Toy Story 3 Complete Edition sounds like the sort of release that has gone back into the toy box and gathered every version of the game in one place. That isn’t quite what you’re getting. This is the 2010 console adventure again, with some previously restricted content folded in and a simple graphical upgrade. If you’re expecting a remake or a grand overhaul, this will look pretty modest. It’s a chance to play the game more conveniently on newer hardware, with a few extra bits included. So the biggest question is, does it hold up?
REVIEW AT A GLANCE
Developer Digital Eclipse
Publisher Atari
Reviewed On PS5
Available On PC, PlayStation, Xbox Series, Switch, Switch 2
Release Date 15 October, 2026
Price (UK) £22.49
Genre 3D Platformer
Review Code Supplied by the publisher.
Quick Take:
Toy Story 3 still has the charm and fun ideas that made it one of the better movie tie-ins, with Toy Box’s unlock loop doing most of the heavy lifting. The improved graphics and smooth performance make it easier to revisit, but the stiff controls, awkward camera and visibly aged assets remind you this is a 2010 game with a light remaster.
So what does “Complete” mean? Well, this edition brings back Emperor Zurg as a playable character in Toy Box Mode, where he was previously exclusive to the PS3 version, and includes four additional Toy Box theme packs. It doesn’t combine every separate version of Toy Story 3 into one enormous collection. The handheld and older-console releases were different adaptations, and this is best understood as the main console game with some previously restricted content added. That means the Complete Edition moniker is probably guilty of making the whole thing feel bigger than it really is, but it’s also fairly accurate, I suppose.
It’s also worth knowing where this version fits. On PlayStation, it’s now possible to play the full console game natively on PS4 and PS5; the earlier Toy Story 3 available on those systems was the separate PSP version, and it could only be played via streaming. Xbox players already had the Xbox 360 game through backwards compatibility, so Complete Edition is more of an upgrade for them: updated presentation and restored content, rather than the first chance to revisit the game on a modern console. It’s also sold on its own or as part of Toy Story: Retro Roundup! which collects together several other classic Toy Story games.
I’ve played through the whole Story Mode on PS5, and I still had a good time with it. The game follows the broad shape of the film while taking a few detours of its own. One of the better ones has Buzz flying through a canyon before a meteor shower starts smashing up the environment around him. Another has Woody platforming through Bonnie’s room as an evil witch makes the coffee rise around him. They’re daft ideas, but they give the levels some personality, and the Buzz section in particular makes for a fun set piece that I remember as feeling pretty cool back in the day.
The levels also do more than simply recreate scenes from the film. They expand on them, sometimes by turning a moment into a platforming challenge or giving the toys a new problem to solve. The game switches between different styles as you go, with platforming at the centre and occasional stealth, action and shooting sections mixed in. Not every level is a winner, but there’s enough variety to stop the campaign feeling like the same sequence of jumps repeated over and over.
The character-specific abilities help with that variety. Woody can swing from his pull string, Jessie can land on sharp objects, and Buzz can throw the others to reach places they can’t get to by themselves. The game sometimes lets you choose how to tackle a section: swing over with Woody, for example, or get Buzz to launch Jessie across. It’s a nice bit of flexibility, even if the abilities don’t always get as much room to shine as they could. This is still a fairly straightforward movie tie-in, not a platformer built around a huge number of branching choices or elaborate puzzles.
There are, of course, signs of the game’s age. The controls can feel stiff, and the camera occasionally makes a simple bit of platforming more awkward than it needs to be. In one stealth section, I jumped down into a patrolling enemy’s line of sight because I couldn’t move the camera to check where I was landing. He spotted me, and that was the attempt over. Aiming abilities can feel slow in a similar way: quick-firing is fine, but holding a trigger to aim slows your character down so much that a straightforward action starts to feel clunky. The controls usually do what I expect, and I can see why someone might describe them as precise, but to me they have that slightly stiff feel you get from older games that could do with doing some warmup stretches.
Overall, the story mode is fine. Decent voice acting, solid levels and enjoyable gameplay. Does the job.
Toy Box is the other big part of the game, and it’s where I’ve had some of my best fun. This is a separate Wild West playground where you can wander around as Woody, Buzz or Jessie, take on missions for the townsfolk and customise the town as you go. You earn coins by doing activities, completing missions and mining gold, then spend them on toys and buildings to add to the world. Some purchases open up more of the map or give you new activities to try, which means there’s usually another reason to save up and see what you can unlock.
That simple loop is the thing I keep coming back to: earn money, buy something new, find more things to do, then earn more money. Zurg’s space tower, the aliens, Lotso’s oddly cheerful corner of town and demolishing a dam to expand the town are the kinds of things you can buy or do by performing missions. You can also customise buildings and townsfolk, so some of your purchases change how the town looks as well as what you can do in it. It’s not complicated, but it’s satisfying to watch the place grow while you play.
Toy Box feels distinct from the campaign, with its own missions and its own reason to keep coming back: this isn’t a small bonus tacked onto the story. It’s the heart of the game for anyone who enjoys earning coins, unlocking new toys and seeing what those toys let them do next. The story campaign might be what gets you started, but Toy Box is what gives Toy Story 3 its extra personality.
The visual update is noticeable, even if it doesn’t transform the game. The image looks cleaner and sharper than I’d expect from the original release, and I suspect some textures have had a mild touch-up as well. But this isn’t a ground-up remake of the assets: the underlying models and textures still have that 2010 look, and some areas are rougher than others. On PS5, it appears to run at 60 frames per second, and performance has felt smooth in my time with it. Atari advertises up to 4K and 60fps depending on platform, though that doesn’t confirm the exact resolution on PS5. It looks like 4K, but I’m not exactly counting the pixels on my TV to confirm it. The upgrade helps the game look better, but it can only do so much with the material it started with.
In Conclusion…
Years later, I still really enjoy Toy Story 3. It has a rustic charm, some enjoyable platforming and a Toy Box mode that gives you a fun reason to keep playing after the story. You do have to accept that this is a 16-year-old game, and the stiff controls and camera are more obvious now than they might have been at the time. Complete Edition makes it easier to play on newer hardware and brings in some useful extra content, but it doesn’t rebuild the game from the ground up. Go in expecting a lightly upgraded return to an older game, and there’s still a lot here to enjoy. Go in with nostalgia powering your heart, and you’ll probably end up feeling like a kid again. Or crying in the corner because you realised you’re old now.
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