Rayman Origins review
Rayman is back in a new adventure taking the limbless hero back to his 2D side-scrolling roots. In doing so, developer Ubisoft has delivered one of the finest platform games of this generation. Rayman Origins for PS3 and Xbox 360 is a platform game masterclass, and one of the most beautiful looking games seen on consoles, says Stephen Ebert.
It seems nobody told Ubisoft and Rayman creator Michel Ancel that 2D-side scrollers were supposed to be dead. We just don’t see games like this anymore. Certainly not in the shops slapped with a premium price tag. Today’s blockbusters take place in the 3D realm where the player is free to walk in any direction – not across flat landscapes rationing freedom of movement.
Not anymore. Raymans Origins shows that, with a little love and attention, 2D platforming is alive and well. Charming throughout and bursting with colour, Rayman Origins is an absolute delight in almost every area.
The good
Rayman Origins is platforming bliss. Just as well, because the story’s nothing to shout about. Rayman and his buddies are having a kip. The snoring wakes up some evil looking critters, who take it upon themselves to exact revenge by taking over the Glade of Dreams – a green paradise now overrun by baddies called Darktoons. But with the resulting adventures to come, it’s happy days. Rayman Origins feels like a voyage of gaming self rediscovery encouraging players to embrace the disappearing art of 2D level design.
From swinging across jungle vines to traversing sandy deserts hopping on bongos for platforms, Rayman Origins never fails to stimulate the senses. There are signs of wild imagination everywhere you look. Up in the clouds clever level design forces the player to use the environment. Timed wind gusts create temporary invisible platforms requiring the kind of platforming dexterity missing from today’s 3D roamers.
Ice-themed levels have Rayman skating on fruit, hopping over piranha infested watermelon juice pooling below, using bubbles as hover boards and punching through ice to clear a path through. Enemies dressed as waiters patrol nearby. A later level called ‘Piping Hot’ is a Mexican themed lava-flooded pressure cooker of kitchen-themed deathtraps patrolled by sombrero-wearing henchmen armed with kitchen utensils in levels bathed in an orange flamey glow.
An immense soundtrack tailored to each level is some of the best audio work heard in any game this year, tailored to each level to suit the mood and situation Rayman finds himself in. You’d be forgiven for wanting to pause Rayman in his tracks and sample it for yourself.
Yet it’s still the gameplay that takes centre stage – owing so much to the brilliant level design that encourages the player to routinely take death-defying leaps of faith as if they were nothing. Early on, Rayman’s skills are basic. He can only jump and run. It’s when Rayman gains the ability to hover, shrink himself to fit through narrow gaps and run up walls that the platforming gets more intricate and challenging. You just can’t help but keep dying over and over, yet you’ll never feel like dashing the controller in anger. Rayman Origins is a joy from beginning to end.
The bad
The addition of local co-op play is a pleasant addition letting up to four players team up to take on the challenges found in Rayman Origins, yet there is no sign of online play. So unless you can rope in some mates, you’re left with very little extra on the side once you’ve cleared all the single player campaign has to offer. But don’t let that spoil what is a very wholesome package. There’s plenty of gameplay time to be had in the single player.
The bottom line
Rayman Origins is one of the best platformers we’ve played this year, combining imagination and old-school gameplay topped off with stunning visuals and a superb soundtrack. If you buy one platform game this year, buy Super Mario Land 3D. If you buy another make it Rayman Origins.
