Skylanders: Swap Force is visually pleasing, regardless of whether you're looking at the television screen or the artfully created portal and figurines required to play the game. Skylands is a place you want to exist in. It's full of color and cheer, even when you're dealing with the not-so-friendly elements. This game is just ten kinds of adorable and, technically, it's no slouch. I personally appreciate the Wii U Gamepad integration; if you like to be completely on top of what kind of statistics and levels you're rolling with each character, the default display on the touchscreen is essentially an electronic version of the paper card that comes with each figure.
Charm, charm, and more charm. That's what pours out of your speakers during every second of Skylanders: Swap Force. It's impossible not to love the supporting cast, though certain exceptions in the main cast (most notably sidekick hero Tessa) are bland heroic. Perhaps the gold star goes to Richard Horvitz (as it does in most everything he's in), who voices series mainstay villain Kaos with impish petulance. The immediate runner-up is Patrick Warburton, who returns to the role of the buffoonish pilot Flynn. Everyone else sounds straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon, and the result contributes to the game's best quality, which will be discussed later. On the inanimate side of the sound design, effects cover the spectrum of elements. Good thing, too, since the elements play a huge role in this universe.
