REVIEW / Toy Story 3 Complete Edition

Movie tie-in games have a reputation for being disposable, but Toy Story 3 was one of the rare exceptions that actually had some ambition behind it. The original 2010 release from Avalanche Software was surprisingly packed, splitting its attention between a straightforward Story Mode and the much more interesting Toy Box Mode. Now, Digital Eclipse has brought that game back as Toy Story 3 Complete Edition, promising upgraded graphics, resolution, and frame rate while finally gathering previously exclusive content into one package. The big question is not whether the original was good, because it was. The question is whether this new version does enough to justify revisiting a game that already worked pretty well the first time around.

The answer starts with presentation, and this is probably where the Complete Edition makes its most obvious improvement. The original Toy Story 3 looked respectable for a licensed game back then, but modern displays are considerably less forgiving toward aging textures, resolution, and performance. Digital Eclipse has upgraded the graphics, resolution, and frame rate, with Atari specifically advertising support for up to 4K resolution and 60 FPS depending on the platform. That makes the environments, characters, and colorful aesthetic considerably easier on the eyes than the original hardware could manage. It is not a complete visual remake, though, so anyone expecting Pixar-level graphics recreated from the ground up might want to keep those expectations in check.

Fortunately, the underlying Story Mode still holds up better than you might expect. The original campaign followed major moments from the movie while letting players control Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie, with each character bringing different abilities to the levels. The Complete Edition keeps that structure intact rather than trying to reinvent it, which is probably the right call because the campaign’s straightforward platforming still has a pleasant rhythm. Woody’s pull string, Buzz’s strength, and Jessie’s abilities give the three characters enough distinction to prevent the whole thing from feeling like three different skins on the same character. The problem is that the campaign was already fairly short in 2010, and better resolution cannot magically make eight relatively compact levels longer.

With that said, it brings us to the real star, because Toy Box Mode was the feature that made the original Toy Story 3 stand out in the first place. Instead of forcing players through another linear movie adaptation, Toy Box Mode drops Woody, Buzz, and Jessie into a customizable Wild West sandbox where missions, collectibles, vehicles, races, buildings, and customization take center stage. Back then, that was a surprisingly clever idea for a licensed children’s game, and it remains the reason this particular Toy Story game is worth revisiting. The Complete Edition does not radically redesign Toy Box Mode, but it gives the mode the breathing room it deserves on modern hardware. In other words, the sandbox is still the same playground, but now the toys have a shinier set of shelves to play on.

The biggest content upgrade comes from finally bringing previously restricted material into the same package. In the original release, content could vary depending on the platform, and some versions did not receive the same features or presentation as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 editions. The Complete Edition fixes that fragmentation by giving every version access to the previously exclusive Evil Emperor Zurg character in Toy Box Mode along with four additional Theme Packs. That is a much better approach than making modern players research which 2010 version had which content. It also gives returning players something tangible to discover rather than simply handing them the same game with prettier textures.

The controls are a slightly trickier comparison. The original version had some problems where awkward controls could lead to unnecessary deaths. Those issues mattered more back then because licensed platformers were generally competing with games that had much more refined movement and camera systems. The Complete Edition benefits from modern controllers and improved performance, but there is no indication that Digital Eclipse has completely rebuilt the game’s underlying mechanics. That means some of the original design quirks are still part of the package, and players expecting modern platforming precision may occasionally feel like the game has not aged quite as gracefully as its visuals.

So, is Toy Story 3 Complete Edition better than the original? Yes, but mostly in the ways a good remaster should be better. It is cleaner, sharper, more complete, and easier to recommend than tracking down a specific 2010 version with particular features. However, the core gameplay remains very much a product of its era, and the short Story Mode, simple mechanics, repetitive mission structure, and occasional control frustrations have not suddenly disappeared. The original Toy Story 3 was already a solid licensed game, and this new version earns a higher score because it improves the presentation and removes some of the old content headaches without damaging what made the original enjoyable.

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This review is based on a retail copy of the game provided by the publisher.