Colour and creativity have long been staples of the limbless adventurer’s calling card. 2011’s Rayman Origins proved that the dormant hero can thrive, with an impressive array of enthusiastically whimsical levels and environments, that encapsulate everything which a brilliant platformer should possess. Originally intended as a Wii-U exclusive, Rayman Legends has gone multi-platform, and has sprung every dial into overdrive- as this is the most insane, ebullient, off-the-wall, extravagant and downright fun adventure games to grace aging hardware, whilst embracing the possibilities heralding the future.
You’d have to be a stark-raving loony to expect any context in a game that features amusingly nondescript levels, where you sprint and jump in time to the beat of conveniently modified soundtrack. The closest you’ll get to meaning, is by knowing that the teensies and a buxom heroine have been captured and tainted by a new swarm of terrors and critters.
The basics of Rayman Legends are defined by the easy to control, hard to master school of game design. It’s a side-scrolling platformer, with a need to jump, bop and bash all who get in his way. The controls exemplify the simplicity that permeates every fibre of the game. The control stick is for movement, the A/X button for jumping, the right trigger to sprint, and occasionally the X/Square button to punch the cretins in the face. The mastery of these systems can’t be understated though. You will typically find the gradual difficulty of levels ramp upwards. The first few worlds accompany you with easy challenges, where teensies are easy to unearth, and the platforming demands are minimal. Later on though, you will contend with systems and traps, which aim to burst your body into a literal bubble.
There’s no expressing how awesome Rayman Legends is to play. Be that as it may, what you experience is extremely versatile, varied and always imaginatively designed and beautifully created. The silky smooth motion of movement returns from Origins, and has been honed in some expressively joyous ways. For instance, the levels become truly engaging by the use of stealth, having you evading searchlights and lasers at the latter stages of the campaign. You also gain a sidekick, Murphy- who aids you by magically creating bespoke bridges and paths to cross, in order for you to avoid impending doom. One level sees you jumping and bouncing through and across cake, and another has you infiltrating underwater bases. It’s all so richly compelling to explore, especially when you give in to the obsession of collecting every last teensie and lum in all the worlds you explore.
You’d have to be a stark-raving loony to expect any context in a game that features amusingly nondescript levels, where you sprint and jump in time to the beat of conveniently modified soundtrack. The closest you’ll get to meaning, is by knowing that the teensies and a buxom heroine have been captured and tainted by a new swarm of terrors and critters.
The basics of Rayman Legends are defined by the easy to control, hard to master school of game design. It’s a side-scrolling platformer, with a need to jump, bop and bash all who get in his way. The controls exemplify the simplicity that permeates every fibre of the game. The control stick is for movement, the A/X button for jumping, the right trigger to sprint, and occasionally the X/Square button to punch the cretins in the face. The mastery of these systems can’t be understated though. You will typically find the gradual difficulty of levels ramp upwards. The first few worlds accompany you with easy challenges, where teensies are easy to unearth, and the platforming demands are minimal. Later on though, you will contend with systems and traps, which aim to burst your body into a literal bubble.
There’s no expressing how awesome Rayman Legends is to play. Be that as it may, what you experience is extremely versatile, varied and always imaginatively designed and beautifully created. The silky smooth motion of movement returns from Origins, and has been honed in some expressively joyous ways. For instance, the levels become truly engaging by the use of stealth, having you evading searchlights and lasers at the latter stages of the campaign. You also gain a sidekick, Murphy- who aids you by magically creating bespoke bridges and paths to cross, in order for you to avoid impending doom. One level sees you jumping and bouncing through and across cake, and another has you infiltrating underwater bases. It’s all so richly compelling to explore, especially when you give in to the obsession of collecting every last teensie and lum in all the worlds you explore.
Breathing more energy, life and drive into the platforming, are the numerous challenges and entertaining music themed levels. Challenges include time trials, which have you saving three teensies in a modicum amount of time. Forcing you to run very fast, and is a great showcase for the Tarzan-like flow of movement. The music themed levels are also gorgeously crafted, with various themes, as you dash and bash in time to the music. The pace is pulse blazing, and it never lets up- it’ll definitely put a smile on your face once you realise how ridiculous some of these levels are.
Rayman Legends is very fair. Checkpoints are scattered conveniently and generously through all the paintings and worlds you explore. There’s no penalty for dying, and you won’t get asked to lower difficulty if a challenge becomes too much to overcome. It’s true that you’ll curse a few profanities when you feel your timing was spot on, but generally everything in Rayman Legends never feels beyond achievable, you have to master every segment of each level in order to obtain gold trophies in the challenges, and collect all the scattered lums in each and every level.
And if you think the story is the only concern in Legends, you’re dead wrong. There’s a labyrinth of other gallery menus and paintings to explore. You get the opportunity to revisit the past in recreated Rayman Origins paintings. You obtain these by collecting enough lums in Legends levels to access a lucky ticket. If said ticket draws three Origins paintings, you can revisit them in a separate gallery. You’ll really have to keep dipping into Legends levels, in order to access all the Origins paintings.
Likewise, lucky tickets can also grant you a handful of lums and creatures for another gallery. Here, creatures will gift you more lums and even more lums. It’s a shame their functions don’t mean anything, but you can’t leave out the lums.
You’ll also be able to collect a bunch of heroes with your time spent in the story portion of the game. Unlocking all these characters is dependent (like most things) on how many lums you have. Various characters like Murphy, different types of Rayman and the aforementioned buxom heroines can be bought here. There isn’t much that distinguishes these characters from just using Rayman, but will bring some levity to the couch co-op, which the game uses as its sole form of multiplayer.
Rayman Legends is very fair. Checkpoints are scattered conveniently and generously through all the paintings and worlds you explore. There’s no penalty for dying, and you won’t get asked to lower difficulty if a challenge becomes too much to overcome. It’s true that you’ll curse a few profanities when you feel your timing was spot on, but generally everything in Rayman Legends never feels beyond achievable, you have to master every segment of each level in order to obtain gold trophies in the challenges, and collect all the scattered lums in each and every level.
And if you think the story is the only concern in Legends, you’re dead wrong. There’s a labyrinth of other gallery menus and paintings to explore. You get the opportunity to revisit the past in recreated Rayman Origins paintings. You obtain these by collecting enough lums in Legends levels to access a lucky ticket. If said ticket draws three Origins paintings, you can revisit them in a separate gallery. You’ll really have to keep dipping into Legends levels, in order to access all the Origins paintings.
Likewise, lucky tickets can also grant you a handful of lums and creatures for another gallery. Here, creatures will gift you more lums and even more lums. It’s a shame their functions don’t mean anything, but you can’t leave out the lums.
You’ll also be able to collect a bunch of heroes with your time spent in the story portion of the game. Unlocking all these characters is dependent (like most things) on how many lums you have. Various characters like Murphy, different types of Rayman and the aforementioned buxom heroines can be bought here. There isn’t much that distinguishes these characters from just using Rayman, but will bring some levity to the couch co-op, which the game uses as its sole form of multiplayer.
If you really want to spend great social time with Rayman Legends, then the daily challenges, kung-foot and regular co-op challenges are there for you. Each of them packs in the same laughs and thrills as can be found in the single player. If you have a few like-minded buddies, who are looking for something fresher, bolder and crazier than New Super Mario Bros, then welcome friends.
Words can’t begin to fathom what a looker Rayman Legends is. Every environment is wrought with painterly details, which look stunning to the naked eye. Even the superimposed boss fights don’t look out of place, and are just as bombastic and Ludacris as the rest of the game is. The soundtrack complements the mystical worlds with wistful melodies that sound so evocative alongside the zaniness. If you loved the elegance found in Origins, Legends will simply blow your mind.
In all, Rayman Legends encapsulates what every platformer should strive to be- Beautiful and fluid, without the needless frustration of grinding, or being needlessly condescending to the player. It’s a concoction that only Rayman knows how to whip up, and is the perfect storm of platforming harmony and bonkers game design. If you have any appreciation for 2D platformers, and are looking for one of this years veritable dark horses- Rayman Legends, will surprise, delight and amuse. And if you’re not a platform fan, there’s still plenty here to chuckle at.
Words can’t begin to fathom what a looker Rayman Legends is. Every environment is wrought with painterly details, which look stunning to the naked eye. Even the superimposed boss fights don’t look out of place, and are just as bombastic and Ludacris as the rest of the game is. The soundtrack complements the mystical worlds with wistful melodies that sound so evocative alongside the zaniness. If you loved the elegance found in Origins, Legends will simply blow your mind.
In all, Rayman Legends encapsulates what every platformer should strive to be- Beautiful and fluid, without the needless frustration of grinding, or being needlessly condescending to the player. It’s a concoction that only Rayman knows how to whip up, and is the perfect storm of platforming harmony and bonkers game design. If you have any appreciation for 2D platformers, and are looking for one of this years veritable dark horses- Rayman Legends, will surprise, delight and amuse. And if you’re not a platform fan, there’s still plenty here to chuckle at.
STORY: 8/10
GAMEPLAY: 9/10
PRESENTATION: 10/10
LIFESPAN: 8/10
SCORE: 9/10
Whimsical, delightful and rhythmically sensational-Rayman Legends is one of the best platformers you'll ever play. Legendarily Limbless.