, Switch, Xbox
*console played on for this review
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