Banjo-Kazooie, Rayman, Gex, what happened to these classic platformers? While the likes of Crash Bandicoot and even Kao the Kangaroo have been given a new lease of life, some old favourites have been left in the pixelated graveyard. One of our forgotten friends is Spyro the Dragon, but fear not, he's been brought back in an odd way.

We've previously gushed about Stray, as this adorable and apocalyptic puzzler has won our hearts - yes, even those of us who are dog fans. BlueTwelve Studio's adventure game is the talk of the town, as you explore this cyberpunk world as a four-legged furbaby. As with any PC release, the modding community is having a lot of fun. While you can't yet play as Thomas the Tank Engine, this Spyro mod is one you need to download. 

What Is The Spyro Stray Mod?

Breathing new life (and fire) into Stray, MrMarco1003's Spyro the Dragon mod is available on Nexus Mods. Swapping the titular kitty for the purple dragon, he gets to flap his wings around this dystopian city and try to escape Zurks. Okay, so he can't actually fly like in his own games, but it's close enough. 

The mod's description explains how the playable cat has been swapped out with Spyro from 2018's Reignited Trilogy. After the gaming legend had sat dormant since 2008's Dawn of the Dragon, Toys for Bob's trilogy remastered the first three Spyro games. Better yet, the mod also swaps out all other cats to look like dragons. How cute!

At the time of writing, the Spyro mod has only been downloaded 550 times, which seems like a crying shame. Still, as it grows in popularity, expect to see more of that daring dragon burning his way into Stray. Hopefully, it will reignite our hopes of a new game for Spyro.

Why Is Stray So Popular?

Stray has had a meteoric rise to the top of the charts, as it has dethroned the God of War PC port as Steam's best-rated game of the year. Others are making the most of the ability to mod the cat into anything they want. Some modders are even taking requests to recreate a likeness of your cat in-game. We've also seen a popular mod that turns the cat into a dog for those who prefer man's best friend. 

As for Spyro, the fires have burned out for now. In 2020, Toys for Bob teased Spyro 4, and like we saw Crash 4: It's About Time come after the N. Sane Trilogy, we hoped this would be the start of a new chapter. Sadly, that never came to pass, while Toys for Bob was moved to work on Call of Duty: Warzone. The Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard has given rise to talk about Spyro the Dragon making a comeback, but for now, we're left playing as him in Stray.