Rayman Legends

Rayman Legends is the latest installment in the Ubisoft series. Only one year after the fantastic Rayman Origins, the publisher is back and challenges us to find Rayman and his friends in a new adventure.

No arms, but awesome fists

The most muscular penguin in the world is back! Rayman may not have arms or legs, but it doesn't make him any less of an essential and charismatic hero. Living with his friends in the idyllic world of the Glade of Dreams, Rayman will have to roll up his sleeves again (so to speak!) to save the world from grave danger.

Rayman Legends passes happily through a hundred levels, divided into different worlds with unique atmospheres (underwater, medieval, Mexican levels...). You have to jump into paintings hanging on the walls to reach these levels, just like in the classic Mario 64!

It's clear that Ubisoft revised its copy since the excellent Rayman Origins to offer more content, with many special unlockable levels (incorporating the worlds of the previous part) and lots of special bonuses (scratch cards, small animals to collect). Rayman Legends fans will have hours and hours of play before unlocking everything, and those who aren't hardcore players can simply let themselves go and marvel at the game.

Perfect gameplay and an explosive multiplayer mode

Those who have never played an episode of the Rayman series should quickly be able to find their feet in Rayman Legends. Everything is designed so that the game platform is accessible to all, and it won't take more than a few minutes to understand the principle of the game. I wouldn't go as far as to suggest that Rayman Legends is an easy game: some levels are still very difficult, but you can always go on to the next one and come back later.

The main innovation of Rayman Legends is the multiplayer mode. Now you can play up to 4 people on the same screen or online, taking advantage of the concept of "asymmetric gameplay": so different players do not necessarily have the same role. The first player can, for example, take control of the main character while the second controls the moving platforms, cuts ropes or tickles enemies (allowing you to play with a beginner who will have as much fun as the main player). And if you tire of the story mode, you can always launch yourself into the excellent mini-game "Kung Foot", in which you will pummel a poor football to score in your opponent's goal. Laughs guaranteed!

Jaw-dropping graphics

Rayman Origins was beautiful, but Rayman Legends is...legendary! The quality of the graphics is unheard of for a 2D game. The game engine created by the developer is able to import hand-drawn graphics, and gives Rayman Legends a unique feel. It gives you the impression of directing a cartoon: the character animations double up, and the attention to detail in the levels is simply amazing. The artistic direction picks up where it left off in the previous part and the originality increases with each new world.... And just wait until you see the bosses!

When it comes to sound, we can only applaud the quality of work by the Rayman Legends developers. It's not a question here of plain old "accompaniment" music:the sound is perfectly in tune with the action, and changes depending on the player's progress in a level. The quality of the compositions (which oscillate between gentle  and mindblowing) is remarkable, combining the epic spirit and clean humor of the series to perfection. Note the presence of some musical levels that may leave you simply blissed out, especially if you play with friends!

The best platform game on PC...until the next Rayman?

There's no such thing as perfection, yet it is difficult to find any real defects in Rayman Legends. The game is perfect in terms of playability, you get more lives than usual and it has an amazing multiplayer mode. The music and graphics are one of a kind, and the humorous feel of the series makes us look forward to every moment.

There is one bum note, however, that's worth noting: despite the new features, Rayman Legends' gameplay is very close to that of its predecessor, and it does sometimes seem like you're playing Rayman Origins 1.5. We don't mind forgiving Ubisoft this small blip, because of the excellence of the game, but we sincerely hope that the series won't start to launch an Assassin's Creed-style new episode every year.

Notes

You'll need to have a Steam account to download this game.

Review last updated: 19/09/13

download